#Nicaragua 🇳🇮 #BDS_Informs: Key Compliance Notes for the National Holiday of December 8, 2025

The Minister of Labor, Ms. Johana Vanessa Flores Jiménez, through a recent official statement, informed public and private sector workers and employers that, in accordance with Article 66 of the Labor Code (Act No. 185), Monday, December 8, 2025, is a mandatory national holiday with the right to rest and pay, so that Nicaraguan families may participate in the celebrations of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Likewise, the statement establishes that employees who work on this day must be remunerated at the overtime rate, in accordance with the rules governing work on holidays under national labor legislation.

The Ministry of Labor also recalls that, in accordance with the same statement and Article 69 of the Labor Code, certain activities are exempt from mandatory rest, including:

• Work that cannot be interrupted due to the nature of the needs it serves;
• Activities as required for technical reasons, as well as on-duty pharmacy services and recreational establishments;
• Activities whose interruption would harm the public interest, industry, or commerce;
• Work intended to repair damage caused by force majeure or unforeseeable circumstances when the repair cannot be postponed;
• Activities related to the agricultural cycle;
• Activities whose suspension would affect the country's economic, social, or security-related activities.

The compensatory rest for employees included in these exceptions must be chosen by the employee, either by taking another day of the week, half-days, or through shifts, as provided in Article 70 of the Labor Code (Act No. 185).

Private-sector employers must adjust the implementation of this holiday according to the current labor legislation and the guidelines established in the ministry’s statement.

Please contact us if you have questions or require legal advice regarding this or any other labor-related matters.