Statutory Holidays in Alberta

As an employer regulated by Alberta’s Employment Standards Code, you are responsible for providing your employees with time off with pay for statutory holidays.

As of January 1, 2018, updates to Alberta’s Employment Standards Code under the Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act are in effect. This includes new standards for general holiday and general holiday pay.

Alberta has 9 Statutory Holidays

Statutory holidays (or “stat holidays”) are defined in Alberta’s Employment Standards Code as “general holidays”. The province has nine (9) statutory holidays:

  1. New Year’s Day
  2. Alberta Family Day
  3. Good Friday
  4. Victoria Day
  5. Canada Day
  6. Labour Day
  7. Thanksgiving Day
  8. Remembrance Day
  9. Christmas Day

There are also three (3) optional general holidays in Alberta, for which employers are not obligated to provide holiday time off or pay but may choose to offer as an additional benefit:

  1. Easter Monday
  2. Heritage Day
  3. Boxing Day

Statutory Holiday Entitlement 

When it comes to statutory holidays, your employees have the right to take general holidays and receive compensation with general holiday pay. This eligibility begins immediately, as of their date of hire. Your employee has the right to holiday pay if they:

  1. Have worked a minimum of 30 days in the last 365 days
  2. A general holiday is a regular day of work, or
  3. They have worked on a general holiday that is not a regular day of work

If your employee’s fail to meet these requirements, then they may not be eligible to receive this entitlement

Ask Employer Line about statutory holidays for your small business.

If you are unsure how to calculate statutory holiday pay for your small business, ask the experts. Give our free employer advice line a call today at:  1 (888) 219-8767.