When is an employee eligible for stat holiday pay? Asked and answered!

A “statutory holiday” can go by many names in the payroll world! And whether it’s referred to in your jurisdiction as a stat holiday, general holiday, public holiday, or a paid holiday, it simply means that the designated day – at the federal, provincial, or territorial level – is recognized legislatively as a holiday.

Running a business, you’re certainly already familiar with these days because they affect so many aspects of your operations – from fluctuating hours and employee schedules to the application of the legislative requirements to your payroll. However, this means you’re also familiar with how complex they can be!

In this two-part blog series, we’ll be answering two of the most common questions asked of our Client Service Representatives: “how do I know who’s eligible to receive stat holiday pay?” and “how do I know how much to pay them?”

First up – let’s talk employee eligibility to receive statutory holiday pay. After all, like the regulations surrounding statutory holidays themselves, employee eligibility also differs across Canada. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the employee eligibility requirements by province and territory…

British Columbia (BC)

There are 11 statutory holidays in BC where eligible employees receive statutory holiday pay whether or not they work that day.

Employee eligibility

“Some people think employees only need to work the day before and the day after to qualify for statutory holiday pay,” reads the province’s website. “This isn’t the case in B.C.”

Rather, the basic requirement to qualify for statutory holiday pay in the province is for the employee to have been employed for 30 calendar days and to have worked or earned wages on 15 of the 30 days before the statutory holiday.

However, there’s an exception: there are eight employee groups who don’t receive statutory holiday pay (and therefore, are not eligible):

1. Nursing students and volunteer firefighters.
2. Farm workers.
3. Managers.
4. Fishers.
5. High technology professionals.
6. If receiving 4.4% on each pay in lieu – silviculture workers.
7. If all wages earned in the pay period are greater than the amount earned at base rate plus overtime and stats – commission sales.
8. If receiving 4.4% each pay in lieu – car and truck sales.

If this applies to your business, BC employers are encouraged to check the Employment Standards Regulations for more information.

For more information on employee eligibility and statutory holiday pay in BC, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards/statutory-holidays/calculate-statutory-holiday-pay.

Alberta

There are nine general holidays in Alberta where eligible employees must be paid general holiday pay for working on or in lieu of the holiday.

Employee eligibility

To qualify for general holiday pay in Alberta, an employee has to:

• Have worked for the same employer for a minimum of 30 working days in the 365 days prior to the holiday.
• Have worked their scheduled shift both before and after the general holiday (unless otherwise approved by their employer).
• Worked on the general holiday (if they’re scheduled to do so).

If the general holiday is a regular working day (or if an employee has worked on a general holiday that’s not a typical working day), the eligible employee is entitled to general holiday pay. To determine if the general holiday is a regular working day, “the Five of Nine rule” is applied. For instance, if the employee has worked five of the same weekday in the last nine weeks before a general holiday that falls on that same weekday, that day is then considered a regular day of work for which they’re entitled to general holiday pay.

For more information on employee eligibility for general holiday pay in Alberta, visit: https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-general-holidays#jumplinks-4.

Saskatchewan

In Saskatchewan, there are 10 public holidays where “for most employees, these are days off with pay” (according to the province’s website). “Some employees may be required to work and special wage rates would apply.”

Employee eligibility

The employee eligibility requirements for the province are straightforward: all employees working in Saskatchewan are entitled to receive public holiday pay.

For more information on public holidays and employee eligibility for public holiday pay, visit: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/employment-standards/public-statutory-holidays/list-of-saskatchewan-public-holidays.

Manitoba

There are nine general holidays in Manitoba where most employees receive general holiday pay whether or not they’re working that day.

Employee eligibility

Employee eligibility for general holiday pay in Manitoba changed in 2007; since then, employees have received general holiday pay regardless of employment status (full-time, part-time, etc.).

There are two basic rules to qualify for general holiday pay in the province:

• The employee works their scheduled shift both before and after the holiday, unless otherwise approved by their employer.
• They work their scheduled shift on the general holiday, unless otherwise approved by their employer.

Manitoba employers should note that certain employee groups under The Elections Act, such as election officials and enumerators, are not eligible for general holiday pay. Employers within the construction industry should also be aware that there are different general holiday pay legislative parameters applicable to them (although construction industry employees are eligible to receive general holiday pay).

For more information on general holidays in Manitoba, visit: https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/doc,gen-holidays-after-april-30-07,factsheet.html.

Ontario

There are nine public holidays in Ontario, where eligible employees are entitled to receive the day off work with public holiday pay.

Employee eligibility

Employees are eligible for public holiday pay in Ontario if they:

• Have worked their last scheduled shift before and after the public holiday, unless otherwise approved by their employer (known as the “Last and First rule”).
• Have worked their entire shift on the public holiday, unless otherwise approved by their employer.

For more information on public holiday employee eligibility requirements in Ontario, visit: https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/public-holidays#section-0.

Québec

There are eight paid statutory holidays in Québec where eligible employees are to receive the day off and an indemnity (compensation).

Employers in the province should be aware of two provisions when it comes to paid statutory holidays:

• They’re unable to choose a different day to observe the holiday.
• They have the option to observe either Good Friday or Easter Monday.

Employee eligibility

To qualify for the indemnity for a paid statutory holiday in the province, an employee can’t be absent from work either the day before or after the holiday without a valid reason or approval from their employer.

There’s a special provision for Québec’s National Holiday: employees are eligible to receive the day off and an indemnity if they’re employed on the date of Fête nationale du Québec.

For more information on paid statutory holidays in Québec, visit: https://www.cnesst.gouv.qc.ca/en/working-conditions/leave/statutory-holidays/list-paid-statutory-holidays.

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)

There are six public holidays in NL, any of which can be substituted with a different date of recognition if outlined in the workplace’s collective agreement.

Employee eligibility

To qualify for public holiday pay in NL, an employee has to:

• Have been with the same employer in the 30 calendar days leading up to the holiday.
• Have worked their scheduled shift both before and after the holiday.

For more information on public holiday pay in NL, visit: https://www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/files/Publications_Labour_Relations_At_Work_Updates_October-2022.pdf.

New Brunswick (NB)

There are eight paid public holidays in NB where eligible employees are entitled to receive the day off with holiday pay.

Employee eligibility

There are unique employee eligibility requirements for holiday pay in NB compared to other jurisdictions in Canada. To qualify for holiday pay, employees have to:

• Have been employed for 90 calendar days in the 365 days preceding the holiday.
• Have worked their regularly-scheduled shift both before and after the holiday (which doesn’t have to immediately precede or follow the holiday). If the employee doesn’t work those shifts, they can still qualify for holiday pay if the absence was for a good reason.

There are two exceptions to employee eligibility for holiday pay in the province, which are:

• The employee cannot have a superseding agreement in which they decide which days to work or not work.
• There are specific occupations exempt by legislation (for a list of occupations, NB employers should contact the Employment Standards Branch).

Employers in the province should be aware that in order for an employee to work on a public holiday, there must be an agreement in place to do so. If an employee has agreed to work on a paid public holiday, they should do so unless there’s a good reason not to.

For more information on holiday pay in New Brunswick, visit: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/petl-epft/PDF/es/FactSheets/PublicHolidaysVacation.pdf.

Nova Scotia

There are six paid holidays in Nova Scotia where eligible employees typically receive the day off with pay.

Employers in the province should be aware that there’s separate legislation for Remembrance Day (the Remembrance Day Act), which outlines specific parameters for holiday pay on November 11. There’s also separate legislation governing designated retail closing days. The application of holiday pay for these days can vary (taking into consideration that some retail closing days are also paid holidays).

Employee eligibility

For employees in Nova Scotia to qualify for holiday pay, they have to:

• Have worked their last scheduled shift both before and after the paid holiday.
• Have been eligible to receive pay for 15 of 30 calendar days before the holiday.

For more information on holiday pay in Nova Scotia, visit: https://novascotia.ca/lae/employmentrights/holidaypay.asp.

Prince Edward Island (PEI)

There are eight paid holidays in PEI where eligible employees are typically entitled to the day off work with pay.

Employee eligibility

To qualify for a paid holiday, employees have to:

• Have been with the same employer for 30 calendar days prior to the holiday, and have earned wages on 15 of those 30 days.
• Have worked their scheduled shift both before and after the holiday.

There are two exceptions to employee eligibility criteria: salespersons (whose wages are made up mainly of commissions) and farm labourers. Neither are included in holiday pay legislation.

For more information on holiday pay in PEI, visit: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/workforce-advanced-learning-and-population/paid-holidays.

Yukon

There are 11 statutory holidays in the Yukon where eligible employees receive the day off with general holiday pay.

Employee eligibility

To qualify for general holiday pay for a statutory holiday in the Yukon, the employee must:

• Have been employed for 30 calendar days.
• Have worked their scheduled shift both before and after the statutory holiday.
• Work on the holiday if they’re called in by their employer.

If an employee is absent on their scheduled shift either before or after the statutory holiday, but the absence is due to a sick leave or a permitted time off request, they can still be eligible for general holiday pay. Also, if an employee is called in to work on a statutory holiday by their employer, they’re entitled to additional pay.

For more information on general holiday pay in the Yukon, visit: https://yukon.ca/en/employee-information-statutory-holidays.

Northwest Territories

There are 11 statutory holidays in the Northwest Territories where eligible employees are entitled to receive the day off with general holiday pay.

Employee eligibility

For employees to qualify for general holiday pay in the Northwest Territories, they must:

• Have been employed with the same employer for 30 of the previous 365 days.
• Have worked their scheduled shift both before and after the statutory holiday.
• Work on the statutory holiday if their employer calls them into work.

If the employee is absent for their scheduled shift either before or after the holiday, but it was due to a sick leave or approved vacation, the employee is still eligible for general holiday pay.

For more information on general holiday pay in the Northwest Territories, visit: https://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/sites/ece/files/resources/2021_08-_factsheet-_employment_standards_-_english_1.pdf.

Nunavut

There are 10 general holidays in Nunavut where eligible employees are to receive the day off with general holiday pay.

Employee eligibility

To qualify for general holiday pay in Nunavut, an employee must:

• Have worked for the same employer for 30 of the last 365 days prior to the general holiday.
• Have worked their last scheduled shift both before and after the general holiday (unless otherwise granted by their employer).
• Work on the general holiday if they’re called into work by their employer.
• Not be on pregnancy or parental leave.

For more information on general holiday pay in Nunavut, visit: https://www.nu-lsco.ca/faq-s.

Yes, Payworks can help with applying employee eligibility rules to stat holiday pay calculations!

We’re pleased to offer a Statutory Holiday Calculator within our Time Management solution, where holiday pay can be calculated in under five clicks (yes, it really is that simple!).

A few intuitive features of this tool that you’re sure to love:

• It can apply the applicable employee eligibility rules that you configure surrounding holiday pay. The stat calculator will work its magic based on the eligibility entered into the system – which, you’ll only have to enter once as opposed to each pay cycle where a holiday falls!
• Admins have the capability to “Show Only Employees Entitled to Stat Pay”. Meaning, you’ll be able to easily view a list of the folks who are entitled to stat pay for the payroll run you’re administering.
• If needed, rules set up within the Statutory Holiday Calculator can be overridden by the administrator.

All tallies can be reviewed and then applied to Payroll, with the Statutory Holiday Calculator values visible on the Pay Grid. Did we just hear a sigh of relief?

PS: as we said earlier, we’ll be diving into the details of statutory holiday pay calculations soon – so keep your eyes on the blog!

To learn more about all of the ways our Time Management solution can help streamline the day-to-day tasks of tracking and paying employees properly for their hours worked (on holidays or otherwise!), visit: https://www.payworks.ca/landing-pages/product/time-management.