Holidays with Pay : NS Labour and Advanced Education, Employment Rights

Holiday Pay FAQ


What are the holidays with pay and how does an employee qualify?

There are six (6) general holidays with pay: New Year's Day, Nova Scotia Heritage Day (starting in 2015), Christmas Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, and Labour Day.

In order to qualify for a holiday with pay:

  • The employee must be entitled to receive pay for at least 15 of the 30 calendar days before the holiday, and
  • The employee must have worked his/her last scheduled shift before the holiday and his/her first scheduled shift after the holiday.


Can an employer say that the employee will not receive holiday pay until after the employee has completed a probation period of, for example, 3 months?

No. Employers and employees cannot contract outside of the minimum standards of the Code. If an employee meets the qualifications for holiday pay, the employee is entitled to receive it regardless of how long the employee has been employed with the employer.


Can an employer require employees to work on the general holidays?

There are no provisions under the Labour Standards Code prohibiting employers from requiring staff to work on any of the general holidays. Some retail businesses are required to close while others are not. Employees in these business may have the right to refuse to work if they are scheduled to work on the holiday.


Are employees who work on Remembrance Day entitled to Holiday Pay?

This holiday is governed by the Remembrance Day Act. This Act provides that where an employee, in certain industries, is required to work on Remembrance Day he/she may be entitled to receive a day off with pay. Employers would be required to pay such employees only their regular wages for the hours worked on Remembrance Day. If an employee does not work on Remembrance Day, the employer is not obliged to pay the employee for that day.

Please refer to the Remembrance Day Holiday for further information.


What happens if the holiday falls on a day I normally get off? Do I get a paid holiday anyway? If so, when?

If you qualify for paid holiday, you would get another day off with pay. Here are the options:

  1. Your employer can decide that you would get your next scheduled work day off with pay
  2. Your employer can decide that you would get an extra day off with pay added to your annual vacation
  3. You and your employer can agree that you would get any other day off with pay.



If you have any questions, please contact Labour Standards.