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Ontario employment standards

Ontario Public Holiday Eligibility Rules

Most eligible Ontario employees receive public-holiday entitlements, but the Last and First Rule, reasonable cause, special-rule coverage and the worked-holiday arrangement must be checked first.

Quick answer

Most qualified Ontario employees can take an ESA public holiday off and receive public holiday pay.

Public holiday pay = (regular wages + vacation pay payable in the four-work-week lookback) ÷ 20

Eligibility can be lost when an employee misses the required last or first scheduled shift without reasonable cause, or fails without reasonable cause to work an agreed or required holiday shift.

Ontario’s nine ESA public holidays

New Year’s Day
Family Day
Good Friday
Victoria Day
Canada Day
Labour Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day

Civic Holiday is not one of the nine

An employer may still provide Civic Holiday or another observance through a contract, workplace policy or collective agreement, but it is not one of Ontario’s nine ESA public holidays.

Who generally qualifies?

Qualified employees can be full-time, part-time, permanent or on a term contract. Ontario says it does not matter how recently the employee was hired or how many days they worked before the holiday.

Some jobs and industries are exempt or follow special rules. Coverage must be checked before applying the general formula.

The Last and First Rule

An employee generally qualifies when they work all of their last regularly scheduled shift before the public holiday and all of their first regularly scheduled shift after it. These shifts are not necessarily the calendar days immediately before and after the holiday.

If something beyond the employee’s control prevents them from working a required shift, they may have reasonable cause and remain eligible. The employee is responsible for showing reasonable cause.

How public holiday pay is calculated

Add regular wages earned in the four work weeks before the work week containing the holiday to vacation pay payable with respect to those four work weeks, then divide by 20.

The lookback follows the employer’s work week and is not necessarily four calendar weeks immediately before the holiday date.

Worked example

Regular wages in the lookback: $4,000.
Vacation pay payable: $160.
Total: $4,160.
Public holiday pay: $4,160 ÷ 20 = $208.

Regular wages for this formula exclude overtime pay, vacation pay, public holiday pay, premium pay, termination pay, severance pay and certain other statutory payments.

When an employee works on the public holiday

When the employee agrees electronically or in writing to work, Ontario generally describes two options:

Public holiday pay plus premium pay: public holiday pay plus 1.5 times the regular rate for each hour worked, with no substitute day.
Regular wages plus a substitute holiday: regular wages for hours worked and a substitute working day off with public holiday pay.

A substitute holiday must generally be scheduled within three months, or within 12 months when the employee agrees electronically or in writing. The employer must provide the required written statement before the public holiday.

What the WageWise calculator supports

The calculator screens Ontario jurisdiction, employee status, general-rule coverage, Last and First eligibility and the holiday arrangement. It supports holiday-off, public-holiday-pay-plus-premium-pay and regular-wages-plus-substitute-day scenarios using entered four-week regular wages and vacation pay payable.

It does not support exempt occupations, special industries, construction rules, federal workplaces or non-Ontario holidays.

Estimate a supported Ontario public-holiday scenario

Complete the eligibility questions, then enter the four-week wage inputs and holiday arrangement.

Open Ontario Public Holiday Pay Calculator

Frequently asked questions

Is Civic Holiday a statutory holiday in Ontario?

No. It is not one of the nine ESA public holidays, although a workplace may provide it under another agreement or policy.

Must an employee work the calendar day before and after?

No. The rule refers to the last regularly scheduled shift before and first regularly scheduled shift after the holiday.

Do new or part-time employees qualify?

They can. Ontario says qualified employees may be full-time, part-time, permanent or term, regardless of how recently they were hired.

Is overtime pay included in regular wages for this formula?

No. Overtime pay is excluded from the regular-wages component, although vacation pay payable can require its own wage-base calculation.

Official sources

This guide is informational and does not replace the ESA, its regulations or advice about a specific situation. See the calculation methodology and sources policy.