VANCOUVER – With Christmas and New Year just days away, the B.C. government is reminding people about what days are stat holidays and who is eligible for stat holiday pay.
Under B.C.’s Employment Standards Act, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are stat holidays for the province, but Boxing Day is not a stat holiday.
Employees will be eligible for stat holiday pay if they have been employed for 30 calendar days and have worked, or had earnings, on 15 of the 30 days before the stat holiday. However, employees who work under an averaging agreement, which permits hours of work to be averaged over a period of up to four weeks, do not have to meet the 15-day minimum requirement.
Those who are eligible and are required to work on a stat holiday must be paid at least time-and-a-half for the first 12 hours worked and double-time for any hours after that. Eligible employees who are not required to work on a stat must be paid at least an average day’s pay. An employee who is not eligible, but who is required to work on a stat, can be paid a regular work day and it not entitled to an average day’s pay if the stat holiday falls on a day off.
“With the holidays fast approaching, it’s important for both employees and employers to understand their rights and responsibilities around statutory holiday pay,” said Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour. “The Employment Standards Branch is an excellent resource to find out more about this and other important employment standards topics.”
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