Special Investigations Unit

General Holiday Wages for Part-Time Employees

 Most employees in Manitoba are entitled to general holiday wages whether they work full-time or part-time.  General holidays are sometimes referred to as statutory holidays or stat holidays.

The rules for employees to qualify for general holiday wages changed in 2007.  But some employers are still using the old rules and not paying their part-time employees properly.  These employers are in violation of The Employment Standards Code. 

General holiday wages are calculated based on 5 per cent of the employee’s regular wages in the 28 days prior to the holiday.  This ensures employees get a day off with an average day’s pay regardless of the number of hours they work. 

In addition to general holiday wages, employees who work on a general holiday are paid 1 ½ times their regular wage rate for all hours of work on the day.

There are eight general holidays in Manitoba:

• New Year's Day
• Louis Riel Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

See our General Holiday fact sheet for more information about the rules for general holiday.  This fact sheet also discusses the different rules for general holiday wages in the construction industry. 

The following investigations were conducted by Employment Standards on the issue of general holiday wages:

• An employer in a franchise restaurant did not pay general holiday wages to part-time employees under the false belief that they were not required to do so.  Employment Standards addressed this as a systemic concern, issuing Notices to Comply to this location and several others in the same region.  A Notice to Comply is a warning to the employer that can lead to penalties if the employer is found not to be following the law in the future.

 

• A renovation business was issued a $1500 administrative fine for failing to pay general holiday wages properly and failing to keep proper records after previously being issued a Notice to Comply on the same issues.  Our Employer Fines page posts the names of employers who have received penalties for repeated non-compliance.  

 

• A retail store was paying general holiday wages to part-time employees correctly, except in a few cases where there was confusion about the eligibility requirements.  The employer believed that employees had to work the day before and the day after to qualify.  In fact, employees are eligible for general holiday pay unless they:
  •  are scheduled to work on a general holiday, but are absent without the employer's permission, or
  • are absent without the employer's permission from their last scheduled shift before the holiday, or their first scheduled shift after the holiday. 
• Employment Standards educated this employer on the law and issued a Notice to Comply to help the employer understand their obligations.