Rules about public holidays
In most jobs, you have the right to get public holidays off work with holiday pay.
If the ESA rules about public holidays cover your job, they apply:
- if you work full-time or part-time
- no matter how long you have worked in that job
- whether or not the public holiday falls on a day that you would usually work
In Ontario, there are 9 public holidays each year. Some people call these “stat holidays”.
New Year’s Day | January 1 |
Family Day | third Monday in February |
Good Friday | Friday before Easter Sunday (falls either in March or April) |
Victoria Day | Monday before May 25 |
Canada Day | July 1 |
Labour Day | first Monday in September |
Thanksgiving Day | second Monday in October |
Christmas Day | December 25 |
Boxing Day | December 26 |
To get holiday pay, you must meet the “last and first” rule. This rule says that you must work your regular workday, before and after the holiday, unless you had “reasonable cause” not to work. Examples of reasonable cause include being sick or injured.
To figure out your holiday pay:
- add up your regular wages plus vacation pay for the 4 work weeks before the work week with the holiday, and
- divide that total by 20.
Earning holiday pay
You get another day off with holiday pay if the public holiday is on a day when:
- you do not usually work, or
- you are on vacation.
For example, you work Monday to Friday and July 1 is on a Saturday. Your employer can decide that you will get Monday, July 3 off with holiday pay.
Or, if you agree in writing, you can just get holiday pay for the public holiday. This means that you do not get another day off.
Getting another day off
If you work on a public holiday and get another day off, you must get the other day off within 3 months of the holiday. Or, you can agree in writing to take the day off within 12 months of the holiday.
Before the public holiday, your employer must tell you in writing:
- the public holiday that you are working
- the date you get a day off because you are working on the holiday
- the date your employer is giving you this information in writing
Having to work on a public holiday
Some people must work on public holidays. For example, you might have to work on a public holiday if you work in:
- a hotel, motel, or tourist resort
- a hospital or nursing home
- a business or service that runs 24 hours each day over a period of 7 days
If you have to work on the holiday because of the kind of job you have, your employer decides if:
- You get holiday pay plus premium pay. Premium pay is 1½ times your regular wages.
- You get your regular pay and another day off with holiday pay.
Agreeing to work on a public holiday
If you do not have to work, you can agree in writing to work on a holiday. And you can get paid in one of these ways:
- regular pay and another day off with holiday pay, or
- holiday pay plus premium pay. Premium pay is 1½ times your regular rate of pay.
You have fewer options of how to get paid if you do not meet the “last and first” rule.
Last and first rule
This rule says that you must work your regular workday, before and after the holiday, unless you had “reasonable cause” not to work. Examples of reasonable cause include being sick or injured.
If you do not meet this rule, your employer will pay you premium pay for the hours you worked. You do not get holiday pay. And you cannot get another day off with holiday pay.
Previous page Next page