Stat Holiday Pay: New Brunswick Calculation

There are two ways to calculate statutory holiday pay in New Brunswick. The first is to pay the employee a regular day's wage for the holiday. If an employee works varying shifts, a regular day is calculated by taking the number of hours worked in the last 30 days (excluding overtime) and dividing it by the number of days worked. The second option is to pay 4% of an employee's total gross wages on each pay cheque. If an employee works on a statutory holiday, they will also receive one and a half times their hourly wage for that day.

Calculating holiday pay for full-time employees

In New Brunswick, Canada, there are eight paid public holidays or "statutory holidays" in a year. These are:

• New Year's Day (1st January)
• Family Day (third Monday in February)
• Good Friday (the Friday before Easter Sunday)
• Canada Day (1st July)
• New Brunswick Day (first Monday in August)
• Labour Day (first Monday in September)
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (30th September)
• Remembrance Day (11th November)
• Christmas Day (25th December)

Employees who qualify for paid holidays in New Brunswick and work on a statutory holiday must receive their regular day's pay, plus one and a half times their regular wage rate for the hours worked on that day. Employees who don't work on a public holiday must receive their regular day's pay for that day.

There are two ways to calculate holiday pay in New Brunswick:

• Paid like a regular day: Pay the employee a regular day's wage for the statutory holiday when the holiday arrives—even if they are not scheduled to work on the day the holiday falls. If an employee works a variety of shifts, a regular day is calculated by taking the number of hours worked in the last 30 days (not including overtime) and dividing it by the number of days worked. For example, if in the 30 days before a holiday an employee worked 60 hours over 12 shifts (60 ÷ 12 = 5), then a regular working day would be 5 hours.
• Paid a bit on each paycheque: Pay 4% of an employee's total gross wages on each paycheque. Over the course of the year, the 4% is equivalent to what a full-time employee would earn for a holiday using method one. This method may be easier for employers that have shift work and casual workers.

To be eligible for statutory holiday pay in New Brunswick, employees must have worked for the same employer for at least 90 calendar days and have worked their scheduled regular days of work before and after the holiday.

Calculating holiday pay for part-time employees

To calculate holiday pay for part-time employees in New Brunswick, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, part-time employees must meet specific eligibility criteria to receive holiday pay. They must have been employed by the same employer for at least 90 calendar days in the 12 months before the paid holiday. Additionally, they must have worked their scheduled day of work before and after the holiday, unless there is a valid reason for not doing so, such as illness.

There are two methods for calculating holiday pay in New Brunswick:

Option One: Paid Like a Regular Day

In this method, you pay the employee their regular day's wage for the statutory holiday, even if they are not scheduled to work on that day. If an employee works varying shifts, you can calculate their regular day's wage by taking the number of hours worked in the last 30 days (excluding overtime) and dividing it by the number of days worked. For example, if an employee worked 60 hours over 12 shifts in the 30 days before the holiday (60 ÷ 12 = 5), then their regular working day would be 5 hours, and they would be paid for 5 hours on the holiday.

Option Two: Paid a Bit on Each Paycheque

Alternatively, you can choose to pay 4% of an employee's total gross wages on each paycheque throughout the year. This method can be easier for employers with shift work and casual workers. Over the year, this 4% will equal the amount a full-time employee would earn for a holiday using the first method.

Regardless of the method chosen for calculating holiday pay, if a part-time employee works on a statutory holiday, they are entitled to receive one and a half times their hourly wage for that day. For example, if a part-time employee usually makes $15.00 per hour and works on a holiday, they will receive $15.00 x 1.5 = $22.50 per hour worked on that day.

It is important to note that there may be exceptions to holiday pay eligibility for certain occupations, such as professionals, house salespersons, and car salespersons.

Employees who don't qualify for holiday pay

In New Brunswick, employees who have worked for their employer for less than 90 calendar days in the preceding 12 months do not qualify for holiday pay. This also applies to those who fail to report for work without reasonable cause for the regular working day before or after the public holiday, or those who could not perform work on the holiday as agreed with the employer.

Employees who are employed under an arrangement where they elect to work when requested to do so are also not eligible for holiday pay. This includes professionals, house salespersons, and car salespersons.

Employees who do not qualify for holiday pay are still entitled to a weekly period of rest from employment. The employer is obligated to grant a minimum of 24 consecutive hours of rest, usually scheduled on Sundays. However, this does not apply to employees who are required to cope with an emergency or those who are not usually employed for more than three hours in any one day.

Working out holiday pay for shift workers

In New Brunswick, Canada, there are two ways to calculate holiday pay for shift workers.

Option One: Paid like a Regular Day

The employee is paid a regular day's wage for the statutory holiday, regardless of whether they are scheduled to work on the day the holiday falls. If an employee works a variety of shifts, a regular day is calculated by taking the number of hours worked in the last 30 days (excluding overtime) and dividing it by the number of days worked. For example, if in the 30 days before a holiday an employee worked 60 hours over 12 shifts (60 ÷ 12 = 5), then a regular working day would be 5 hours, and they would be paid for 5 hours of work.

Option Two: Paid a Bit on Each Pay Cheque

The employer can opt to pay 4% of an employee's total gross wages on each pay cheque. Over the course of the year, this will amount to the same as a full-time employee would earn for a holiday using the first method. This method may be easier for employers to track for shift workers and casual workers.

Working on a Statutory Holiday

Regardless of the method used to calculate holiday pay, if an employee works on a statutory holiday, they are also paid one and a half times their hourly wage for that day. For example, if an employee makes $15.00 an hour and works on a holiday, they will get $22.50 per hour worked on that day.

Eligibility

To be eligible for holiday pay, employees must have worked for the same employer for at least 90 calendar days in the preceding 12 months. They must also have worked their scheduled day of work before and after the holiday, unless there is a good reason for not doing so (e.g. illness).

Exceptions

Employees in certain occupations, such as professionals, house salespersons, and car salespersons, do not qualify to receive pay for a public holiday.

Paying employees who work on a holiday

If your business is open on a statutory or public holiday, you must pay your employees for working on that day. Employees who work on a holiday in New Brunswick must receive their regular day's pay plus 1.5 times their regular wage rate for the hours worked on that day. This is the case regardless of whether the holiday falls on a day they would usually work.

Employees who qualify for paid holidays and work on a holiday will receive their regular day's pay plus 1.5 times their regular wage rate for the hours worked on that day. For example, if an employee makes $15.00 an hour and works on a holiday, they will get $15.00 x 1.5 = $22.50 per hour worked on that day.

There are two ways to calculate holiday pay in New Brunswick. The first option is to pay the employee a regular day's wage for the statutory holiday when the holiday arrives—even if they are not scheduled to work on the day the holiday falls. If an employee works a variety of shifts, a regular day is calculated by taking the number of hours worked in the last 30 days (not including overtime) and dividing it by the number of days worked. For example, if in the 30 days before a holiday an employee worked 60 hours over 12 shifts (60 ÷ 12 = 5), then a regular working day would be 5 hours.

The second option is to pay the employee 4% of their total gross wages on each paycheque. Over the course of the year, the 4% is equivalent to what a full-time employee would earn for a holiday using the first method. This method may be easier for employers that have shift work and casual workers.

There are some exceptions to these rules. Employees in certain occupations, such as professionals, house salespersons, and car salespersons, do not qualify to receive pay for a public holiday.

Frequently asked questions