Employment standards – Alberta general holidays

Most employees are entitled to time off with pay or additional pay for general holidays, sometimes called statutory or stat holidays.

Basic rules

  • There are 9 general holidays, also referred to as statutory holidays, in Alberta but employers can choose to recognize additional days as holidays.
  • Employees must have worked for the same employer for at least 30 workdays in the 12 months prior to the holiday.
  • Holiday pay depends on whether:
    • the holiday falls on a regular day of work
    • the employee works on the holiday
  • The same calculations of holiday pay apply to full-time, part-time, and casual employees.

Resources

General holidays in Alberta

General holidayDate202420252026
New Year’s DayJanuary 1

January 1

Alberta Family DayThird Monday in FebruaryFebruary 19February 17February 16
Good FridayFriday before EasterMarch 29April 18April 3
Victoria DayMonday before May 25May 20May 19May 18
Canada DayJuly 1, except when it falls on a Sunday, then it is July 2July 1July 1July 1
Labour DayFirst Monday in SeptemberSeptember 2September 1September 7
Thanksgiving DaySecond Monday in OctoberOctober 14October 13October 12
Remembrance DayNovember 11

November 11

Christmas DayDecember 25

December 25

Optional general holidays

Employers can choose to recognize additional days as holidays. If an employer recognizes an additional holiday, all employment standards rules related to holiday pay apply to these additional holidays.

Employees may ask their employer if they recognize any additional holidays.

Optional holidays can be any day an employer chooses to recognize. Some commonly recognized optional holidays in Alberta include:

Optional holidayDefinition of holiday202420252026
Easter MondayFirst Monday following EasterApril 1April 21April 6
Heritage DayFirst Monday in AugustAugust 5August 4August 3
National Day for Truth and ReconciliationSeptember 30

September 30

Boxing DayDecember 26

December 26

Eligibility

Most employees are entitled to general holidays and receive general holiday pay if one of the following applies to them:

  • a general holiday is a regular day of work
  • they have worked on a general holiday that is not a regular day of work

An employee is not entitled to general holiday pay if they:

  • have worked fewer than 30 workdays in the 12 months prior to the holiday
  • are absent from work on a general holiday when they are required or scheduled to work
  • are absent from work the last scheduled day before the holiday or the first scheduled day after the holiday and they do not have their employer’s consent for the absence

The same rules apply whether a business is open or closed on a holiday.

Regular days of work

The first step in finding out what is owed for a general holiday is to see if the general holiday falls on a regular day of work.

A day is a regular day of work if an employee normally works on that day. Other days are not regular days of work.

For example, if an employee is scheduled Monday to Friday each week, then Monday to Friday are regular days of work and Saturday and Sunday are not regular days of work.

Rules if not a regular day of work

The next thing to consider is whether the employee works on the holiday.

If the employee does not work on a day that is not a regular day of work, the employee is not eligible for holiday pay nor entitled to a day off in lieu with pay.

If the employee works on a day that is not a regular day of work, the employee must be paid 1.5 times what they would normally earn for the hours worked (sometimes called ‘time and a half’). The hours worked on the holiday do not count when calculating overtime hours worked for the week in which the holiday falls.

Example calculation of general holiday – not a regular day of work

An employee makes $25 per hour and works an irregular schedule. The general holiday falls on a Monday. The employee has only worked 3 Mondays in the 9 weeks prior to the holiday. Following the 5 of 9 rule, Monday is not a regular day of work. The employee is paid 8 hours every day that they work.

If the employee does not work on the holiday, the employee is not eligible for holiday pay.

If the employee works on the holiday, the employee is paid for the hours worked x hourly wage x 1.5 (8 hours x $25/hour x 1.5 = $300).

Employees paid other than hourly

Make a complaint

If an employee thinks that their employer is not following the rules in the Employment Standards Code, they can make a complaint.

Complaints can be made while an employee is still employed and at any time up to 6 months after their last day of employment.

Employment Standards Code

Part 2, Division 5 of the Employment Standards Code provides the general requirements and entitlement to general holidays and general holiday pay.

Part 4 of the Employment Standards Regulation provides different rules for general holidays and general holiday pay for construction employees.

Disclaimer: In the event of any discrepancy between this information and Alberta Employment Standards legislation, the legislation is considered correct.