Your Two Legal Options When Working a Stat Holiday
When an eligible Canadian worker works on a statutory holiday, employers cannot simply pay regular straight-time wages. Under Employment Standards legislation, the law provides two primary compensation paths:
Option 1: Statutory Holiday Pay + 1.5× Premium Pay (Default)
The worker receives their standard statutory holiday pay (calculated via the lookback formula) PLUS 1.5× (time-and-a-half) their regular hourly wage for every hour worked during the statutory holiday shift.
Option 2: Regular Wages + Substitute Paid Day Off
If agreed upon between the employer and employee (in writing in Ontario, or governed by a collective agreement), the worker is paid regular straight-time wages for hours worked on the holiday, and is granted a substitute paid day off with full statutory holiday pay within 3 months (or within 3 weeks in Quebec).
The British Columbia Double-Time Tier (Over 12 Hours)
British Columbia features the most generous overtime protection in Canada for stat holidays: workers who work beyond 12 hours on a statutory holiday must be paid 2.0× their regular wage (double time) for all hours worked beyond 12, on top of their statutory holiday pay.