The key facts
- December 31, 2027 will officially become a day off: the day off has been moved from Sunday, January 3
- Days off have also been moved from January 2 to November 5 and from February 20 to February 22
- In 2027, with a five-day week, there will be 247 working days and 118 days off and holidays
December 31, 2027 declared a day off
Russia's Minister of Labour and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov told RIA Novosti that December 31, 2027 will be a day off. This arrangement is provided for by the production calendar for the coming year approved by the government. “All the main, so to speak, approaches that we have used in recent years to build the working time calendar, we have kept them. So, December 31 is a day off,” the head of the ministry said.
How the transfers work
Under the approved schedule, the day off for Friday, December 31, has been moved from Sunday, January 3. In addition, the day off from January 2 has been moved to November 5, and from February 20 to February 22. Kotyakov explained that in drawing up the schedule, the Labour Ministry sought to combine holiday dates and ordinary weekends so that people could rest for several days in a row without unnecessary breaks; in his assessment, the calendar turned out to be quite comfortable.
Working time balance
In total, in 2027, with a five-day working week, Russians can expect 247 working days and 118 days off and non-working holidays — rest will account for almost a third of the calendar year. At the same time, as Life.ru previously reported, the Labour Ministry does not plan to make December 31 a permanent non-working day: the minister explained that current legislation allows days off to be moved each year without introducing a new holiday, and an additional non-working day would change the overall working time balance.
Why this matters
The approved calendar directly determines the plans of millions of working Russians: a long chain of days off at the end of 2027 will make it possible to plan New Year holidays in advance, and employers will need to take the transfers into account when drawing up schedules. At the same time, December 31 remains a one-off decision rather than a permanent holiday — its status will be reviewed when the calendar for each following year is drawn up.
