502 Paid Holidays, All Staff

a) The following paid holidays will be observed by the University:

New Year's Day

Family Day
Good Friday
Victoria Day
Canada Day
Civic Holiday
Labour Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
the Day before New Year's Day

b) In each calendar year, providing that fourteen (14) calendar days' notice is given to their immediate supervisor and in keeping with department requirements, each employee shall be entitled to two (2) other days as "additional paid holidays" per calendar year, but only one (1) during the first six (6) months of employment. An "additional paid holiday" may not be carried over into a new calendar year.

c) The University will provide annually to regular full-time and temporary full-time employees, one (1) or two (2) additional days(s) off with pay during the Christmas period (December 25 - January 1), to coincide with the University's Christmas closure and to provide the employee with uninterrupted time off. If additional days off are required (i.e. 3 or more), the employee will be given the option of charging the day(s) as vacation, floater, lieu time or time off without pay. Employees scheduled to work on these days will be granted a day off with pay at some other time. Premium pay, other than for normal overtime, does not apply for work on these days.

d) In order to qualify for holiday pay a regular full-time or temporary full-time employee must work his/her full scheduled shifts immediately preceding and immediately following the holiday except in cases of excused illness, or other reasonable cause, in which case the employee shall receive the holiday.

Work on a Holiday

A University employee required to work and notified of this requirement by their Department Head on one of the above paid holidays shall be paid twice their normal pay for all hours worked. Additionally, they shall be entitled to take equivalent time off with pay at a time agreeable to the University as compensation for not being permitted to observe the paid holiday on the normal date. When such agreement cannot be reached, they shall be paid one day's pay or appropriate portion thereof in lieu of such day off. Holiday pay will be computed on the basis of seven (7), seven and one-half (7-1/2 , or eight (8) hours, whichever is appropriate to the employee.

For employees whose regular work schedule is other than seven (7), seven and one-half (7-1/2), or eight (8) hours, it is understood that such employees who do not work on a paid holiday, will receive eight (8) hours straight time pay. An employee who works on a paid holiday will receive two times their normal rate for all hours worked plus an additional eight (8) hours statutory holiday pay. The intent is to ensure that no additional costs to the University are generated as a result of these arrangements. The above does not apply to those covered by Collective Agreement with The University of Guelph Police Association.

In the event that one or more of the foregoing holidays occurs during an employee's vacation period, they shall receive, in addition to their vacation pay, any holiday pay to which they are entitled, or an equivalent amount of time off in lieu of the holiday pay to be taken at a time convenient to the University.

With respect to employees whose work schedule in its normal course sometimes provides days off other than Saturday and Sunday, the day on which the holiday actually falls shall be the day in respect of which holiday pay is paid or a day off in lieu is granted and in respect of which the premium pay is paid for hours worked.

Part-time Employees

The following public holidays will apply to part-time (less than twenty-four (24) hours per week averaged over a two (2) week pay period; sixteen (l6) hours for the C.U.P.E. 1334 unit) and student employees unless they:

(a) fail without reasonable cause to work all of their regularly scheduled days of work before or after the public holiday; or

(b) fail without reasonable cause to work their entire shift on the public holiday if they agreed to or were required to work that day.

The holidays are:

Family Day, Good Friday, Thanksgiving Day, Victoria Day, Christmas Day, Canada Day, Boxing Day, Labour Day, New Year's Day

** The August Civic Holiday AND Day Before New Year's Day are not public holidays for part-time employees.

The amount of public holiday pay to which an employee is entitled is all of the regular wages PLUS all of the vacation pay which is payable to the employee in the four work weeks ending just before the work week with the public holiday, divided by 20. Regular wages do not include any overtime or premium pay payable to an employee.

Two typical examples follow:

A. Farida works five days a week and earns $100.00 a day. She worked her last regularly scheduled work day before the public holiday and her first regularly scheduled day after the holiday.

1. Farida's total regular wages are calculated:
$100.00 per day x 5 days = $500.00 per week
$500.00 per week x 4 work weeks = $2,000.00
Farida earned $2,000 in the four work weeks before the public holiday

2. Then her total wages are divided by 20:
$2,000.00 divided by 20 = $100.00

Result: Farida is entitled to $100.00 public holiday pay.

B. When there are no set hours and each pay cheque includes vacation pay:

Andrea doesn't work a set number of hours per day or days per week. Her pay varies from week to week, according to the time she has worked. She receives four per cent vacation pay on each pay cheque.

1. Andreas's total wages and vacation pay for the four weeks before the holiday are added:
$1,500.00 wages + $60.00 vacation pay = $1,560.00
Andrea's wages and vacation pay total $1,560.00

2. Andrea's total wages and vacation pay are then divided by 20:
$1,560.00 divided by 20 = $78.00

Result: Andrea is entitled to $78.00 public holiday pay.

Key Definitions to remember:

Public Holiday Pay - if an employee meets the criteria outlined above, they are entitled to Public Holiday Pay whether or not they work on the holiday. If they also work on the holiday, then they are entitled to Public Holiday Pay PLUS Premium pay.

Premium Pay - is 1.5 times an employee's regular rate of pay for work performed on a public holiday. An employee who does not meet either of the criteria for Public Holiday Pay, but who work on the public holiday, are still entitled to received Premium Pay for all hours worked on the Public Holiday.

The employee who works on one of the above holidays shall be paid at the rate of time and one-half (1-1/2) for the hours worked that day, in addition to any holiday pay to which they are entitled. However, another day off with pay may be substituted for the holiday pay.

An employee who has agreed to work on a public holiday and does not report for and perform the work will receive no pay for that day unless they have reasonable cause for not reporting.

The employee who is not entitled to a public holiday with pay as outlined above and works on a holiday shall be paid at the rate of time and one-half (1-1/2) for all hours so worked.

The above requirements are a matter of legal obligation under the Employment Standards Act.