General Holidays and General Holiday Pay

Employees who are exempt from general holidays and general holiday pay employees on a farm or a ranch salespersons who mainly work outside the employer's place of business various other types of salespersons professionals such as real estate brokers, and licensed insurance and securities salespersons instructors or counsellors at a non-profit educational or recreational camp extras in a film or video production employees covered by other Acts (academic staff) municipal police officers

Christmas and New Year's Day: Are you eligible for general holiday pay?

General Holidays in Alberta

The Employment Standards Code, names the following nine days as general holidays:

*Good Friday is a movable religious holiday falling on the Friday before Easter Sunday.

Employers may choose to recognize additional days as general holidays for their employees. For example, many employers have, by agreement, designated Boxing Day, Easter Monday and Alberta Heritage Day as additional general holidays for their employees. If an employer designates one of these days as a general holiday, all rules pertaining to general holiday pay will apply. Employees should confirm this and any pay entitlements with their employer.

Eligibility for General Holiday Pay

Eligible employees are those who have:

• worked for the employer for at least 30 working days or shifts in the year before the general holiday,
• worked their last scheduled shift before, and the first scheduled shift after, the holiday (employees will remain eligible if they have the employer's permission to be absent for either or both of these shifts), and
• not refused to work on the general holiday when asked to do so.

Paying Employees on a General Holiday

The following rules apply to the payment of employees on a general holiday:

• Eligible employee - normally scheduled to work on day of the holiday - does not work
  The employee is entitled to be paid at least average wages for the day (normally this would be regular wages for the day).
    
• Eligible employee - normally scheduled to work on day of the holiday - works
  Employee is entitled to the usual wage for the day PLUS time-and-a-half for all hours worked,
  or
  Employee can be paid regular wages for the day of the holiday and, before their next annual vacation, be given another holiday off with pay. The replacement holiday must be a day on which the employee is normally scheduled to work.
    
• Eligible employee - not normally scheduled to work on day of the holiday - does not work
  Employee is not entitled to receive pay for the holiday nor another day off with pay.
    
• Eligible employee - not normally scheduled to work on day of the holiday - works
  Employee is entitled to be paid time-and-a-half for all hours worked
    
• Ineligible employee - does not work on day of the holiday
  Employee is not entitled to receive pay for the holiday nor another day off with pay.
    
• Ineligible employee - works on day of the holiday
  Employee is entitled to be paid at regular rates of pay for all hours worked. 

Employees Who Work an Irregular Schedule

If employees work an irregular schedule and there is doubt about whether the holiday is a day on which the employee is normally scheduled to work, it is to be resolved as follows:

If during at least five of the last nine weeks, the employee regularly worked on the day of the week that the general holiday falls, the holiday is to be considered a day that would normally have been a workday for the employee.

General Holiday During Vacation

If there is a general holiday during an employee's annual paid vacation, and it falls on a day they would normally have worked, the paid vacation is extended by one day. Or the employer can agree to give the employee a different day off with pay before their next annual vacation.

Payment of General Holiday Pay for Construction Workers

Due to the nature of the employment, construction employees are not usually given general holidays off with pay. Special rules for construction workers are intended to create a benefit equal to that of employees in other industries who are given a day off with pay for each general holiday.

• There is no qualifying period of employment for construction employees to be entitled to general holiday pay.  

• Construction employees are not entitled to premium pay for working on general holidays, or to  these days off with pay.  However, all construction employees must be paid general holiday pay.  

• Both full-time and part-time construction employees are entitled to general holiday pay equal to 3.6 per cent of the employee's wages.  

• General holiday pay must be paid to construction employees

• on or before December 31 of each year;
• on termination of employment; or
• with each pay cheque.

Document Title and Description	Date (dd/mm/yy)	Format
FAQs
General Holiday Pay Chart	02/02/98