Given that Canada Day fell on a Sunday this year, there appears to be some confusion among employers regarding which day attracts statutory holiday pay under the Employment Standards Act, ("the Act"). This year the Canada Day statutory holiday will occur on Monday, July 2nd instead of Sunday, July 1st. This means that employees who have been employed for 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday and have worked or earned wages on 15 of the 30 days immediately before Monday are eligible for statutory holiday pay.
If you have an employee who will be given the day off on Monday, or if it is their regular day off, that employee is entitled to be paid an average day's pay. This is calculated by dividing "total wages" earned in the last 30 days by the amount of days worked by the employee in the 30 day period. Vacation days taken during this time count as days worked. Further, "total wages" includes commissions, statutory holiday pay, vacation pay and wages. However, it does not include overtime pay.
Should you have an employee who works on the upcoming holiday Monday, that employee is entitled to be paid time-and-a-half for the first 12 hours worked and double-time for any work over 12 hours – plus an average day's pay.
You should also be aware that employers and a majority of employees can agree to substitute another day off for a statutory holiday under the Act in BC. The Act and regulation apply to the substituted day as if it were the statutory holiday.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.