10 October is an official free day. Whether you get a day off depends on your workweek.
Also available in Nederlands and Papiamentu.
You open your phone on Friday and see it: tomorrow is Dia di Pais Kòrsou. Then the second thought hits. Tomorrow is a Saturday.
If you work Monday to Friday, you might wonder whether the holiday moves to Monday 12 October or whether you get a day off in return. If you work Saturdays, you might be wondering what you are entitled to if you still have to work. This is what we found.
Sixteen years since 10-10-10
On 10 October 2010, Curaçao became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Dia di Pais Kòrsou has been marked every year since. The Gobiernu di Kòrsou lists it as an official free day, one of the days set in the Arbeidsregeling (the Labour Regulation). This year’s theme, according to the Curaçao Chronicle, is “The Caribbean That Unites Us.”
If you work Monday to Friday
As far as we can tell, nothing moves 10 October to another day, such as Monday 12 October, and there is no replacement day. In the published text of the Arbeidsregeling 2000, only Labor Day moves, and only when 1 May falls on a Sunday. We found no rule for a holiday on a Saturday. Your contract, your CAO (collective labor agreement) or your employer’s policy may say otherwise, and your employer or the government could still announce something. If you are asked to work tomorrow anyway, the law treats it as overtime with extra pay. Ask your employer today, by message, what you will be paid, so you have it in writing.
If you normally work Saturdays
Here it matters, especially in retail, hospitality and healthcare. You keep at least the pay you would normally earn that day, and if you work, you get higher pay. How much depends on your situation: whether you count as a shift worker under the law, your contract and your CAO. We are preparing a full guide on holiday pay and working on public holidays.
Not everyone is covered. The law has an income ceiling, so check your own contract.
Employers: what you can still do
Today, confirm in writing with everyone working Saturday what they will be paid. After the weekend, check that holiday pay shows correctly on the payslip. And 26 December is also a Saturday, so plan that schedule now and check your contracts and CAO for a replacement day.
It will happen again
26 December is a Saturday too, and next year 10 October falls on a Sunday. See every 2026 holiday in our public holiday calendar and download them straight into your phone’s calendar.
Whatever your week looks like: felis Dia di Pais Kòrsou!
General information, not legal advice. Last verified: 9 October 2026. Sources (Official Government): Gobiernu di Kòrsou, official free days; Arbeidsregeling 2000, Articles 9, 15, 22 and 23.