West Bengal | 2026
West Bengal Holidays 2026 & Attendance Compliance Guide
West Bengal 2026 holidays with the Durga Puja block, 1963 Shops Act rules, 8.5-hour daily cap, leave entitlements, and a 5-minute Kolkata SMB setup.
Labour law at a glance
- Governing law
- West Bengal Shops and Establishments Act, 1963
- Max daily hours
- 8.5 hours
- Max weekly hours
- 48 hours
- Overtime cap
- Twice the ordinary wage rate beyond 8.5 daily / 48 weekly
- Earned leave
- 14 days per year after 12 months of service
- Sick leave
- 14 days per year (with medical certificate)
- Casual leave
- 10 days per year
- Weekly off
- 1 full paid day per week (employer-declared closed day)
- Source
- wblc.gov.in
West Bengal holidays 2026
Download .ics calendar →| Date | Day | Holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2026 | Thursday | New Year's Day | Restricted |
| 12 Jan 2026 | Monday | Swami Vivekananda Jayanti | Regional |
| 23 Jan 2026 | Friday | Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti | Regional |
| 26 Jan 2026 | Monday | Republic Day | National |
| 3 Mar 2026 | Tuesday | Holi / Dol Jatra | Regional |
| 21 Mar 2026 | Saturday | Eid-ul-Fitr | Regional |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Thursday | Ram Navami | Regional |
| 31 Mar 2026 | Tuesday | Mahavir Jayanti | Regional |
| 3 Apr 2026 | Friday | Good Friday | National |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Tuesday | Ambedkar Jayanti | National |
| 15 Apr 2026 | Wednesday | Poila Baisakh / Bengali New Year | Regional |
| 1 May 2026 | Friday | Labour Day / May Day | Regional |
| 9 May 2026 | Saturday | Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti | Regional |
| 27 May 2026 | Wednesday | Bakrid | Regional |
| 26 Jun 2026 | Friday | Muharram | Regional |
| 15 Aug 2026 | Saturday | Independence Day | National |
| 4 Sept 2026 | Friday | Janmashtami | Regional |
| 2 Oct 2026 | Friday | Gandhi Jayanti | National |
| 10 Oct 2026 | Saturday | Mahalaya | Regional |
| 19 Oct 2026 | Monday | Maha Astami (Durga Puja) | Regional |
| 20 Oct 2026 | Tuesday | Maha Navami (Durga Puja) | Regional |
| 21 Oct 2026 | Wednesday | Vijaya Dasami (Durga Puja) | Regional |
| 11 Nov 2026 | Wednesday | Bhratridwitiya (Bhai Phonta) | Regional |
| 24 Nov 2026 | Tuesday | Guru Nanak Jayanti | Regional |
| 25 Dec 2026 | Friday | Christmas | National |
Want this calendar in your attendance system? Free for the first 10 employees.
Start FreeWest Bengal runs under the Shops and Establishments Act, 1963 with an 8.5-hour daily cap and a 48-hour week. The state’s holiday calendar is unusual: Durga Puja alone stretches across four paid days. Arjun Desai walks Kolkata and Siliguri SMBs through the 2026 list, leave rules, and a fast attendance setup.
Ask any HR manager in Kolkata what makes West Bengal different from other states, and the answer is the same: Durga Puja. For four to five days in October, Bengal effectively shuts down. Weave that into your shift roster wrong and you face a team revolt. This 2026 guide covers the West Bengal Shops and Establishments Act, 1963, the gazetted holiday list, and how AttendFirst handles the Puja block.
West Bengal’s calendar has more state-specific dates than almost any other Indian state: Swami Vivekananda Jayanti, Netaji Jayanti, Poila Baisakh (Bengali New Year), Tagore Jayanti, the four-day Durga Puja block, and Bhai Phonta. Total gazetted working-day holidays often exceed 20, among the highest in India. Plan roster depth accordingly.
The 8.5-hour daily cap sits between Telangana’s 8 and Rajasthan’s 9. Get this number wrong in your roster template and your overtime math will be off from day one.
How AttendFirst Helps West Bengal SMBs
AttendFirst is attendance + leave, not a roster engine. No OT calculation, no compliance enforcement. For West Bengal SMBs that means:
- Bulk-import ~20 pan-India gazetted holidays for 2026; add the Durga Puja block (Maha Saptami through Vijaya Dasami), Poila Baisakh (15 Apr), and Tagore Jayanti (9 May) as custom holidays
- Configurable shifts: set an 8.5-hour shift end with late-after and half-day thresholds so the daily report flags any session past it
- Per-day work schedule: pick which weekday is your weekly closed day (most Kolkata shops pick Thursday or Sunday)
- Mobile check-in via GPS, selfie, or QR. Works on any phone as a PWA
- Daily and monthly reports with CSV export
Setting Up West Bengal Attendance in 5 Minutes
- Sign up at attendfirst.com. Free for up to 10 employees.
- From Settings → Holidays, bulk-import the 2026 Indian holidays then add the Durga Puja block, Poila Baisakh, and Tagore Jayanti as custom holidays.
- Under Settings → Work Schedule, pick which weekday is your closed day.
- Import employees via CSV or share the self-join link.
- Employees check in from any phone via the PWA. No app download needed.
Track West Bengal attendance the Kolkata-friendly way. AttendFirst is India’s cheapest attendance-only SaaS. Free up to 10 employees. No payroll module to pay for. Start Free.
Frequently asked questions
How many days does Durga Puja count as a paid holiday in West Bengal?
Typically four: Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami, and Vijaya Dashami. Many employers extend it by one more day for Panchami or Shashthi, making it five paid days. The Labour Department's gazetted list includes the four core days. Plan for everyone to be unavailable for the full five-day block; trying to staff a shop during Puja in Kolkata is an exercise in futility.
Is Poila Baisakh a state holiday in West Bengal?
Yes. Poila Baisakh, the Bengali New Year, falls on 15 April in 2026 and is gazetted under the West Bengal holiday list. It is also observed in parts of Assam and Tripura. Most commercial establishments close for the day. The date moves by one day in some years due to the solar calendar; confirm each year's notification.
What is the weekly closed day rule in West Bengal?
Under the 1963 Act, every shop and establishment must declare one day a week as its closed day and register it with the Inspector under the Shops Act. Traditionally, Kolkata shops close on Thursday, Sunday, or the day of their choice. Once registered, that day must be observed consistently. Employees get it as a paid weekly rest.
What is the overtime rate in West Bengal?
Double the ordinary wage rate for work beyond 8.5 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week. There is no 1.5x tier. The 8.5-hour daily cap means overtime kicks in earlier than in states with a 9-hour cap, a common mistake for employers who operate across multiple states on a unified roster.
Does the West Bengal Shops Act cover IT companies in Sector V Salt Lake?
Yes. The Act covers all commercial establishments including IT, ITES, and BPOs in Kolkata's Sector V and Rajarhat tech clusters. Some IT firms get women's night-shift permissions under a special notification, but the 8.5-hour daily cap, 48-hour weekly cap, and Puja holiday expectations all apply.
Run West Bengal attendance on AttendFirst
Free for up to 10 employees. ₹299 per employee per year above that. No card needed.
Bulk-import the 2026 Indian holidays in one click, then add West Bengal-specific dates as custom holidays.
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