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Part III of the Canada Labour Code (Labour
Standards)
The Canada Labour Code provides for nine paid holidays
per year. The following questions and answers, based on Division V
of Part III of the Code, will be of interest to employers
and employees under federal jurisdiction. Pamphlet 1 of this series
describes the types of businesses covered by the Code. It
is available from any Labour Program office of Human Resources
Development Canada and on the HRDC website.
1. What is a general holiday?
A general holiday is a special day, designated in the Code,
on which employees, including managers and professionals, are
entitled to a day off with pay.
2. What are the Code's holidays?
New Year's Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour
Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing
Day are the nine general holidays provided for in the Code.
3. Can an employee be required to work on a general
holiday?
Yes. The Code does not prohibit work on a general
holiday. Employees who are required to work on a general holiday
shall be paid, in addition to their regular rate of wages for that
day, at a rate equal to one and a half times the regular rate of
wages for the time worked on that day. However, if they are employed
in a "continuous operation" (defined in question 9), they
may be paid as above or be given another day off with pay at some
other time in addition to pay at their normal rate for the hours
worked on the holiday. Managers and professionals must be given a
holiday with pay at some other time.
4. Are all employees entitled to be paid for a general
holiday on which they do not work?
No. Employees are not entitled to be paid for a general holiday
which occurs during the first 30 days after the date they are hired.
Employees who work in continuous operations (defined in question
9 below) are not entitled to holiday pay if they do not report for
work on a general holiday when requested to do so, or if they make
themselves unavailable for work on a general holiday, for example by
"booking off" as in the railway industry.
Employees must also be entitled to wages for at least 15 days
during the 30 calendar days preceding the holiday in order to be
eligible for holiday pay. Employees on a modified work schedule must
establish eligibility according to the number of days specified in
the mutually agreed upon work schedule.
5. Can another holiday be substituted for a general
holiday?
Yes. When the parties are subject to a collective agreement, the
employer may substitute any other holiday for a general holiday
provided for in the Code, if the substitution is agreed to
in writing by the employer and the trade union. In the case of
employees who are not subject to a collective agreement, an employer
may substitute any other holiday for a general holiday if the
substitution has been approved by at least 70 per cent of the
affected employees. The employer must post a notice of the
substitution for at least 30 days before the substitution takes
effect.
6. What happens if a general holiday falls on a
non-working day?
If New Year's Day, Canada Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, or
Boxing Day falls on a Sunday or Saturday that is a non-working day
for an employee, the employee is entitled to a holiday with pay on
the working day immediately preceding or following the general
holiday. If one of the other general holidays listed above falls on
a non-working day, then a holiday with pay is to be added to the
employee's annual vacation or granted at another mutually convenient
time.
7. How much pay is an employee entitled to receive for a
holiday on which he or she does not work?
The employee is to receive pay as follows:
a) if an employee is paid on a weekly or monthly basis - normal
pay with no reduction for the day off;
b) if an employee is paid on a hourly basis - the equivalent of
the wages the employee would have earned for a normal day's work;
c) if an employee's wages are calculated on some other basis -
the equivalent of a normal day's pay.
8. Are part-time workers entitled to a paid holiday?
Yes. They have the same entitlement as full-time workers,
providing they meet the qualifying requirements. Also, the Code
provides prorated holiday pay for employees who are unable to
establish entitlement to wages for at least 15 days during the 30
days immediately preceding a holiday because of their terms and
conditions of employment. Such employees must receive one twentieth
of the wages earned during the 30 calendar days preceding the
holiday.
9. What is a "continuous operation"?
A continuous operation is as follows:
a) any industrial establishment in which, in each seven-day
period, operations once begun normally continue without cessation
until the completion of the regularly scheduled operations for that
period;
b) any operations or services concerned with the running of
trains, planes, ships, trucks and other vehicles whether in
scheduled or non-scheduled operations;
c) any telephone, radio, television, telegraph or other
communication or broadcasting operations or services; or
d) any operation or service normally carried on without regard to
Sundays or public holidays.
10. Are there cases where the general holiday provisions
of a collective agreement apply exclusively?
Yes. The general holiday provisions of the Code do not
apply to employers and employees who are parties to a collective
agreement that provides rights and benefits at least as favourable
as those in the Code and where there is provision for third
party settlement. The settlement of disagreements relating to
general holiday issues is governed exclusively by the collective
agreement.
For information only. For interpretation and application
purposes, please refer to Part III of the Canada Labour Code
(Labour Standards), the Canada Labour Standards Regulations,
and relevant amendments.
Additional copies of this publication can be obtained
from:
Public Enquiries Centre
Human Resources Development Canada
140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV, Level 0
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0J9
Fax (819) 953-7260
www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca
�Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2002
Cat. No. MP43-345/4-2002
ISBN 0-662-66803-0
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