Salon holiday hours 2026: Christmas Eve, New Year, closures
On 6 November 2026 I checked the Act to see which days between 24 December and 6 January are days off in Poland, and read the help pages of Booksy and Fresha on closing the calendar for the holidays. In Slotsy, closing days, a shorter day and the "Repeat every year" switch are one window, so the whole of December can be set up in a single afternoon. It is worth doing now, before clients start booking days when you are not working.
Short answer. Since 2025, 24 December has been a day off from work; in 2026 it falls on a Thursday, and 25 and 26 December are a Friday and a Saturday. In Slotsy you close these days in "Schedules → Company Hours → Special Days". You can shorten 24 and 31 December instead of closing them, and tick "Repeat every year" for 25.12, 26.12, 1.01 and 6.01. If bookings already exist on a day you close, Slotsy shows their list and lets you cancel them with one message to the clients. The Free plan costs 0 zł for one person.
Close the December days in Slotsy in 15 minutes: create a Free account — 0 zł for one person, no card, works next to the system you use now.
Which days in December 2026 and January 2027
| Date | Day of the week | What kind of day |
|---|---|---|
| 24.12.2026 | Thursday | Christmas Eve — day off from work (since 2025) |
| 25.12.2026 | Friday | Christmas Day — day off from work |
| 26.12.2026 | Saturday | second day of Christmas — day off; it falls on a Saturday, so employees on an employment contract (umowa o pracę) are owed an extra day off |
| 31.12.2026 | Thursday | New Year's Eve — an ordinary working day |
| 1.01.2027 | Friday | New Year's Day — day off from work |
| 6.01.2027 | Wednesday | Epiphany — day off from work |
Christmas Eve has been a day off since 2025, so 2026 is the second year under the new rule. New Year's Eve, 31 December, is not a public holiday.
Can a salon work on public holidays?
It can, but the rules depend on whether you work alone or have employees. The ban on trading on Sundays and holidays (Act of 10 January 2018) applies to retail outlets. The Labour Code (art. 151^10 point 9 letter a) allows work on Sundays and holidays in "establishments providing services to the population". An employee who works on a holiday is owed another day off (art. 151^11 of the Labour Code).
If you work alone as a sole trader (JDG), you decide your own hours; if you have employees on an employment contract, agree the plan for working on holidays and the days off for them with your accountant. Confirm this with an accountant or a lawyer: this is not legal advice.
The three trading Sundays before Christmas Eve (6, 13 and 20 December 2026) are a rule for shops and change nothing in a salon's schedule.
How to close one day or several days in Slotsy
Closed days disappear from the booking page and the widget as soon as you save, and they are shaded in the admin calendar.
- Open Schedules → Company Hours → Special Days (described in the help article).
- Click a date, for example 24.12.
- Turn off Working day? — the text "This day will be closed" appears.
- In Reason (optional) you can write, for example, "Holidays".
- To close several days at once, pick the last day in Until (optional), for example 26.12. Every day in the range gets the same settings; a range can be up to 62 days.
- Tick Repeat every year if the day should close every year, and save.
Closing days is part of the company hours; the basics of that screen are in the article on company hours.
A shorter day on 24 and 31 December
If you want to work but for fewer hours, do not close the day. Leave Working day? on and set your own hours, for example 9:00–14:00 — just an example. All in the same window.
The same thing every year
For 24.12, 25.12, 26.12, 1.01 and 6.01, tick Repeat every year and you do not have to come back to them next year. Easter has a moving date, so you add it separately for each year. Changing or deleting a repeated day applies to all years; you remove it with the Reset to normal button.
Bookings that are already on these days
Before saving, Slotsy shows a window N bookings are in this time with a list: time, client, staff member. You have two options:
- Save and keep the bookings — the day is closed to new bookings, and the visits that already exist stay.
- Cancel N bookings… — you must write What to tell the clients, and each client gets a cancellation e-mail with those words.
You refund visits paid in advance in Payments. Clients cancelling their own visits is covered in a separate article: visit cancellation rules.
One person's schedule
When the whole studio is closed, you close company days. When one person is away, you set their special days or time off in Staff schedules (more in the help on staff schedules and in the article on staff schedules and leave). Someone who works different hours each week sets hours by dates in Week schedule; you can copy last week's hours (see the help on the week schedule).
Gift vouchers in December
A client can buy a voucher on your page for an amount or for a service and give it to someone. The voucher is valid for 12, 18, 24 or 36 months from purchase, works on all plans including Free, and the money goes to your Stripe account. Online sale requires Stripe Connect; you can also sell a voucher in the studio. You turn it on in Memberships → Gift vouchers with the Sell gift vouchers switch. Details are in the help on gift vouchers.
How it looks in Booksy and Fresha
| Slotsy | Booksy | Fresha | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closing the whole business for days | yes, Special Days, range up to 62 days | yes, "Time Off For Business" (Booksy UK blog, 2019) | yes, "Closed periods" |
| A shorter day | yes, in the same window | no information on the page | no information on the page |
| Repeat every year | yes, "Repeat every year" | no information on the page | no, you add each period separately |
| Bookings already on that day | a list in the window; you keep them or cancel with one e-mail message | the closure cancels work shifts on those dates and blocks bookings; you tell clients yourself (Message Blast) | they stay, you reschedule by hand; you tell clients yourself |
The Booksy description comes from their 2019 blog post; I did not find a newer one in Booksy's help. In Slotsy the closure, the short day, the yearly repeat and the message to clients are in one window.
Frequently asked questions
Is 24 December 2026 a day off from work? Yes. Since 2025, Christmas Eve has been a day off from work (Act of 6 December 2024, Dz.U. 2024 item 1965, in force from 1 February 2025). In 2026 it falls on a Thursday.
Can a salon be open on Christmas Eve or on public holidays? The trading ban applies to retail outlets, and the Labour Code allows work on holidays in establishments providing services to the population (art. 151^10 point 9 letter a). If you employ people, they are owed another day off for working on a holiday; agree the details with your accountant.
How do I close the salon from 24 to 26 December in one go in Slotsy? In Schedules → Company Hours → Special Days click 24.12, turn off "Working day?", pick 26.12 in "Until (optional)" and save. Every day in the range gets the same settings; a range can be up to 62 days.
What about clients who already have a visit on a day I am closing? Slotsy shows the list of those bookings before you save. You can keep them or cancel them all at once with one message; each client gets an e-mail with those words. You refund paid visits in Payments.
Do I have to close 25 December again every year? No, if you tick "Repeat every year". Easter has a moving date, so you add it for each year.
Is New Year's Eve a day off? No, 31 December is an ordinary working day; 1 January is a day off.
Checked on 6.11.2026: the Act on days off from work (Dz.U. 2024 item 1965), an article on December 2026 and the extra day off, the help page Fresha: Closed periods, the post Booksy: Is your business ready for the festive season of 28.10.2019, and the Slotsy help articles. If something has changed, tell us — we will correct it.
Close the December days in Slotsy in 15 minutes: create a Free account — 0 zł for one person, no card, works next to what you use now. Step by step: closures in the help.