Every year I get at least two inquiries about the “rules” of the non-statutory holidays. These are commonly known as Easter Monday, Civic Holiday (August) and Remembrance Day.
In the case of the three “non-statutory” holidays, employers have the choice of either observing the holiday (closes the operation) OR they can treat the day as though it is any other day of the year (regular operating hours and functions).
The Employment Standards Act (ESA) does not specify that these three days must be observed as “public” or “statutory” holidays. The ESA says that employers are required to observe the nine (9) holidays listed in the “Definitions” section of the ESA.
In some cases, workers have a collective agreement or employment contract that provides for payment on the “non-statutory” holidays. As a result, if any employer observes one of the “non-statutory” holidays (closes the operation) the employees are NOT entitled to be paid public holiday pay for the day; instead, they receive a day off without pay.
