Statutory Holiday Pay & Vacation Pay in Canada

Statutory holiday pay and vacation pay are two of the most common places a pay stub comes up short — especially for part-time, casual, and shift workers. Both rights follow strict provincial or federal formulas, and part-time or hourly status does not cancel either one.

PART 1: Statutory holiday pay — qualifying rules and formulas

Every jurisdiction below sets its own list of statutory (public or general) holidays, its own qualifying rule, and its own formula for holiday pay. Current rates and holiday counts are also tracked on our Pay and rights Facts pages, and shift hours can be checked in the Canadian Overtime & Statutory Holiday Pay Calculator.

Ontario (Employment Standards Act, 2000 — 9 public holidays)

• Qualifying rule (“last and first” rule): Ontario has no minimum length-of-employment waiting period for public holiday pay. A covered employee qualifies unless they fail, without reasonable cause, to work all of their last regularly scheduled day of work before the public holiday or all of their first regularly scheduled day of work after the public holiday (or fail without reasonable cause to work their shift on the holiday if they agreed or were required to work it). Reasonable cause includes documented illness, injury, or an emergency beyond the worker’s control — and the rule looks at the worker’s own scheduled shifts, not whether they worked the calendar day right before or after.
• Holiday pay formula: (Regular wages earned + vacation pay payable in the 4 work weeks before the work week of the holiday) ÷ 20. Overtime pay and premium pay are excluded from regular wages in that 4-week total.
• Working on a public holiday: In Ontario, an employee who works on a public holiday receives either public holiday pay plus premium pay at 1.5 times their regular rate for each hour worked, or their regular rate for hours worked plus a substitute paid day off paid at public holiday pay (the employer must give a written substitute-holiday statement before the public holiday).

British Columbia (Employment Standards Act — 11 statutory holidays)

• Qualifying rule (30 calendar days + 15 of 30 days): In British Columbia, a covered employee qualifies for statutory holiday pay after being employed for at least 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday and having worked or earned wages on 15 of the 30 calendar days right before the holiday (or having worked under a valid averaging agreement at any time in that 30-day period). Note that British Columbia has 11 statutory holidays (including B.C. Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and Remembrance Day; Easter Monday and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays under the B.C. Act).
• Holiday pay formula (“average day’s pay”): Total wages earned in the 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday (excluding overtime) ÷ number of days worked or earned wages within that 30-day period (vacation days taken during those 30 days count as days earned).
• Working on a statutory holiday: In British Columbia, a qualifying employee who works on a statutory holiday receives an average day’s pay PLUS 1.5 times their regular wage for the first 12 hours worked on the holiday, and 2.0 times (double time) for any hours worked over 12 on that day. An employee who works on the holiday without meeting the 15-of-30 qualifying test is paid as on a regular workday.

Alberta (Employment Standards Code — 9 general holidays)

• Qualifying rule (30 workdays + scheduled shifts + regular workday test): In Alberta, an employee qualifies for general holiday pay once they have worked at least 30 workdays for the employer in the 12 months before the holiday. An employee does not qualify if they are absent without employer consent from their last scheduled shift before or first scheduled shift after the holiday, or fail without consent to work on the general holiday when scheduled or required.
• Regular vs. non-regular day of work: In Alberta, if the holiday falls on a regular day of work (for irregular schedules, a weekday worked in at least 5 of the last 9 weeks) and the worker has the day off, the employer pays the average daily wage. If a qualifying employee works on a holiday that is a regular day of work, the employer must provide either the average daily wage plus 1.5 times the regular wage rate for hours worked, or regular wages for hours worked plus a future paid day off at the average daily wage. If the holiday falls on a non-regular workday and the qualifying employee works, they receive 1.5 times their regular wage rate for each hour worked (if they do not work on a non-regular day, general holiday pay is not owed).
• Holiday pay formula (“average daily wage”): Total wages (excluding overtime) averaged over the days worked in the 4 weeks immediately before the general holiday (or the 4 weeks ending on the last day of the pay period right before the holiday).

Federally regulated workplaces (Canada Labour Code, Part III — 10 general holidays)

• Qualifying rule: Federally regulated employees (such as bank, telecom, airline, postal, and interprovincial transport workers) are covered by 10 general holidays per year (including the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, and Boxing Day). Part III of the Canada Labour Code has no 30-day minimum employment waiting period to qualify for general holiday pay.
• Holiday pay formula: For most employees, general holiday pay is at least one-twentieth (1/20, or 5%) of wages earned (excluding overtime) in the 4-week period immediately before the week of the general holiday (for commission-paid employees with at least 12 weeks of service, at least 1/60 of wages in the 12 preceding weeks).
• Working on a general holiday: A federally regulated employee required to work on a general holiday receives their general holiday pay PLUS at least 1.5 times their regular rate of wages for the hours worked (special substitution rules apply to continuous operations such as airlines, broadcasting, and rail/trucking).

PART 2: Vacation pay & vacation time — 4%, 6%, and 8% rules

In Canada, vacation time (weeks off work) and vacation pay (a percentage of wages) are related but distinct statutory minimums. Part-time, casual, and seasonal employees earn vacation pay on their wages even when they work variable hours, and an employer must pay out all unpaid accrued vacation pay when employment ends.

• Ontario (Employment Standards Act, 2000, Part XI):
• Under 5 years of employment: At least 2 weeks of vacation time per entitlement year and 4% of gross wages (excluding vacation pay itself).
• 5 or more years of employment: At least 3 weeks of vacation time and 6% of gross wages.
• Vacation pay can be paid on every paycheque only if the employee agrees electronically or in writing, and it must be clearly itemized on the wage statement.
• British Columbia (Employment Standards Act, Part 7):
• After 5 calendar days of employment: Vacation pay begins accruing at 4% of total wages (including overtime and statutory holiday pay).
• After 12 consecutive months: At least 2 weeks of annual vacation time and 4% of total wages.
• After 5 consecutive years: At least 3 weeks of annual vacation time and 6% of total wages.
• Vacation pay is normally paid at least 7 days before the employee’s annual vacation, or on each payday if agreed in writing.
• Alberta (Employment Standards Code, Part 2 Division 6):
• Years 1 through 4 of employment: At least 2 weeks of annual vacation after each year of employment and 4% of wages (regular wages, work-related commission/incentive pay, and previously paid vacation pay in Alberta’s statutory definition, excluding overtime).
• 5 or more consecutive years: At least 3 weeks of annual vacation and 6% of wages.
• Federally regulated workplaces (Canada Labour Code, Part III Division IV):
• After 1 year of continuous employment: At least 2 weeks of vacation and 4% of wages.
• After 5 consecutive years: At least 3 weeks of vacation and 6% of wages.
• After 10 consecutive years: At least 4 weeks of vacation and 8% of wages.

PART 3: Copy-and-send message to check missing holiday or vacation pay

If a pay statement omits statutory holiday pay, pays straight time (1.0x) for hours worked on a holiday without a written substitute day off, or stays at 4% vacation pay past the five-year service mark, send a short written check-in:

Copy, fill in, sendCopy template

Subject: Statutory holiday / vacation pay check — pay period [start date] to [end date] — [your full name]

Hello [Manager or Payroll name],

I am reviewing my pay statement for the period from [start date] to [end date].

Could you please check two items for me: 1. Statutory holiday pay for [holiday name and date] — [I worked my scheduled shifts before and after the holiday / I worked X hours on the holiday, which appear at straight time rather than 1.5x plus holiday pay]. 2. Vacation pay accrual — [no 4% / 6% vacation pay line appears on my stub / my continuous start date was (date), which passed 5 years of service].

Please let me know how this was calculated and when any adjustment will be added.

Thank you, [Your full name] · [Employee ID or phone number]

If payroll does not fix an underpayment, see our Missing Pay or Shorted Hours guide for free government complaint deadlines (6 months in BC, Alberta, and federal jobs; 2 years in Ontario).

Where these rules stop. The rules above are the general statutory minimums for non-exempt employees in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and federally regulated workplaces. Special industry rules or exemptions apply in listed sectors — including construction employees (who often have separate vacation and holiday pay percentages paid on every cheque and no “last-and-first” shift test in some provinces), continuous operations, hospitality/hospital/hotel substitute-holiday rules in Ontario, farm and ranch workers, managers (for hours/premium rules in some provinces), and genuine independent contractors. Workers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut have separate provincial or territorial holiday lists and vacation thresholds (for example, Saskatchewan starts at 3 weeks / 3/52nds vacation pay). Quebec is not covered on this page (Quebec workplace rules will be added alongside a French edition). Unionized workers check their collective agreement first.

Free help contacts

Sources

• Ontario: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41, Parts X and XI; Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, Public holidays and Vacation. Last checked 2026-11-13.
• British Columbia: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 113, Parts 5 and 7; Province of British Columbia, Statutory holidays, Qualify for statutory holiday pay, Calculate statutory holiday pay, and Annual vacation. Last checked 2026-11-13.
• Alberta: Employment Standards Code, R.S.A. 2000, c. E-9, Part 2 Divisions 5 and 6; Government of Alberta, Employment standards rules – Alberta general holidays and Employment standards rules – Vacations and vacation pay. Last checked 2026-11-13.
• Federal: Canada Labour Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. L-2, Part III Divisions IV and V; Employment and Social Development Canada, Annual vacations and general holidays for federally regulated employees. Last checked 2026-11-13.

iamonmybreak publishes general information for working people. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for advice about your own situation. Rules differ by province and country and change over time; the date at the top of this piece is when we last checked. For your specific case, especially anything involving money you are owed, contact a free community legal clinic or your provincial or territorial labour standards office.