Is Friday, July 10 a holiday or a non-working day in Argentina?

Argentines are set to enjoy an extended holiday weekend in July, thanks to a "bridge" non-working day. Friday, July 10th, has been officially designated as a non-working day, creating a four-day weekend when combined with the preceding Thursday, July 9th, which is Argentina's Independence Day.

Independence Day, commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1816, is a fixed, non-transferable national holiday. This year, the government has strategically added July 10th as a non-working day, a measure the government can utilize up to three times annually for tourism promotion. This practice of creating long weekends by bridging holidays has become a common strategy.

However, there's a key distinction between a national holiday and a non-working day. While July 9th is a mandatory holiday where employees working must receive double their regular pay, July 10th falls under the category of an optional non-working day. Employers have the discretion to decide whether their staff will work on this day. If they choose to operate, employees will receive their standard salary, not the double rate applicable to national holidays.