Employees across Canada are entitled to several paid statutory holidays, which are also known as public holidays. Generally, this means that employees are entitled to paid time off on a statutory holiday, but there are several rules that employers should keep in mind. And these rules vary from one Canadian jurisdiction to the next.
Here are 5 key considerations regarding statutory holidays that all employers should know.
1. Which statutory holidays apply at your workplace?
Except for federally regulated workplaces (which are subject to the Canada Labour Code), an employee’s statutory holiday entitlements are typically governed by the employment standards legislation in the province where they work. This includes remote workers – e.g., if you are an Ontario-based employer, and you have an employee who moves to Nova Scotia and works remotely from there, you must follow Nova Scotia’s public holiday requirements for that employee. (For more information, see our earlier post on HR compliance for remote workplaces.)
While there are several days that many Canadians think of as “holidays” – including New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day – only holidays that are recognized in legislation as “statutory holidays” entitle employees to a day off with pay. And the holidays recognized as statutory holidays vary somewhat from one province to the next.
Click below to download the Canadian statutory holiday chart. It provides a quick review of which holidays apply in each province.
Download Canadian Statutory Holidays Chart
Get a quick summary of statutory holidays in Canada.
Keep in mind – employers may provide employees with a “greater benefit” than what is required under legislation by voluntarily recognizing days that are not designated as public holidays in their province. For example, many employers provide employees with a paid day off on the first Monday in August even though it is not actually a statutory holiday in many provinces. Employers with workplaces and/or employees in multiple jurisdictions may want to take this approach.
2. Which employees are eligible for public holiday entitlements?
Most provinces specify certain requirements that must be met by the employee in order for them to qualify for public holiday pay. These rules differ from one jurisdiction to the next, but examples include:
- working on their regular work days immediately before and after the holiday (subject to exceptions for reasonable cause or employer consent)
- being employed for at least 30 days prior to the paid holiday
In addition to these general rules, certain occupations are simply exempt from statutory holiday laws. For example, several provinces exempt professionals such as doctors and lawyers from these rights. In other instances, employees in certain industries (e.g., hospitality or retail) may be subject to special requirements.
3. What happens when a statutory holiday falls on an ordinary working day?
When a public holiday falls on a regular working day, employees are generally entitled to have that day off with pay.
If the employee is required to work on the holiday, the rules vary somewhat from province to province. Typically, the employee is entitled to some form of enhanced pay, and some jurisdictions permit employers to provide a substitute day off that must be taken within a specified time period.
For example, in Ontario, where the employee and employer agree that an employee will work a public holiday, the employee is entitled to:
- regular wages plus a substitute day off for which the employee is paid public holiday pay; or
- public holiday pay plus premium pay (i.e., 1.5 times their regular wage) for each hour worked on the public holiday.
If the Ontario employee agrees to a substitute day, the employer must provide the employee with a written statement setting out the agreement, and, unless the employee agrees otherwise, the substitute day must be taken within 3 months of the holiday.
4. What happens when a statutory holiday falls on a day, which is not an ordinary working day?
When a public holiday falls on a day that is not a regular working day or a on day that the employee is on vacation, most provinces require employers to provide a substitute day off with pay.
While many employers tend to provide a substitute day off immediately after the holiday, most Canadian jurisdictions provide flexibility around the timing of the day off.
If the employee is required to work on the holiday, the rules vary somewhat from province to province, but typically, the employee is entitled to some form of enhanced pay.
5. How do you calculate public holiday pay?
The calculation of public holiday pay varies from one province to the next. However, many jurisdictions define Public Holiday Pay as a percentage of the regular wages earned in in the preceding 3-4 weeks. For example, in Ontario, Public Holiday Pay is equal to: 1/20 of the regular wages earned plus vacation pay during the 4 weeks before the week of the public holiday.
Many jurisdictions (e.g., B.C., Federal, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan) specify that when calculating public holiday pay, any overtime pay should be excluded.
Wrap Up: Cost of Non-Compliance with Statutory Holiday Laws
Statutory holidays are one of those tricky areas where the requirements vary quite a bit from one Canadian jurisdiction to the next, and there are special rules for certain industries or occupations. Getting it wrong can have serious consequences for employers. In Canada, several class action lawsuits have been filed alleging employers failed to properly calculate statutory holiday pay.
Compliance Works can help you to figure out what statutory holiday laws apply to your workplace – in minutes. And if there are any changes to those requirements, you will be the first to know!
Need help understanding how to apply statutory holiday laws across multiple provinces? Contact us for a complimentary summary of public holiday pay across Canada.
