Annual vacations and general holidays for employees working for federally regulated employers

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

As an employee working for a federally regulated employer, you must be provided annual vacation and general holidays. This web page provides information about your rights and the steps you can take if you believe that your employer has not complied with the Canada Labour Code (Code).

On this page

• Annual vacation
• General holidays

Annual vacation

In this section

• Annual vacation entitlement
• Defining year of employment
• Timing of annual vacation
• Calculating annual vacation pay
• Defining wages
• Waiving, postponing or splitting annual vacation
• Postponing or interrupting annual vacation to take another leave
• Annual vacation pay during a leave of absence
• End of employment entitlement

Annual vacation entitlement

As an employee working for a federally regulated employer, you are entitled to at least:

• 2 weeks of vacation annually after you have completed 1 year of employment with the same employer
• 3 weeks of vacation annually after you have completed 5 consecutive years of employment with the same employer, and
• 4 weeks of vacation annually after you have completed 10 consecutive years of employment with the same employer

Your employer may pay you vacation pay within 14 days before your vacation is set to begin. If this is not practical or it is the established practice in your workplace, your employer may also pay it during or immediately following your vacation.

Defining year of employment

A “year of employment” means continuous employment for the same employer for a period of:

• 12 consecutive months beginning with the date that your employer hired you, or
• 12 consecutive months beginning on any anniversary of the date your employer hired you, or
• a calendar year or another period of 12 consecutive months that your employer determines in accordance with the Canada Labour Standards Regulations

Defining the “year of employment” is important because you must complete it before you are entitled to take a vacation. The wages you earn during your “year of employment” are used to determine the amount of vacation pay you will receive.

Timing of annual vacation

Generally, you may take vacation at a time that:

• you have mutually agreed upon with your employer, or
• your employer scheduled with at least two weeks notice

However, your vacation must begin no later than 10 months after you have completed each “year of employment”. When your employer schedules your vacation period, they must give you at least 2 weeks’ notice of when vacation time will begin.

Calculating annual vacation pay

Your vacation pay is calculated as a percentage of the gross wages that you earn during your “year of employment”. When your vacation is:

• 2 weeks; vacation pay is 4% of earnings
• 3 weeks; vacation pay is 6% of earnings, and
• 4 weeks; vacation pay is 8% of earnings

A vacation pay calculator is available to assist you in determining vacation entitlements.

Defining wages

For the purpose of vacation, “wages” include every form of payment for work performed. However, it does not include tips and other gratuities. The vacation pay - IPG-012 explains this definition in more detail.

Waiving, postponing or splitting annual vacation

As an employee, you may:

• waive
• postpone, or
• split your vacation for a specified “year of employment”

You and your employer may agree to split your vacation time. In this case, your employer must pay you the vacation pay proportional to the time taken.

Postponing or interrupting annual vacation to take another leave

You may postpone or interrupt your vacation in order to take 1 of the following leaves:

• maternity-related reassignment
• maternity
• parental
• compassionate care
• critical illness
• death or disappearance of a child
• personal
• victims of family violence
• traditional aboriginal practices
• court or jury duty
• bereavement
• medical
• work-related illness or injury, and
• leave of absence for members of the reserve force

Annual vacation pay during a leave of absence

When you are on leave with pay, your:

• employment status does not change, and
• benefits accumulate as if you were at work

In addition, you continue to earn vacation time and pay during the leave period.

When you are on leave without pay, your:

• seniority continues to accumulate, and
• vacation pay is calculated only on your wages earned during the “year of employment”

The leave of absence does not change the date on which you become eligible for:

• additional weeks of vacation, and
• an increase in vacation pay

End of employment entitlement

Your employer must “pay out” any vacation pay owed to you for any prior completed "year of employment". Your employer must do this within 30 days after the day on which your employment ended. In addition, you are entitled to vacation pay for the partially completed current year of employment.

General holidays

In this section

• General holiday entitlement
• When a general holiday falls on a non-working day
• Substituting a general holiday for another day
• Calculating general holiday pay
• General holiday pay for part-time employees
• Paying employees required to work on a general holiday
• General holiday pay when on leave provided for under the Code
• Continuous operation
• Paying employees of continuous operations required to work on a general holiday

General holiday entitlement

As an employee working for a federally regulated employer, you are entitled to a day off with pay for the following 10 days, which are called general holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

When a general holiday falls on a non-working day

In the event that the following general holidays:

• New Year's Day
• Canada Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day, or
• Boxing Day

fall on a Saturday or Sunday that is a not a scheduled work day, you are entitled to a holiday with pay on the scheduled work day immediately before or after the general holiday.

If 1 of the other general holidays, not listed directly above, falls on a non-work day, then a holiday with pay may be added to your annual vacation. It can also be granted as a general holiday with pay at a time convenient to both you and your employer.

Substituting a general holiday for another day

An employer may substitute a general holiday for another day for 1 or more employees.

If you are an employee who is subject to a collective agreement, there must be a written agreement on the substitution between the:

• employer
• union, and
• employee(s)

If you are an employee who is not subject to a collective agreement, the substitution must be approved by:

• you, in writing, if the substitution applies to you only, or
• at least 70% of the affected employees, if it applies to multiple employees. The employer must post the notice of substitution for at least 30 days before it takes effect

You may also request to substitute a general holiday with another day as part of your request for flexible work arrangements. This request must be authorized by your employer in writing.

Calculating general holiday pay

Your general holiday pay is calculated based on how your wages are calculated.

For most employees, general holiday pay is equal to at least one-twentieth (1/20th) of the wages, excluding overtime pay, earned in the 4-week period immediately before the week in which the general holiday occurs. A general holiday pay calculator is available to estimate general holiday entitlement and pay.

Paid by commission

If your employer pays you in whole or in part by commission, and you have:

• completed a minimum of 12 weeks of continuous employment:
  • your general holiday pay is equal to at least one-sixtieth (1/60th) of the wages, excluding overtime pay, earned in the 12-week period immediately before the week in which the general holiday occurs, or
• not yet completed a minimum of 12 weeks of continuous employment:
  • your general holiday pay is equal to at least one-twentieth (1/20th) of your wages, excluding overtime pay, earned in the 4-week period immediately before the week in which the general holiday occurs

Multi-employer employment - Longshoring employment

Working in the longshoring sector can mean working for several different employers (an employer’s association and/or multi-employer unit) during a pay period.

As an employee working in the longshoring sector, your general holiday pay is your basic rate of wages multiplied by at least one-twentieth (1/20th) of the total number of hours worked, excluding overtime hours, during the 4-week period before the week in which the holiday occurs.

However, if you work for an employers’ association and perform work for another employer who is not a member of the association, a different calculation applies. In this case, instead of general holiday pay, the other employer must also pay you, on each payday, an amount equal to 3.5% of your basic rate of wages, multiplied by the number of hours you worked during that pay period.

In addition to any amounts received, if your employer requires you to work on a general holiday, your employer must pay you at least 1.5 times your basic rate of wages for the time worked on that day.

General holiday pay for part-time employees

As a part-time employee, you are entitled to receive pay for the same 10 general holidays as full-time employees. Your holiday pay is adjusted to the number of hours you work.

Paying employees required to work on a general holiday

The Canada Labour Code does not prohibit work on a general holiday.

If you are an employee who works on a general holiday, your wages may need to be adjusted to account for the work performed on the general holiday.

If you are entitled to holiday pay and your employer requires you to work on a general holiday, your employer must pay you:

• no less than 1.5 times your regular rate of wages for the time worked on that day, and
• general holiday pay for that day (for information on the general holiday pay entitlement, refer to Calculating general holiday pay).

In this instance, there is no additional entitlement to a day off.

If you are paid on a basis other than time, or if your hours of work differ from day to day, your employer will need to determine your regular rate of wages. Your regular rate of wages is equal to:

• the average daily earnings, excluding overtime pay, for the 20 days you worked immediately before the general holiday; or
• an amount calculated by a method agreed on in your collective agreement, if applicable

If you are a manager or professional who is required to work on a general holiday, you are entitled to receive your regular rate of pay. In addition, you must receive a substitute general holiday with pay at another time.

General holiday pay when on leave provided for under the Code

You are entitled to general holiday pay if a general holiday takes place while you are on 1 of the following leaves:

• personal leave
• leave for victims of family violence, or
• bereavement leave
• medical leave

If a general holiday occurs while you are on a leave with pay, you will only be paid general holiday pay for that day. Your leave with pay may continue the next regular working day without interruption. In this case, because you were only paid for the general holiday and not for the leave with pay, a day of leave with pay will not be subtracted from your entitlement.

To calculate your general holiday pay, if you are paid on a basis other than time, or if your hours of work differ from day to day, your employer will need to determine your regular rate of wages. Your regular rate of wages is equal to:

• the average daily earnings, excluding overtime pay, for the 20 days you worked immediately before the general holiday, or
• an amount calculated by a method agreed on in your collective agreement, if applicable

Continuous operations

A continuous operation is any:

• business, whose operations, in each 7-day period, continue without interruption until the completion of the regularly scheduled operations for that period
• operation or service concerned with the running of trains, planes, ships, trucks and other vehicles whether in scheduled or non-scheduled operations
• telephone, radio, television telegraph or other communication or broadcasting operation or service, or
• operation or service normally carried on without regard to Sundays or general holidays

As an employee working in the continuous operations, there are separate general holiday entitlements.

Paying employees of continuous operations required to work on a general holiday

When you work on a general holiday in a “continuous operation” business or sector, you are entitled to:

• 1.5 times your regular rate of pay for the actual hours worked on the general holiday, in addition to general holiday pay (for information on the general holiday pay entitlement, refer to Calculating general holiday pay), or
• be paid for the actual hours worked on the general holiday at your regular rate of wages. You must also be provided a holiday with pay at some other time, either by adding it to your annual vacation or on another day that is convenient to both you and your employer, or
• be paid holiday pay for the first day on which you do not work after the general holiday, if permitted by your collective agreement

For the road transportation sector, the mileage rate cannot be inclusive of general holiday pay. The general holiday entitlement must be calculated and recorded separately. Even if you agree with your employer, the Code does not allow employees to settle for less than the minimum holiday pay required by law.

Employees who do not report to work on a general holiday

If you are scheduled to work on a general holiday but you do not report to work that day, you are no longer eligible to receive pay for the general holiday.

Related links

• Canada Labour Code, Part III, Division V, General Holidays
• Labour Employment Standards Calculation Tools
• Canada Labour Code, Part III, Division IV, Annual Vacations