Entitlement to holiday with pay

Every employer shall give to each of their employees a holiday with pay in respect of every general holiday falling within any period of their employment.

• If a general holiday falls on a day that is a non-working day for an employee, the employee is entitled to and shall be granted a holiday with pay on a working day immediately following the general holiday.

Exceptions

An employee is not entitled to be paid for a general holiday on which the employee did not work:

• if the general holiday occurs during the first 30 calendar days of the employee’s employment by the employer;

• if the employee did not report to work on the general holiday after having been called in to work on that day;

• if the general holiday fell on a day when the employee had already been absent for 14 consecutive days immediately before the holiday on a leave of absence without pay requested by the employee; or

• if, without the consent of their employer, the employee had not reported for work on either the last scheduled working day preceding or the first scheduled working day following the general holiday

Calculation of wages for holidays of pay

An employee whose wages are calculated on a weekly or monthly basis shall not have their weekly or monthly wages reduced for a week or month in which a general holiday occurs only because of their not working on the general holiday;

• an employee whose wages are calculated on a daily or hourly basis shall, for a general holiday on which they do not work, be paid at least the equivalent of the wages they would have earned at their regular rate of wages for their normal hours of work; and

• an employee whose wages are calculated on any basis other than a basis referred to in paragraphs above shall, for a general holiday on which they do not work, be paid at least the equivalent of their daily wages, based on the average of their daily wages.

An employee who works less than the standard hours of work or who works irregular hours shall be paid, for a general holiday on which the employee does not work, at least the equivalent of 10% of the employee’s wages, excluding vacation pay, for the hours worked in the two week period immediately preceding the week in which the general holiday falls.

• An employee who works less than the standard hours of work or who works irregular hours shall be paid, for a general holiday on which the employee does not work, at least the equivalent of 10 per cent of the employee’s wages, excluding vacation pay, for the hours worked in the two week period immediately preceding the week in which the general holiday falls.

Pay granted to an employee in respect of a general holiday on which the employee does not work shall be deemed to be wages.

Agreement between employer and employees

If the employees of an employer are represented by a trade union and the employer and union agree in writing, or if the employees are not represented but a majority of them and the employer agree in writing, then the general holiday can be observed on a specific working day other than the designated general holiday.

• the working day specified in the agreement shall be deemed to be the general holiday for the purposes of the agreement.

YK ESA s.29, 30, 34, 35