Employers in British Columbia must comply with the minimum requirements concerning statutory holidays that are set out in the British Columbia Employment Standards Act.
Statutory holidays in British Columbia
Statutory holidays are listed in the Employment Standards Regulation. There are 10 statutory holidays in British Columbia:
- New Year’s Day
- Family Day
- Good Friday
- Victoria Day
- Canada Day
- B.C. Day
- Labour Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Remembrance Day
- Christmas Day
Eligibility for statutory holiday pay
Under Section 44 of the Act, employees are entitled to statutory holiday pay if:
- They have been employed for 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday; and
- They have been working or earning wages on 15 of the 30 days immediately before the statutory holiday.
Calculating statutory holiday pay
Employees who are entitled to statutory holiday pay, and who are not required to work on the statutory holiday, are entitled to a day’s pay calculated by averaging their last 30 days’ pay, including salary, commissions, statutory holiday pay and vacation pay, but not including overtime pay. This is “statutory holiday pay”.
Employees who are entitled to statutory holiday pay and who are required to work on the statutory holiday are entitled to statutory holiday pay, plus pay for hours worked at “time and a half”, that is, 1.5x their normal rate of pay for the first 12 hours, and “double time” for time worked in excess of 12 hours.
The rules concerning statutory holiday pay are found at Section 45 of the Act.
The information provided on this page is a general overview of the statutory holiday rules set out in the BC Employment Standards Act. It should not be taken as legal advice. For answers to specific questions about your workplace obligations, contact EmployRight and speak with one of our employment lawyers.