General Holidays
Introduction
Answer the questions listed in each step to find out if your business meets the basic requirements for Alberta's employment standards for general holidays. On the last page you’ll see results based on your answers, along with information about your rights and obligations as an employer.
Use the 'Previous' button to change your answers at any time. Or click 'Start again' to explore different employment scenarios.
Disclaimer: In the event of any discrepancy between this information and Alberta’s Employment Standards legislation, the legislation is considered correct.
Eligibility for Holiday Pay
Calculation of Holiday Pay
Summary & Results
Eligibility for General Holiday Pay
You indicated that:
Based on this information, your employee is not eligible for general holiday pay.
Workers who either are the owner or a family member of the owner of the farm/ranch they are working on are exempt from all Employment Standards rules, including termination and layoff.
Non-family members working on the farm to help out or participate in 4-H activities are also exempt from Employment Standards rules.
For more information, see farm and ranch employment standards exceptions.
Employees working in the following occupation(s) are considered exempt from general holiday. They are therefore not eligible for general holiday or general holiday pay:
- Salesperson selling automobiles, recreational vehicles, trucks, buses, manufactured homes, farm machinery, and heavy-duty construction and road equipment
- Authorized salespersons of real estate and salespersons selling homes for the builder of those homes
- Licensed insurance salesperson who are paid entirely by commission income
- Salesperson, other than route salespersons, who solicit orders principally outside the employer’s place of business and are paid in whole or in part by commission
- Extra in a film or video production
- Counselor or instructor at an educational or recreational camp that is operated on a charitable or not-for-profit basis for: children, handicapped individuals or religious purposes
- Salesperson who are at least 16 years old and are engaged in direct selling for licensed direct sellers
Based on this information, your employee is eligible for general holiday pay.
Based on this information, your employee is not eligible for general holiday pay.
Calculating General Holiday Pay
You indicated that:
Please note that effective January 31, 2020, farm and ranch employers with 5 or fewer waged, non-family workers, are exempt from employment standards laws. Farm and ranch employers with 6 or more waged, non-family workers who work more than six months in a row will continue to be subject to existing Employment Standards laws. For more information and to identify if the information below applies to you, please visit the Farm and ranch – Employment standards exemptions website.
Due to the nature of the employment and work in the construction industry, construction employees are not usually given general holidays off with pay.
Based on this information, the employee should receive general holiday pay equal to at least 3.6% of their wages.
For employees paid by commission or other incentive-based pay plans, please contact Employment Standards for more information.
Based on this information, your employee is not eligible for general holiday pay.
Based on this information, the employee should receive their full salary for the day, as usual.
Based on this information, the employee is entitled to their average daily wage.
For more information about calculating your employee's average daily wage, see General holidays and Pay
The employee is entitled to general holiday pay of an amount that is at least 4.2% of their wages, vacation pay and general holiday pay earned in the 4 weeks immediately preceding the general holiday.
Based on this information, the employer can pay the employee's average daily wage plus 1.5 times their wage rate for all hours worked on the general holiday.
OR
The employer can pay regular wages and overtime (if applicable), plus provide a future day off with payment for that day off at a rate of the average daily wage. The day off must be taken no later than the employee's next annual vacation.
For more information about calculating your employee's average daily wage, see General holidays and Pay
Based on this information, the employer must pay the employee 1.5 times their wage rate for all hours worked on the general holiday.
Based on this information, the employer must pay an amount that is at least equal to the employee’s wage rate for each hour of work on the general holiday and either:
- provide one day’s holiday on a day that would normally be a work day for the employee, to be taken within 30 days of the general holiday or at a later time agreed to, in writing, by the employer and employee, and pay the employee holiday pay in an amount that is at least equal to 4.2% of their wages, vacation pay and general holiday pay earned in the 4 weeks immediately preceding the general holiday, or
- pay additional general holiday pay for the day of an amount that is at least 4.2% of the employee’s wages, vacation pay and general holiday pay earned in the 4 weeks immediately preceding the general holiday.
Next steps
- Print these results for your records
- To learn more, please refer to the relevant topics of the employment standards rules and regulations.
- Restart this general holidays tool to explore different scenarios.