Ontario Public Holiday Pay Calculator
Ontario’s nine public holidays (often called stat holidays) are paid using one formula from the Employment Standards Act, 2000: the regular wages you earned in the four work weeks before the week of the holiday, plus any vacation pay payable in those weeks, divided by 20. This calculator applies it and shows what you are owed if you also worked the holiday.
Ontario public holidays in 2026
- New Year's Day — Thursday, January 1
- Family Day — Monday, February 16
- Good Friday — Friday, April 3
- Victoria Day — Monday, May 18
- Canada Day — Wednesday, July 1
- Labour Day — Monday, September 7
- Thanksgiving Day — Monday, October 12
- Christmas Day — Friday, December 25
- Boxing Day — Saturday, December 26
Official sources
- Ontario — Your guide to the ESA: Public holidays
- Employment Standards Act, 2000, Part X (ss. 24–32)
- Ministry of Labour — Employment Standards Self-Service Tool
Limitations
- Ontario only. Federally regulated workplaces (banks, airlines, telecoms, interprovincial trucking) follow the Canada Labour Code, and every other province has its own formula.
- Assumes you qualify: you worked your last regularly scheduled shift before the holiday and your first one after it (or had reasonable cause not to).
- The 4-week window follows your employer’s work week, not the calendar week; if you are unsure where the week starts, ask payroll.
- Does not model the special rules for hotels, restaurants, hospitals and continuous operations beyond the pay amounts.
Results are estimates for general information and are not legal, tax, payroll or financial advice. Employment contracts, collective agreements and individual circumstances can change what you are owed.
The formula
public holiday pay = (regular wages in the 4 work weeks before the holiday week
+ vacation pay payable for those 4 weeks) ÷ 20
premium pay (if you work the holiday) = hours worked × regular rate × 1.5Dividing by 20 is the same as taking the average of a five-day work week over four weeks. That is why a full-time employee gets roughly one normal day’s pay, and a part-timer who works two days a week gets about two-fifths of a day.
Worked example — full-time, $20/hour, vacation pay on every cheque
| Regular wages: 4 weeks × 40 h × $20 | $3,200.00 |
| Vacation pay payable: 4% × $3,200 | $128.00 |
| Sum | $3,328.00 |
| ÷ 20 = public holiday pay | $166.40 |
If this employee also works 8 hours on the holiday:
| Option A: $166.40 holiday pay + 8 h × $30.00 premium | $406.40 |
| Option B: 8 h × $20.00 now + substitute day at $166.40 | $326.40 (spread over two paydays) |
Which four weeks?
The four work weeks immediately before the work week in which the holiday falls. If your employer’s work week runs Sunday to Saturday and Canada Day (Wednesday, July 1 2026) falls in the week of June 28–July 4, the look-back is May 31 to June 27. Weeks in which you earned nothing (unpaid leave, EI) still count as weeks — they just contribute $0.
How vacation pay enters the formula
- Paid on every cheque (needs your written or electronic agreement): include at least 4% of the regular wages in the window. The calculator does this when you choose “paid on every cheque”.
- Paid before vacation: include it only if you actually took vacation during the four weeks.
- Paid as a lump sum on fixed dates: include it only if a payment date fell inside the window.
Related calculators
- Ontario vacation pay calculator — the 4% / 6% rule.
- Ontario gross pay checker — combine holiday pay, overtime and vacation pay into one cheque.
- Business day calculator — count working days around the holidays.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Ontario public holidays?
New Year's Day, Family Day (third Monday in February), Good Friday, Victoria Day (Monday before May 25), Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day (second Monday in October), Christmas Day and Boxing Day — nine in total. The Civic Holiday in August, Easter Monday and Remembrance Day are not ESA public holidays, although some employers give them.
How is public holiday pay calculated in Ontario?
Add up the regular wages you earned in the four work weeks before the work week that contains the holiday, add the vacation pay that was payable to you for those four weeks, and divide by 20. Regular wages exclude overtime pay, premium pay, vacation pay, public holiday pay and termination or severance pay.
Do part-time and new employees get holiday pay?
Yes. There is no minimum length of service and no minimum hours. Part-timers simply get a smaller amount because the formula averages their actual earnings. Someone who started two weeks before the holiday gets two weeks of wages ÷ 20.
What if the holiday falls on my day off?
You are still owed the holiday: either a substitute day off with public holiday pay, scheduled within three months (12 with your written or electronic agreement), or — if you agree in writing or electronically — the public holiday pay alone with no day off.
What do I get if I work on the holiday?
Two options, agreed in writing or electronically before the day. Option A: public holiday pay plus premium pay of 1.5× your regular rate for every hour worked, with no substitute day. Option B: your regular rate for the hours worked, plus a substitute day off later paid with public holiday pay. The calculator shows both.
What is the “last and first” rule?
To qualify for public holiday pay you must work all of your last regularly scheduled shift before the holiday and all of your first regularly scheduled shift after it, unless you had reasonable cause (illness, an emergency). Being on vacation does not disqualify you. If you fail the rule without reasonable cause you lose the holiday pay but are still owed premium pay for any hours worked on the day.
I was on parental leave during the four weeks. Do I get anything?
Only if you earned wages in the window. EI benefits are not wages, so an employee who earned nothing in the four weeks receives $0 for that holiday — the ESA guide’s own example is an employee who worked 7 days at $120 and received $42.