It’s over two weeks into the new year – a perfect time to make sure you got your public holiday pay! With Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day behind us, it’s time to look at our paycheques to make sure we were paid properly.
On public holidays, most employees get the day off and are paid public holiday pay for that day. You are entitled to both a day off and the holiday pay. Here’s how you calculate the amount you will be owed:
Public holiday pay = (Total wages in the last 4 weeks + Vacation Pay) ÷ 20
(Take a look at our public holiday blog post for more scenarios and examples.)
If you work on a public holiday or if it falls on a day you do not usually work, the rules can get confusing. We recently got a good question from one of our members: “I work part-time and only go in on the weekends. Since the past few public holidays happened on days when I don’t work, does that mean I don’t get public holiday pay?” Lots of workers may have similar questions, so we put together these examples to help clear things up.
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What happens if a public holiday is on a day you are not working?
If a public holiday is on a day you do not usually work, you can still get another day off with public holiday pay. And the same is true when you are on vacation during a public holiday.
Example 1:
You work part time at a restaurant. You work only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This past New Year’s Day was on a Monday. You are never scheduled to work on Mondays. You should get one other day off plus you should see your public holiday pay on your cheque.
Example 2:
You work full time. You took the last two weeks of December off for vacation to visit your family. Christmas Day and Boxing Day happened while you were on vacation. You should get two other days off plus two days’ worth of public holiday pay.
In short, you are normally entitled to your vacation days and your public holidays – one does not cancel the other out.
When a public holiday lands on a day you do not work, if you have agreed with your employer in writing, you can give up your day off and only get your public holiday pay.
As a reminder, there are 9 public holidays in Ontario. (Though your workplace may give you Easter Monday, the Civic Holiday or Remembrance Day off work, they are not Ontario public holidays.)
Recent and upcoming public holidays:
Christmas Day | Monday, December 25, 2023
Boxing Day | Tuesday, December 26, 2023
New Year’s Day | Monday, January 1, 2024
Family Day | Monday, February 19, 2024
Good Friday | Friday, March 29, 2024
Victoria Day | Monday, May 20, 2024
Canada Day | Monday, July 1, 2024
Labour Day | Monday, September 2, 2024
Thanksgiving | Monday, October 14, 2024
Christmas Day | Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Boxing Day | Thursday, December 26, 2024
Our New Year’s resolution is to share workers’ rights information to help you protect yourself on the job. So if you still have questions or think you have not been paid properly, please call our Workers’ Rights Phone Line at 416-531-0778 (or 1-855-531-0778 if you are outside of Toronto).
Our new phone line intake hours are as follows:
Mondays | 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Wednesdays | 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Fridays | 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Closed on public holidays!
Have a happy new year full of workplace justice!