Employees governed by the B.C. Employment Standards Act (ESA) are entitled to ten holidays each year:
In B.C., Easter Monday and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays.
An employer and a majority of employees can agree to substitute another day off for a statutory holiday. The Act and Regulation apply to the substitute day as if it were the statutory holiday.
When an employee is given a day off on a statutory holiday, or it falls on a regular day off, an eligible employee is entitled to be paid an average day’s pay (s. 45, ESA). An average day’s pay is calculated by dividing “total wages” earned in the 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday by the number of days worked. Vacation days taken during this period count as days worked. “Total wages” includes wages, commissions, statutory holiday pay and vacation pay but does not include overtime pay.
An eligible employee who works on a statutory holiday is entitled to be paid an average day’s pay plus 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate for the first 12 hours worked and two times the regular rate for any work over 12 hours (s. 46, ESA).
An “average day’s pay” is calculated by dividing the employee’s total wages (including wages commissions and vacation pay, but excluding overtime pay) in the 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday by the number of days worked.
A description of eligibility for general holiday pay may be found here. For more information, consult the Employment Standards Branch fact sheet on collective agreements. The Employment Standards Branch fact sheets are prepared for general information purposes. They do not constitute legal advice. If your case involves these issues, legal advice from an experienced employment lawyer should be sought.
Certain workers are not eligible for general holidays and general holiday pay or are subject to special rules. These include managers, agriculture workers, certain commission salespersons, and high technology professionals.
Employees governed by the Alberta Employment Standards Code (ESC) are entitled to nine holidays each year:
In Alberta, Easter Monday and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays.
An eligible employee who works on a statutory holiday is entitled to be paid:
(a) Average daily wages plus 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate for each hour worked that day, or
(b) Regular wages for each hour worked that day, plus a day off with pay at least equal to the employee’s average daily wage. The day off must not be later than the employee’s next annual vacation and must be on a day that would normally be a working day for the employee.
“Average daily wage” refers to an employee’s daily wage averaged over the days she or he worked in the nine weeks immediately before a statutory holiday. If an employee has not been employed by the same employer for at least nine work weeks, “average daily wage” refers to the employee’s daily wage averaged over the number of days the employee has worked for the employer.
A description of eligibility for general holiday pay may be found here. The Employment Standards Branch fact sheets are prepared for general information purposes. They do not constitute legal advice. If your case involves these issues, legal advice from an experienced employment lawyer should be sought.
Employees governed by the Canada Labour Code (CLC) are entitled to nine holidays each year:
Federally, Easter Monday is not a statutory holiday, but Boxing Day is.
The CLC allows the substitution of other holidays designated in collective agreements or where the employer and at least 70% of employees agree to the substitution.
When an employee is entitled to a general holiday with pay but does not work on that day, the amount owed to the employee will depend on how the employee is paid.
An employee who works on a general holiday will be paid at her or his regular daily wages plus 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate for the hours worked.
Different calculation methods apply in the longshoring industry, in continuous operations and for managerial and professional employees.
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