With holidays just around the corner and many employers increasing staff hours and hiring temporary employees to meet the holiday rush, it's important to know the details of who is entitled to statutory holi- day pay or extra pay under B.C.'s Employment Standards Act.
Here are a few things employers and employees should know:
* Christmas Day and New Year's Day are statutory holidays in British Columbia.
* Boxing Day is NOT a statutory holiday in B.C.
* Eligible employees who don't work on a holiday must be paid at least an average day's pay, calculated by dividing total wages in the 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday by the number of days worked. Total wages include wages, commissions, statutory holiday pay and vacation pay but do not include over- time pay.
* Some groups such as managers, agriculture workers, some commission salespersons, and high-tech- nology professionals are excluded from the statutory holiday provisions of the Act.
* An employee who is not eligible for the statutory holiday and who works on the holiday can be paid as if it was a regular work day, but is not entitled to an average day's pay if the statutory holiday falls on a day off. “The holiday season is one of the busiest times for small business. I encourage all small business owners who have questions about statutory holidays to visit the Employment Standards Branch web page to find out more,” said Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of State for Small Business.