Public Holiday Pay Provisions
The average of an employee's regular salary and vacation pay for the four weeks leading up to the public holiday is divided by 20 to determine that employee's public holiday compensation. An employee is entitled to premium pay, which is 1.5 times their regular rate, if they labour on a public holiday.
If an employee works on a public holiday while doing other sorts of work that would normally exempt them from public holiday protections, they are still eligible for holiday benefits, unless the exempted work takes up more than half of their week.
The employer is required to provide the employee with the day off and public holiday compensation if the public holiday falls on a regular workday and the employee is not on vacation. However, if the employee misses their final planned workday before or the first day after the holiday without a valid reason, this benefit is forfeited.
On a public holiday that is typically a working day, employers and employees can agree that the worker will report for duty. If they do, they can either earn premium pay for hours worked plus public holiday compensation, or they can receive regular pay for hours worked and a substitute day off.
The employer is required to offer a substitute working day off with public holiday pay if a public holiday falls on a day that is not typically a working day or if the employee is on vacation. As an alternative, the parties can decide to just give the worker their public holiday salary without offering a replacement day. Additionally, this benefit is forfeited if the worker misses work on the days prior to or after the holiday without a valid reason.
The same rights as for working on a regular holiday—either regular pay plus a substitute day or public holiday pay plus premium pay—apply when employees agree to work on a holiday that is not a regular working day. However, these rights are subject to the same limitations based on attendance and agreement fulfillment.
Employees in Specific Industries
Workers in certain sectors, such as restaurants, hospitals, and continuous operations, might have to report for duty on public holidays. In these situations, individuals are entitled to either normal pay plus premium pay or public holiday pay plus a substitute day off. Regarding substitute days and the loss of benefits in the event that an employee misses work without a valid reason, the same guidelines and restrictions apply.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE!
Hours worked on a public holiday for which the worker is paid in premiums are not included in overtime calculations. Always ensure hours worked on a public holiday are noted. The employer also is required to provide public holiday pay to employees whose employment terminates before a substituted holiday is observed.