Ontario has eight public holidays:
Some employers give their employees a holiday on Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, the first Monday in August, or Remembrance Day. However, these days are not public holidays under the ESA.
Employees who qualify are entitled to take public holidays off work and be paid public holiday pay. Or they can agree in writing to work on the holiday, and will be paid either:
Most employees are eligible for these public holiday entitlements.
For an explanation of regular rate, regular wages, public holiday pay, premium pay and substitute holidays, see "Understanding the public holiday rules: key definitions" later in this Fact Sheet.
Some employees may be required to work on a public holiday, either because:
For more details about jobs and industries that aren't covered by the public holiday part of the ESA , or to which special rules apply, consult the chart in "How are You Covered by the ESA?"
Generally, employees qualify for public holiday entitlements unless they:
Qualified employees can be full-time, part-time, permanent or on a limited-term contract. They can also be students. It doesn't matter how recently they were hired, or how many days they worked before the public holiday.
Note: most employees who don't meet either of the qualifying criteria are entitled to be paid premium pay for every hour they work on the holiday.
Employees are generally considered to have "reasonable cause" for missing work when something beyond their control prevents them from working. Examples include, but are not limited to: absences related to emergency leave (i.e. personal illness, injury, or medical emergency and the death, illness, injury, medical emergency or urgent matters relating to certain family members and dependent relatives) as well as absences for family medical leave.
Employees are responsible for showing that they had a reasonable cause for staying away from work. If they can do so, they still qualify for public holiday entitlements.
The "Last and First" Rule is one of the criteria that qualify employees for public holiday entitlements. The rule is that employees must:
However, the "regularly scheduled days of work before and after the public holiday" don't have to be the days right before and right after the holiday.
For example, if an employee isn't scheduled to work the day right before or after the holiday, as long as he or she works all of the last regularly scheduled shift before the holiday and all of the first one after it—or provides reasonable cause for not working either of those days—he or she meets this criterion.
Here's how to calculate the amount of public holiday pay a qualified employee is entitled to:
If the employee has earned a substitute holiday with public holiday pay, this calculation is done for the four work weeks before the work week in which the substitute day falls.
Premium pay is at least 1˝ times the employee's regular rate of pay. Employees who are entitled to receive premium pay for work on a public holiday must be paid at least 1˝ times their regular rate of pay for each hour they work.
Public holiday pay is all of an employee's regular wages earned, plus all of the vacation pay payable, in the four weeks before the work week with the public holiday, divided by 20. If the employee has earned a substitute holiday with public holiday pay, the calculation is based on the four work weeks before the work week in which the substitute day falls.
Regular rate means an employee's rate of pay for each non-overtime hour of work in his or her usual work week.
Regular wages don't include any overtime, public holiday, vacation or premium pay owed to an employee.
A substitute holiday is another working day off work designated to replace a public holiday. Employees are entitled to be paid public holiday pay for a substitute holiday.
A substitute day off must be scheduled for no later than three months after the public holiday for which it was earned--or, if the employee has agreed in writing, up to 12 months after the public holiday.
Vacation pay payable includes any vacation pay owed to an employee who takes a vacation in the four work weeks before the public holiday (or substitute holiday). It also includes vacation pay owed to an employee who has agreed in writing that it will be paid either on each pay cheque or at any other time, if the payment is due during those four work weeks.
The "four work weeks before the work week with the public holiday" aren't necessarily the four calendar weeks immediately before the public holiday. This four-week period is based on the employer's work week.
When a public holiday falls on a day that isn't ordinarily a working day for an employee, or during the employee's vacation, the employee is entitled to either:
Most employees have a right to refuse to work on a public holiday, and to take the day off and get paid public holiday pay. However, if an employee agrees in writing to work on the holiday, there are two options:
If an employee has agreed in writing to work on a public holiday but does not and doesn't show reasonable cause for not working—he or she has no right to public holiday pay or a substitute day off with pay.
However, if the employee can show reasonable cause for not working the public holiday, entitlements will depend on which of the two options below the employee chose in exchange for agreeing to work on the public holiday:
or
If an employee has agreed in writing to work on the public holiday but works only some of the hours agreed upon and doesn't show reasonable cause for not working the employee is only entitled to receive premium pay for each hour worked on the holiday. The employee has no right to public holiday pay or a substitute day off work.
However, if reasonable cause is demonstrated for only working some of the hours agreed to:
or
Employees who work in the following businesses may be required to work on public holidays:
The only time these employees can be required to work on a public holiday without their agreement is when the public holiday falls on a day they would normally work, and they are not on vacation.
Sometimes an employee's job comes to an end before the employee can take a substitute holiday with public holiday pay that he or she has earned. In this case, the employer must pay the public holiday pay at the same time it pays the employee's final wages.