It just occured to me that Monday is Thanksgiving, a statutory holiday in BC.

I've been so busy at work, I nearly wept with relief at the prospect of an extra day off.

Our small business owners are also very busy. We often get panicked calls into the CFIB offices from members on the Friday afternoon before a long weekend - asking for details about how much they will have to pay staff who work on the holiday.

To save you some headaches - here's some handy dandy info and tips:

The nine statutory holidays in British Columbia are:

• New Years Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• B.C. Day
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day

Eligibility:

To be eligible for statutory holiday pay an employee must have:

• been employed for 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday; and
• worked or earned wages on 15 of the 30 days before the statutory holiday.

Employees who work under an averaging agreement or a variance at any time in the 30 days before the holiday do not have to meet the 15-day requirement.

Wages:

Eligible employee not working on the statutory holiday - When an employee is given a day off on a statutory holiday, or it falls on a regular day off, they are entitled to be paid an average day's pay.

Eligible employee working on the statutory holiday - When an employee works on a statutory holiday, they are entitled to be paid time-and-a-half for the first 12 hours worked and double-time for any work over 12 hours plus an average day's pay.

Ineligible employee not working on the statutory holiday - An employee who is not eligible for statutory holiday pay is not entitled to be paid an average day's pay.

Ineligible employee working on the statutory holiday - An ineligible employee who works on a statutory holiday may be paid as if it were a regular work day.

For more details on these regulations and information on how to calculate an average days pay, give us a call at 1-888-234-2232 or visit the Employment Standards Branch Factsheet on Statutory Holidays.