Paid holidays in Canada

Paid public holidays, also known as statutory holidays or general holidays, are days throughout the year where most businesses are legislated to close but must still pay eligible employees as though it was a regular workday. There are additional rules and payment requirements for employees who work on a statutory holiday. 

There are 5 days in the year which are a paid holiday in every jurisdiction:

• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• Christmas Day

Each province and territory have further paid holidays, as well as holidays where a business is not legislated to close, but may choose to do so, either with or without payment to employees. There may also be days when a business must close but is not required to pay their employees.

Select your province or territory below to learn more about paid public holidays in your jurisdiction:

Federally regulated industries

What are the paid general holidays under the Canada Labour Code?

• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30)
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

Which employees are eligible?

If your business is federally-regulated, you are required to pay all full-time, part-time, and casual employees for the 10 statutory holidays. 

How do I pay my employees for a general holiday?

When an employee works on a general holiday, they are entitled to receive holiday pay, plus one and a half times their regular rate of wages for any hours worked on the holiday. 

When an employee does not work on the general holiday, they are entitled to receive general holiday pay. 

When the general holiday falls on an employee’s scheduled day off, then a day off with pay may be added to the employee’s annual vacation or taken at another mutually convenient time. 

Exceptions: if New Year’s Day, Canada Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, or Boxing Day falls on a Sunday, Saturday, or other non-working day for an employee, then the employee is entitled to a holiday with pay on the working day immediately preceding or following the general holiday. 

How do I calculate holiday pay?

Holiday pay is generally equivalent to one twentieth (1/20th) of the wages, excluding overtime pay, which the employee earned in the 4-week period immediately before the week in which the holiday falls. However, there are different calculations for those who earn either partly or wholly through commission, or who work in the longshoring industry.

For more information, please consult General Holidays (Publication 4 – Labour Standards) or General Holidays – Continuous operation (Publication 4a – Labour Standards). 

Alberta

What are the General Holidays in Alberta?

• New Year’s Day
• Alberta Family Day (Third Monday in February)
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day

What are the optional General Holidays in Alberta?

• Easter Monday
• Heritage Day (First Monday in August)
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30)
• Boxing Day

An employer has the option to designate these days as additional general holidays; in that situation all employment standards rules related to general holiday pay will apply to these additional days. 

Employee eligibility

To be eligible for general holiday pay, employees must:

• have worked for the same employer for at least 30 workdays in the 12 months prior to the holiday.
• work their scheduled shift before and after the holiday (unless employer consent is given for the absence).
• work on the general holiday if required and scheduled to do so.

Most employees are entitled to general holidays and receive general holiday pay if one of the following applies to them:

• A general holiday is regular day of work; or
• They have worked on a general holiday that is not a regular day of work. 

How do I calculate the rate of pay?

Regular day of work

If the holiday falls on a regular day of work and an employee doesn't work the general holiday, then they are entitled to general holiday pay of an amount that is at least their average daily wage.

If an employee works the general holiday, then the employee is entitled to general holiday pay of an amount that is equal to:

• at least their average daily wage, and at least one and a half times their wage rate for each hour worked on that day, or
• standard wage rate for each hour worked on the general holiday and a day off with pay where the pay is at least as much as their average daily wage.

Non-regular day of work

If the holiday falls on a non-regular day of work and an employee doesn’t work the general holiday, they are not entitled to general holiday pay.

If an employee works the general holiday, then the employee is entitled to general holiday pay of an amount that is equal to at least one and a half times their wage rate for each hour worked on that day.

Calculate average daily wage:

Total wages ÷ number of days worked = average daily wage

There are two options for the period to use in the calculation:

• The four weeks immediately before the general holiday, or
• The four weeks ending on the last day of the pay period immediately before the general holiday. 

Do not include overtime when calculating the average daily wage. 

For more information, including how to pay employees who are not paid hourly, visit the Government of Alberta’s page on general holidays.

British Columbia

What are the statutory holidays in British Columbia?

• New Years Day
• Family Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• B.C. Day
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day

Eligibility:

To be eligible for statutory holiday pay an employee must have:

• been employed for 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday; and
• worked or earned wages on 15 of the 30 days before the statutory holiday.

Employees who work under an averaging agreement or a variance at any time in the 30 days before the holiday do not have to meet the 15-day requirement.

Wages:

Eligible employee not working on the statutory holiday - When an employee is given a day off on a statutory holiday, or it falls on a regular day off, they are entitled to be paid an average day's pay.

Eligible employee working on the statutory holiday - When an employee works on a statutory holiday, they are entitled to be paid time-and-a-half for the first 12 hours worked and double-time for any work over 12 hours plus an average day's pay.

Ineligible employee not working on the statutory holiday - An employee who is not eligible for statutory holiday pay is not entitled to be paid an average day's pay.

Ineligible employee working on the statutory holiday - An ineligible employee who works on a statutory holiday may be paid as if it were a regular workday.

How to calculate a regular day’s pay: 

Total wages ÷ number of days worked = an average day’s pay

Calculate based on the days worked in the 30 days prior to the statutory holiday. Include all wages except overtime. 

For more details on these regulations visit the government website.

Manitoba

What are the general holidays in Manitoba?

There are 9 General Holidays:

• New Year's Day
• Louis Riel Day (third Monday in February)
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Easter Sunday, Terry Fox Day, and Boxing Day are not General Holidays. Employees who do not work on these days do not have to be paid. Employers have the discretion to treat these days as General Holidays.

Remembrance Day (November 11) is not a general holiday, but there are restrictions for operating businesses and special requirements for paying employees who work that day. More information is available in the Remembrance Day fact sheet. 

Eligibility

All employees are eligible for general holiday pay unless they are:

• Scheduled to work on the holiday and are absent without permission from the employer.
• Absent from work without permission on their last scheduled shift before or first scheduled shift after the holiday. 

General Holiday pay 

Employees who work the same number of hours each shift get one regular workday’s pay as general holiday pay. For employees whose hours of work or wages vary, general holiday pay is 5% of the gross wages (not including overtime) earned in the 4-week period immediately before the holiday.

In most cases, employees who work on a General Holiday receive General Holiday pay plus one and a half times their wages for the hours worked. However, workers at the following receive regular wages for working a General Holiday if they receive another day off with General Holiday pay in the next 30 days.

• gas station,
• hotel,
• restaurant,
• place of amusement,
• continuously operating business,
• climate-controlled agricultural business, or
• a seasonal industry.

More information is available in the General Holiday fact sheet.

New Brunswick

What are the paid holidays in New Brunswick?

• New Year's Day
• Family Day (3rd Monday in February)
• Good Friday
• Canada Day
• New Brunswick Day
• Labour Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day

Eligibility

All employees, whether part-time, full-time, permanent, casual, on call receive public holiday pay if they meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Employed by the same employer for at least 90 calendar days in the 12 months before the paid holiday.
• Worked their scheduled day of work before and after the holiday (not necessarily the day immediately before or after the holiday), unless there is a good reason for not doing so (most reasons related to illness are considered acceptable).
• Reported for work and worked their scheduled shift on the public holiday, if they had agreed to do so, unless there was a good reason for not doing so.

How to pay employees for a paid holiday

There are two ways to calculate holiday pay in New Brunswick. 

Option One: Paid like a regular day

You pay the employee a regular day’s wage for the statutory holiday when the holiday rolls around—even if they are not scheduled to work on the day the holiday falls. 

If an employee works a variety of shifts, a regular day is calculated by taking the number of hours worked in the last 30 days before the holiday (not including overtime) and dividing it by the number of days worked.

Example: If in the 30 days before a holiday an employee worked 60 hours over 12 shifts (60 ÷ 12 = 5) then a regular working day would be 5 hours.

Option Two: Paid a bit on each pay cheque

You have the option of paying 4% of an employee’s total gross wages on each pay cheque. 

Over the course of the year, the 4% is equivalent to what a full-time employee would earn for a holiday using method one. This method may be easier to track for employers that have shift work and casual workers. 

When an employee works on a statutory holiday: 

In addition to the above, regardless of how holiday pay is calculated, if an employee works on a statutory holiday, they will also get paid one and a half times their hourly wage for that day. 

Example: If an employee makes $15.00 an hour and works on a holiday, they will get $15.00 x 1.5 = $22.50 per hour worked on that holiday.

Note: There may be exceptions. Employees in certain occupations (e.g., professionals, house and car salesmen) do not qualify to receive pay for a public holiday. 

More information is available on the government fact sheet. 

Newfoundland and Labrador

What are the public holidays in Newfoundland and Labrador? 

• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday
• Memorial Day (Canada Day)
• Labour Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day 

Eligibility

Regardless of whether they are full-time, part-time, or casual, all employees who have been with an employer for at least 30 calendar days and work their scheduled shift before and after the paid holiday, qualify to be paid for a statutory holiday.

How do I pay my employees for a public holiday? 

When an employee works on a paid public holiday, they are entitled to choose one of the following: 

• Wages at twice their regular rate for the hours worked on the holiday,
• An additional day off with pay within 30 days of the holiday, or
• An additional paid vacation day. 

There are no qualifiers to be met to receive this benefit and the employee chooses their benefit.

When an employee works on a paid holiday, but a lesser number of hours than they normally would have worked:

• they are entitled to receive wages at their regular rate for the hours worked, plus
• a regular day's pay. 

When an employee does not work on the paid public holiday, they are entitled to a regular day’s pay as long as the employee has been employed by the employer for at least 30 calendar days and has worked their scheduled shifts prior to and after the paid public holiday. 

If an employee works shifts of varying lengths, you can calculate their rate of pay by adding up the number of hours worked during the 3 weeks immediately prior to the paid public holiday and then dividing by 15 and multiplying that by their hourly wage.

For example, an employee earning $15.60 per hour worked 45 hours in the three weeks prior to the holiday. Therefore 45 hours/15 = 3 hours for this statutory holiday. The employee would get paid $15.60 x 3 hours for the holiday. 

When the paid public holiday falls on an employee’s scheduled day off, the employee should be given off either the first working day after the public holiday or an alternate day off agreed to mutually by the employer and employee. This day will be paid day off for the employee. 

For further information please see Employment Standards in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Northwest Territories

What are the Statutory Holidays in the Northwest Territories?

• New Year's Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• National Indigenous Peoples Day
• Canada Day
• The first Monday in August
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day.

An employee is entitled to a holiday with pay, whether it falls on a day of work or not.

Easter Monday and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays, but an employer may choose to recognize them.

Eligibility

All employees who have been employed with the employer for at least 30 days within the previous 12 months are eligible for statutory holiday pay. The employee must:

• Work their scheduled shift before and after the holiday.
• Work on the holiday if they are scheduled to or are called in.

Employees on pregnancy or parental leave are not entitled to statutory holiday pay. 

Calculating pay

An employee who meets the eligibility criteria but does not work on the holiday is eligible to receive an average day’s pay. 

An employee who meets the eligibility criteria and works on the holiday must receive time and a half for the hours worked, plus a regular day’s pay. Or the employee may receive regular pay for the hours worked plus another day off with pay.

A regular day’s pay is equal to or greater than the regular rate of wages for the normal hours of work of the employee, if the employee’s wages are calculated based on time. 

If wages are calculated on another basis, then the regular rate of wages is the average of the daily wages of the 4 weeks immediately preceding the week in which the statutory holiday occurs. 

More information is available on the government site. 

Nova Scotia

What are the Statutory Holidays in Nova Scotia?

• New Year’s Day
• Nova Scotia Heritage Day (third Monday in February)
• Good Friday
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• Christmas Day

Note: A separate law covers Remembrance Day.

Natal Day is considered a civic holiday and is not a statutory holiday; therefore, the rules to pay your employees for a statutory holiday do not apply. 

Which employees qualify for paid holidays in Nova Scotia?

To qualify to have a day off with pay for these holidays an employee must:

• be entitled to receive pay for at least 15 of the 30 calendar days before the holiday, and
• have worked on their last scheduled shift or day before the holiday and on the first scheduled shift or day after the holiday

Being entitled to work 15 out of the 30 calendar days immediately before the holiday does not necessarily mean the employee worked 15 out of 30 days. For example, if an employee is sick and the employer has a paid sick time policy, or if the employee is attending a course and is being paid wages for attending, the employee may still qualify for the paid holiday.

Also, the employee must have worked their last scheduled shift before the holiday and on their first scheduled shift after the holiday. If the day immediately before or after the holiday is one when the employee is not scheduled to work, then they may still qualify for the paid holiday as long as they worked their scheduled shift.

Paying an employee for a statutory holiday

If an employee qualifies for the holiday and is given the day off, the employer must pay a regular day’s pay for that holiday.

If an employee’s shifts vary in the number of hours worked from day to day, the employer must determine the employee’s average daily hours over 30 days prior to the holiday in order to calculate what to pay the employee for the holiday. 

For example, if an employee worked 20 of the 30 calendar days before the holiday for a total of 160 hours, the calculations would be as follows:  160 ÷ 20 = 8 average hours worked per shift. This employee would get paid 8 hours for the holiday.

If the holiday falls on an employee’s regular day off, the employee is entitled to an alternate day off with pay.

How does an employer calculate holiday pay when the employee works on a holiday?

An employee who works on a statutory holiday and who qualifies to be paid holiday pay is entitled to receive both of the following:

• a regular day’s pay, and
• one and a half times the employee’s regular rate of wages for the hours worked on that holiday. 

Is Remembrance Day a paid public holiday in Nova Scotia?

Remembrance Day is a holiday under the Remembrance Day Act and is treated somewhat differently than the statutory holidays under the Labour Standards Code. 

Most, but not all, employees who work on Remembrance Day and who have worked on at least 15 of the 30 calendar days immediately before Remembrance Day are entitled to receive a holiday with pay. Employees who do not work on Remembrance Day do not get paid for the day.

Employees in the following industries are not eligible for an alternate day off with pay even if they work on Remembrance Day:

• Farming, fishing, and aquaculture.
• Christmas Tree operations, tree harvesting.
• Logging and forest industry as defined by the Labour Standards Code.
• Industrial undertakings as defined by the Labour Standards Code (section 2(h)).

For more details on the Remembrance Day holiday, see the province’s FAQs.

There are special rules for employees who work in a continuous operation, and some employees are not covered by statutory holiday rules. More information is available on the government site.

Nunavut

What are the general holidays in Nunavut?

• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Nunavut Day
• The first Monday in August
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day 

Eligibility

All employees who have been employed with the employer for at least 30 days within the previous 12 months are eligible for statutory holiday pay. The employee must:

• Work their scheduled shift before and after the holiday.
• Work on the holiday if they are scheduled to or are called in.

Employees on pregnancy or parental leave are not entitled to statutory holiday pay. 

Calculating pay

An employee who meets the eligibility criteria but does not work on the holiday is eligible to receive an average day’s pay. 

An employee who meets the eligibility criteria and works on the holiday must receive time and a half for the hours worked, plus a regular day’s pay. Or the employee may receive regular pay for the hours worked plus another day off with pay.

More information is available on the government site. 

Ontario

What are the public holidays in Ontario?

• New Year's Day
• Family Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day 

How does an employee qualify for Public Holiday Pay?

To collect public holiday pay, employees must have worked their last regularly scheduled day/shift before the holiday and their first regularly scheduled day/shift after the holiday.

What is the public holiday formula?

In order to calculate your employees' public holiday pay; take the regular wages over the last four weeks before the holiday and divide by 20.

Is vacation pay used when calculating public holiday pay?

Yes, if vacation pay was received by the employee in the four work weeks prior to the public holiday, it is used to calculate public holiday pay. This may include paid vacation time or 4 to 6% vacation pay on every cheque or vacation pay in either a portion or a lump sum.  

What if I require my employee to work on a holiday?

Your employee can agree electronically or in writing to work on the holiday and be paid:

• their regular wages for all hours worked on the public holiday and receive another substitute holiday for which they must be paid public holiday pay. Regular wages do not include overtime pay, termination pay, severance and premium pay, termination of assignment pay (for temporary help agency employees) personal emergency leave pay, domestic or sexual violence leave pay or pay for other holidays.

or

• public holiday pay plus premium pay for all hours worked on the public holiday and not receive another day off (called a “substitute” holiday)

What if my employee does not work on a day a public holiday falls on?

When a public holiday falls on a day your employee is not scheduled to work, the holiday must be given on a substitute weekday. This includes situations where the public holiday falls on the weekend. 

Your employee is entitled to:

• a substitute holiday off with public holiday pay.

or

• public holiday pay for the public holiday, if the employee agrees to this electronically or in writing (in this case, the employee will not be given a substitute day off).

Note:

• Your employee is entitled to a substitute holiday within three months after the public holiday unless the employee agrees electronically or in writing, that the substitute day off is scheduled up to 12 months after the public holiday.
• If an employee receives a substitute holiday, you must: inform the employee before the holiday by a written statement that contains the public holiday that is being substituted, the date of the substitute holiday, and the date that the statement is given to the employee.

The Ministry of Labour offers a public holiday pay calculator for your convenience.

Am I required to close my business for Easter Sunday?

Easter Sunday is not a public holiday but under the Retail Business Holidays Act all businesses are required to be closed.  Please get in touch with a CFIB Business Advisor at 1 833-568-2342 to determine if there are any exemptions in your municipality. 

Easter Monday is not a public holiday.

Am I required to close my business for Civic Holiday/Simcoe Day?

Civic Day/Simcoe Day (first Monday in August) is not a Public Holiday under Employment Standards legislation or under the Retail Business Holidays Act; but Canada Post, libraries, government ministries and some businesses do close on that day.

Is there any exemption to Public Holiday Pay?

We advise you to check with the "Industries and jobs with exemptions or special rules" tool and consult your legal advisor(s) for interpretation. 

What if I want to remain open on the Public Holiday?

Under the Retail Business Holidays Act, all retail businesses must remain closed on a public holiday. The only exception is if their municipality has a by-law that states they can be open or if they are in a tourist area.

All other businesses are allowed to stay open on the public holiday and pay their employees their regular wages for that day. However, they must offer each employee a substitute day off, with public holiday pay and notify each employee in writing of which day that will be. Each employee must agree to that in writing.

More information is available on the government site. 

Prince Edward Island

What are the public holidays in Prince Edward Island?

• New Year’s Day
• Islander Day (3rd Monday in February)
• Good Friday
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day

Qualifying for Paid Holidays

To have a day off with pay for these holidays, an employee must:

• be employed by the same employer for 30 calendar days prior to the holiday,
• have earned pay on at least 15 of the 30 calendar days before the holiday, and
• have worked their last scheduled shift or day before the holiday and on the first scheduled shift or day after the holiday

How do I pay my employees for a public holiday?

When an employee works on a paid public holiday, they are entitled to receive either of the following:

• the amount the employee would have normally received for that day; and
• one and a half times the employee’s regular rate of wages for the number of hours worked on that holiday

or

• regular rate of wages for the number of hours worked on that day; plus,
• another day off with the employee's regular day of pay on a date agreed upon by the employer and employee before the employee's next paid vacation

When an employee does not work on the paid public holiday, they are entitled to receive a day off with pay on the working day immediately following the general holiday or another day agreed upon by the employee and the employer.

If an employee works shifts of varying lengths or if wages change from pay to pay, the employer should average hours or wages over 30 days to calculate what to pay the employee for the holiday.

For example, if an employee worked 20 of the 30 calendar days before the holiday for a total of 170 hours, the calculations would be as follows: 170 ÷ 20 = 8.5 average hours worked per shift.

When the paid public holiday falls on an employee’s scheduled day off, the employee should be given off either the first working day after the public holiday or an alternate day off agreed to mutually by the employer and employee. This day will be paid day for the employee.

For further information please see the Prince Edward Island Guide to Employment Standards.

Quebec

What are the statutory holidays in Quebec?

The statutory holidays listed in the Act Respecting Labour Standards and the National Holiday Act are:

• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday or Easter Monday, whichever the employer chooses
• National Patriots’ Day/Journée des patriotes (the Monday preceding May 25)
• National Holiday/Fête nationale (June 24 or June 25 if June 24 falls on a Sunday, for employees who do not usually work Sundays)
• Canada Day (July 1 or July 2 if July 1 falls on a Sunday)
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas Day

• January 2
• Good Friday and Easter Monday

Remembrance Day (November 11) and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30) are not statutory holidays in Quebec.

How do I calculate statutory holiday pay?

You calculate 1/20th of the wages that an employee earned during the four weeks preceding the holiday (excluding overtime). Employees are entitled to this pay even if the statutory holiday does not fall on a day when they would normally have worked.

Important: For employees paid in whole or in part by commission their holiday pay is equal to 1/60th of gross wages earned (without regard for overtime) during the 12 full weeks of pay preceding the week in which the holiday occurs. 

There is just one restriction: Employees must not have been absent from work without their employer’s authorization or without a valid reason on the day preceding or following the statutory holiday.

What if an employee works on a statutory holiday?

Employees who work on a statutory holiday are entitled to holiday pay or a compensatory holiday, whichever the employer chooses. The compensatory holiday must be taken within a three-week period preceding or following the statutory holiday, except in the case of the National Holiday (Fête nationale).

Exceptions: National holidays

In Quebec, there are some exceptions to these rules, including Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, to which the National Holiday Act applies. 

• Employees who do not normally work on June 24 are entitled to holiday pay or a compensatory holiday, whichever the employer chooses. The compensatory holiday must be taken on the preceding or following business day.
• Employees are entitled to their holiday pay even if they are absent from work without a valid reason on the business day preceding or following June 24.

You can calculate what you’ll need to pay your employees by using the indemnity calculation tool developed by the CNESST.  

When Christmas falls on a Saturday, can I move the statutory holiday to Friday or Monday?

No. Statutory holidays are fixed dates and therefore cannot be moved. The Act Respecting Labour Standards specifies that employees are entitled to holiday pay for a statutory holiday, whether or not they normally work that day and regardless of whether it is a weekday or a weekend. Under this principle, employees who normally work from Monday to Friday would be entitled to their usual wages, plus pay for a statutory holiday that falls on a weekend, or to a compensatory holiday, whichever the employer chooses.

Important: Overtime could apply under certain conditions.

My company is closed on Sundays (a statutory holiday) and I would like to give my employees Monday off. How can I do this while still complying with the law?

You can opt to give a compensatory holiday instead of the holiday pay.

More information is available on the government site. 

Saskatchewan

What are the Public Holidays in Saskatchewan?

• New Year's Day
• Family Day (third Monday in February)
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Saskatchewan Day (first Monday in August)
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day 

Easter Monday, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Christmas Eve and Boxing Day are not public holidays in Saskatchewan.

How is Public Holiday pay calculated?

Employees earn public holiday pay equal to 5% of their wages earned in the four weeks (28 days) before the public holiday. Employees earn this pay whether or not they work on the public (statutory) holiday. There is no minimum number of days worked before the holiday to be eligible for Public Holiday Pay. Public holiday pay is to be paid out in the pay period the holiday occurs in.

Employees who work on a public holiday are entitled to public holiday pay and a premium pay of one and a half times their hourly wage for each hour worked.

Minimum call-out rules on Public Holidays

Regular minimum call-out rules apply. If an employer schedules an employee to work on a public holiday, the employee will receive premium pay, at one and a half times their hourly wage, for all hours worked. However, if the amount of the premium pay for the hours worked is less than what the employee would have received for minimum call-out pay, the employee will be paid for three hours of work at their hourly wage. The employee scheduled to work on a public holiday is paid the greater amount of premium pay or minimum call-out pay. To be eligible for public holiday pay the employee must work at least one day prior to the holiday.

During a week with a public holiday, overtime is payable to eligible employees after 32 hours. Employers are also required to have an employee’s consent to schedule them to work or be available for more than 36 hours in that week.

What happens when a Public Holiday falls on a Sunday?

If your business is normally open on Sunday, the public holiday pay rules apply to that Sunday. Where businesses are normally closed on Sunday, and New Year's Day, Christmas Day, or Remembrance Day fall on a Sunday, the following Monday is observed as a public holiday.

For Canada Day, federal law says when July 1 falls on a Sunday, the holiday is observed on Monday, July 2.

Note: When a public holiday falls on a Saturday, it is not observed on a different day. A permit is required to move a Public Holiday.

Employers can ask the province for a permit to observe a public holiday on a different day. Complete a Move a Public Holiday Permit Application Form and submit it to the Director of Employment Standards. A majority of employees must agree to move a holiday. Applications should be submitted at least 2 weeks before the Public Holiday to allow for processing time.

More information is available on the government site. 

Yukon

What are the general holidays in the Yukon?

• New Years Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• National Indigenous Peoples Day
• Canada Day
• Discovery Day
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day

Heritage Day, Easter Monday, and Boxing Day are not general holidays in Yukon.

To be eligible for general holiday pay an employee:

• Must have been employed 30 calendar days before the holiday, and
• have worked or earned wages (e.g., paid vacation time) in the two-week period before the holiday, and
• worked their last scheduled shift before the holiday and their first scheduled shift after the holiday, unless their absence is permitted by the Employment Standards Act. This could include things like sick leave or a day off that has been requested and given, and
• be required to work on the holiday if called to work but would be entitled to additional pay depending on whether they work regular hours and how they're paid.

How do I pay my employees for a statutory holiday?

If an employee works on the statutory holiday, they can either:

• Be paid the applicable overtime rate for all hours worked on the holiday; or
• Be paid their regular rate for the hours worked and receive another day off with pay. 

If an employee doesn’t work on the holiday

Hourly employees must be paid the equivalent of their regular rate of pay for their normal hours of work. I.e., if they normally work 8 hours a day, the employee is entitled to 8 hours’ pay. If the employee works differing length shifts, then they must be paid 10% of the wages earned (excluding vacation but including overtime) in the 2 calendar weeks prior to the week ion which the holiday falls. 

Salaried employees who work regular hours must be given a day off without a reduction in their salary. 

Employees who earn on commission or on a piece-work basis must be paid their average daily wage, excluding overtime and bonuses, earned in the week of the holiday.

If the holiday falls on an employee’s day off, then the first working day immediately after the holiday becomes their statutory holiday. 

For more information, visit Employee Information for Statutory Holidays on the government website.