May 8, 2018
Pre-Bill 148 Public Holiday Pay Calculation Reinstated as of July 1, 2018
Effective July 1, 2018, public holiday pay under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) will once again be calculated using the formula that applied prior to the coming into force of Bill 148 The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act (“Bill 148”).
On May 7, 2018, the Ontario Government filed Ontario Regulation 375/18, which prescribes the return to the following calculation for determining public holiday pay under the ESA:
The employee’s public holiday pay for a given public holiday shall be equal to the total amount of regular wages earned and vacation pay payable to the employee in the four work weeks before the work week in which the public holiday occurred, divided by 20.
Regulation 375/18 will remain in force until December 31, 2019.
As reported in previous In a Flash articles, the public holiday pay calculation as amended by Bill 148 is based on the regular wages earned by an employee in the pay period immediately preceding the public holiday, divided by the number of days the employee worked in that pay period.
The amendment of the public holiday pay formula brought about by Bill 148 thus had the effect of removing any proration of an employee’s holiday pay based on the amount of time the employee had actually worked for the employer in the qualifying period, resulting in enhanced holiday pay obligations for many employers, particularly in relation to part-time and casual workers.
The reinstatement of the former public holiday pay calculation will be accompanied by a comprehensive review of the public holiday system under the ESA by the Ministry of Labour that will include feedback and discussions with stakeholders. Employers can have their feedback considered as part of the Public Holiday Pay Review by emailing submissions to exemptions.review@ontario.ca
If you have any questions about this topic or any other questions relating to workplace law, please do not hesitate to contact a Mathews Dinsdale lawyer.