In Canada, statutory holidays are legally recognized days when many employees get a paid day off. The specific holidays depend on whether federal or provincial/territorial laws apply, and not all employers are required to provide them unless employment standards laws require them to.
Statutory holiday pay varies by Canadian Province and by employment status. Please review the guidelines for your province to ensure your staff are compensated correctly.
Holiday Pay Guidelines Per Province:
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon
How to manage Statutory Holiday Pay
You can manage Statutory Holiday Pay using Pay Types. This ensures that regular pay and Statutory Holiday pay appear separately on Staff Members’ pay stubs. Once you’ve created the pay type, assign it to each Staff Member so it can show up on the payroll submission dashboard when you’re ready to pay your staff.
Statutory Holiday pay is not automatically calculated in Jane Payroll and requires a manual entry and/or calculation based on the Pay Type you choose.
📍Review how to set up Pay Types by visiting our guide Jane Payroll: Pay Types
When setting up pay types for statutory holidays in your Jane Payroll account, there are 4 options to choose from. Select the appropriate pay type based on whether the employee worked on the statutory holiday and how they are normally paid (for example, salaried, hourly, or commission-based). Below is an overview of the 4 pay types.
1. Stat Holiday Pay – Not Worked (Hours) Use this when the employee did not work on the statutory holiday and you want to enter a set number of hours. Jane will calculate the pay based on the rate entered.
2. Stat Holiday Pay – Worked (Hours) Use this when the employee worked on the statutory holiday and you want to enter the hours they worked. Jane will calculate the pay based on the rate entered.
3. Stat Holiday Pay – Not Worked (Dollar Amount) Use this when the employee did not work on the statutory holiday and their holiday pay needs to be entered as a dollar amount. This is the recommended option for employees with variable hours, mixed pay structures, commissions, or when vacation pay was paid out in the prior calculation period - as these require a manual calculation before entry.
4. Stat Holiday Pay – Worked (Dollar Amount) Use this when the employee worked on the statutory holiday and their total stat pay needs to be entered as a dollar amount. Recommended for provinces that use an average wage or percentage-based calculation method.
Statutory holiday pay can vary depending on your province and how your staff are paid, as such, the recommendation is to double-check the rules that apply to you within your Province. If you’re ever unsure, your accountant or financial advisor is a great resource and can help point you in the right direction.
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