How Do I Calculate Statutory Holiday Pay in Ontario?
Short answer: In Ontario, statutory holiday pay is the regular wages plus vacation pay an employee earned in the four work weeks before the week of the holiday, divided by 20. Overtime is left out. Full-time, part-time and new employees all qualify if they work their last scheduled shift before the holiday and their first scheduled shift after it.
Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA) calls these days "public holidays", but most people say "stat holidays". Statutory holiday pay is the amount you owe an employee for a public holiday, whether they take the day off or work it. This post covers employers under the Ontario ESA. Federally regulated businesses, such as banks, airlines and trucking across provincial lines, follow the federal general holiday rules instead.
Which days are statutory holidays in Ontario in 2026?
Ontario has nine public holidays under the ESA. Here are the 2026 dates:
Holiday | 2026 date |
New Year's Day | Thursday, January 1 |
Family Day | Monday, February 16 |
Good Friday | Friday, April 3 |
Victoria Day | Monday, May 18 |
Canada Day | Wednesday, July 1 |
Labour Day | Monday, September 7 |
Thanksgiving Day | Monday, October 12 |
Christmas Day | Friday, December 25 |
Boxing Day | Saturday, December 26 |
The Civic Holiday in August, Remembrance Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation are not on the Ontario list. Some employers give those days off anyway, but the ESA does not require holiday pay for them.
How is statutory holiday pay calculated in Ontario, step by step?
Add up the employee's regular wages and vacation pay for the four work weeks before the holiday week, then divide by 20. The formula is set out in the ESA guide to public holidays.
Find the holiday week. Use your own work week (for example Sunday to Saturday). Thanksgiving, Monday, October 12, 2026, falls in the week of Sunday, October 11 to Saturday, October 17.
Go back four full work weeks. In this example: Sunday, September 13 to Saturday, October 10.
Add the regular wages earned in those four weeks. Leave out overtime pay, premium pay and holiday pay for any earlier holiday.
Add the vacation pay payable for those weeks. If you pay 4% vacation pay on every cheque, include it. If vacation pay is banked, include only the vacation pay that was paid or should have been paid in those weeks.
Divide the total by 20. The result is the holiday pay for that day.
Worked example (full-time). Maria earns $25 an hour and works 40 hours a week. She gets 4% vacation pay on each cheque.
Amount | |
Regular wages: $25 x 40 hours x 4 weeks | $4,000 |
Vacation pay: 4% of $4,000 | $160 |
Total | $4,160 |
Holiday pay: $4,160 ÷ 20 | $208 |
Worked example (part-time). Sam also earns $25 an hour but works 20 hours a week. Regular wages are $2,000, vacation pay is $80, and holiday pay is $2,080 ÷ 20 = $104.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall in the same work week, so they use the same four-week period and give the same amount for each day. Ontario also has a free public holiday pay calculator you can use to check your numbers.
Is overtime included in statutory holiday pay?
No. Overtime pay is not part of "regular wages" in Ontario, so it stays out of the calculation. Regular wages also exclude premium pay, earlier public holiday pay, termination pay and severance pay.
Back to Maria: if she also worked 5 hours of overtime in those four weeks, her holiday pay is still $208. The overtime hours are paid on her regular cheque, but they do not raise her holiday pay.
Vacation pay is the one extra that is added in, as shown in step 4 above.
Who qualifies for statutory holiday pay in Ontario?
Almost every employee under the ESA qualifies, including part-time, casual and new employees. There is no waiting period. A few jobs have special rules or exemptions, which Ontario lists in its ESA guide.
An employee loses holiday pay only if, without reasonable cause, they fail to work:
all of their last regularly scheduled shift before the holiday, or
all of their first regularly scheduled shift after the holiday.
"Reasonable cause" means something beyond the employee's control kept them from working. If an employee simply skips the shift after the holiday, you do not owe holiday pay for that day.
A part-time employee who worked fewer hours in the four weeks gets less holiday pay. That is correct under the formula, as Sam's $104 shows.
What do I pay if an employee works on the statutory holiday?
If the holiday is a normal working day and the employee agrees to work it, you have two options. The employee's agreement must be in writing or electronic.
Option | What you pay |
1. Substitute day off | Regular wages for the hours worked on the holiday, plus another day off later with holiday pay |
2. Premium pay | Holiday pay for the day, plus premium pay of 1.5 times the regular rate for every hour worked. No substitute day. |
Example. Maria works 8 hours on Thanksgiving.
Option 1: $25 x 8 = $200 on Thanksgiving, then a paid substitute day later ($208).
Option 2: $208 holiday pay + ($25 x 1.5 x 8 = $300) = $508, and no substitute day.
Without an agreement, most employees are entitled to take the day off with holiday pay. Some businesses, such as hotels, restaurants, hospitals and continuous operations, can require work on a public holiday, and the same pay options apply.
What if the holiday falls on an employee's day off, like Boxing Day 2026?
Boxing Day 2026 is a Saturday. For a Monday to Friday employee, that is not a working day, but they still get the holiday. You must give one of these:
A substitute day off with holiday pay, or
Holiday pay for the day without a substitute day, if the employee agrees in writing or electronically.
The same rule applies when a holiday falls during an employee's vacation.
A substitute day must be scheduled no later than three months after the holiday, or up to 12 months if the employee agrees in writing. Before the holiday, give the employee a written statement that names the holiday, the date of the substitute day and the date you gave them the statement.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Civic Holiday a statutory holiday in Ontario?
No. The first Monday in August is not one of the nine ESA public holidays. You only owe holiday pay for it if the employment contract or your company policy says so.
Is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a statutory holiday in Ontario?
Not under the Ontario ESA. It is a general holiday for federally regulated employers under the Canada Labour Code, so check which rules your business follows.
Is Christmas Eve a statutory holiday in Ontario?
No. Christmas Day (December 25) and Boxing Day (December 26) are public holidays. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are not.
Do salaried employees get extra pay for a statutory holiday?
Usually not, if they take the day off. Ontario treats the salary as including holiday pay, as long as the salary for that period is at least what the ESA formula gives.
Sources
Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: Public holidays - Government of Ontario
Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual: Part X, Public holidays - Government of Ontario
Public holiday pay calculator - Government of Ontario
Annual vacations and general holidays for federally regulated employees - Government of Canada
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