Your Right to Paid Holidays

Did you know there are laws that require your employer to pay you for holidays? These are called statutory (or paid) holidays. There are nine statutory holidays in BC. They are:
• New Years Day – January 1
• Good Friday – On a Friday between March 20 and April 23 (In 2010, it is April 2)
• Victoria Day – May 24 if it’s a Monday, otherwise the last Monday in May
• Canada Day – July 1
• BC Day – First Monday in August
• Labour Day – First Monday in September
• Thanksgiving Day – Second Monday in October
• Remembrance Day – November 11
• Christmas Day – December 25
Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, and Boxing Day (December 26) are not statutory holidays.
To get statutory holiday pay you must:
• Have worked for at least 30 days before the statutory holiday
• Have worked or earned wages on 15 of the 30 days immediately before the statutory holiday.
For example, to get statutory holiday pay for Canada Day, you need to have already worked 30 days at your job and worked on 15 days between June 1 and July 1 (Canada Day).

No extra pay for ineligible employees
If you are not eligible for statutory holiday pay, you can be paid as if it were a regular work day if you work on a statutory holiday. 

STATUTORY HOLIDAY ON A DAY OFF
When you are given a day off on a statutory holiday, or it falls on a regular day off, you are entitled to be paid an average day’s pay.

An average day’s pay is calculated by dividing your total wages earned in the past 30 days before the statutory holiday by the number of days you worked. Vacation days taken during this period count as days worked.
For example, if you earned $1,500 in the past 30 days and worked 20 of those days, your average day’s pay is $75.

Working on a statutory holiday
If you work on a statutory holiday, you should 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. Time-and-a-half is your hourly salary times 1.5 and double-time is two times your hourly salary.

SUBSTITUTING STATUTORY HOLIDAYS
An employer and a majority of employees can agree to substitute or switch another day off for a statutory holiday.

This article is a brief introduction to some of the laws about working in BC. For more detailed information, go to the website of the Employment Standards Branch at: www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/

 
This Project is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia