Eight hundred years ago, on 3 October 1226, at the age of approximately 44, Francis of Assisi died, at the Porziuncola, near the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi. And October 4, the day dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, has once again become a national holiday. The reintroduction of the anniversary also has concrete effects for workers and companies. Those who are not required to work can benefit from the public holiday, while in cases where the work activity is still carried out, the economic protections provided for by law and collective agreements apply. Any agreements for the recovery of hours must also be managed according to current regulations.
October 4, 2026 falls on a Sunday
In 2026 the anniversary coincides with a Sunday. For this reason, in most cases, employees will be entitled to the treatment provided for the so-called “unused holiday”. In the October payslip, workers will be entitled to an additional daily quota in addition to their normal salary. In the event that an employee is called to work on Sunday 4 October, he will be entitled to the normal salary, the quota relating to the holiday falling on Sunday and payment for the hours actually worked with the increase foreseen for holiday work.
Increase between 39 and 53 euros net
The national holiday of Saint Francis must be recognized and paid for even if the national collective labor agreements have not yet formally updated the list of holidays in their texts. To evaluate the concrete economic impact, Il Sole 24 Ore reports some simulations developed by Giuseppe Buscema, an expert from the Labor Consultants Study Foundation. The estimates show that the net benefit for workers resulting from the holiday not taken varies depending on the contract applied.
In the examples cited by the business newspaper, the increases in the paycheck fluctuate between approximately 39 and 53 euros net, while the cost incurred by the employer changes based on the sector and the qualification of the employee. The simulations concern workers in trade, the metalworking industry, crafts, professional firms and public establishments.
The increase is applied automatically, without the need to update collective agreements. Buscema simulated some cases for the October payslip. Level B1 employees in the metalworking sector earn more, with 52.70 euros net and 124.33 in cost for the employer, and level D2 workers in the national collective agreement for metalworkers in the industry, with 51.62 euros more and 106.30 gross.
Next is the first level employee, with 46.78 euros (110.08 gross), the fourth level clerk of the Confcommercio national collective labor agreement, with 46.40 euros (94.44 gross), and the sixth level worker with a Fipe contract in public services, with 38.84 euros (78.33 for the employer). The amounts in the envelope are net, therefore lower than the gross amount due to tax and social security withholdings.