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Koroll & Company Blog

How to Pay Your Employees for Long Weekends and Other Holidays

[fa icon="calendar"] Jun 22, 2021 11:54:00 AM / by Allen Koroll

In Ontario, there are nine official public holidays. This includes New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day (May 24), Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. 

If you are the owner or manager of a business, these public holidays may impact how you pay your employees. In order for your employees to qualify for holiday pay on these public holidays, they must meet the “last and first rule”. 

What is the last and first title?

The last and first rule simply means that your employee worked their last regularly scheduled shift before the holiday and first scheduled shift after the holiday. If they don’t, they cannot collect holiday pay, with one exception - If the employee missed their shift for a reasonable cause, they can still collect holiday pay. 

A reasonable cause generally includes situations outside of the employees’ control that stops them from being able to work. 

This leaves some grey area, but examples of reasonable causes are illness and injury or an absence that the employer agreed to for an appointment. You will also be entitled to holiday pay if you are on vacation or leave, so long as you worked your first and last scheduled day. 

If your employee normally works on the day the public holiday falls on and is entitled to holiday pay, you must add their wages, including holiday pay, from the last four weeks before the holiday and then divide the total by 20. This way the pay will take into consideration staff with fluctuating or part time hours. 

If your employee works during the public holiday, you must do one of two things:

  1. Pay the employee regular pay and then give them a substitute holiday. On this substitute holiday, they’ll receive their paid public holiday. 
  2. Pay them public holiday pay plus premium pay for all hours worked on the holiday. This premium pay is generally time and a half (1.5x regular wages). 

Whichever method you choose, it should be agreed upon electronically or in writing. 

One more consideration is whether the employee is normally off on the day that the holiday falls on. For example, Victoria Day always falls on a Monday, but your employee normally works Wednesday to Sunday and takes Monday and Tuesday as their “weekend”. 

In these cases, you must do one of two things:

  1. Give your employee a substitute day. This day off must be within three months of the holiday, or 12 months if there’s a written or electronic agreement. You must also notify your employee of the substitute day by writing before the holiday. 
  2. Give the employee public holiday pay. 

Are you looking for more information on how your business should be paying out holiday pay? Contact Koroll & Company today. Our team of chartered professional accountants would love to answer your questions. 


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The information presented is only of a general nature, may omit many details and special rules, is current only as of its published date, and accordingly cannot be regarded as legal or tax advice. Please contact our office for more information on this subject and how it pertains to your specific tax or financial situation.



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Topics: Corporate

Allen Koroll

Written by Allen Koroll