Statutory holiday pay is the wages employers must pay eligible employees for public holidays, set by provincial employment standards and calculated from recent earnings.
Provincial employment standards require employers to pay eligible employees for recognised public (statutory) holidays, even when they do not work that day. The amount and the eligibility rules (such as minimum days worked around the holiday) vary by province, and the pay is usually calculated as an average of recent earnings.
Employees who work on a statutory holiday are typically entitled to premium pay or a substitute day off, again per provincial rules. Statutory holiday pay is part of wages and subject to normal source deductions, and getting the calculation right is a recurring payroll compliance point.
An eligible employee does not work on a statutory holiday but still receives statutory holiday pay based on their average recent daily earnings, as required by their province's employment standards, with normal deductions applied.
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