What is the "First and Last" Rule?
Under employment standards legislation in Ontario and several other Canadian jurisdictions, employees must work their entire regularly scheduled shift immediately before the public holiday and their entire regularly scheduled shift immediately after the public holiday to qualify for holiday pay.
The rule was designed to prevent employees from extending their holiday long weekends without authorization.
The "Reasonable Cause" Exception
An employee does not lose their statutory holiday pay if they missed their shift due to "reasonable cause." What counts as reasonable cause?
- Personal illness or medical emergency with a doctor's note or reasonable explanation.
- Bereavement or death in the immediate family.
- Severe weather making travel impossible or dangerous.
- Transit breakdown or emergency road closures.
- Absence pre-authorized in writing by the employer or manager.
Missing Just One Shift: Do You Forfeit Everything?
If you miss your scheduled shift without reasonable cause, you forfeit your statutory public holiday pay for that holiday. However, if you actually worked on the holiday itself, you are still legally entitled to premium pay (1.5× regular wages) for all hours worked on the statutory holiday.