Following multiple complaints, the government has implemented a new regulation which reverses the changes made to the public holiday pay calculations back in January 2018. These changes were introduced as part of Bill 148 also known as the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 which launched the beginning of this year.

The government received numerous complaints that the new calculations were both costly and unfair – in some instances, the new formula resulted in equal holiday pay for a full-time employee and an employee who worked only one day during a pay period.

The new regulation O.Reg.375/18 reinstates the previous formula in which public holiday pay is equal to the total amount of regular wages earned and vacation pay payable to the employee in the four work weeks before the work week in which the public holiday occurred, divided by 20. The new regulation does not allow for retroactive pay adjustments.

The Ministry of Labour has also committed to a 2-year independent review of workplace standards. This review will include a continued examination of the public holiday pay system alongside a number of other issues raised regarding changes implemented as part of Bill 148.

The new regulation will come into effect July 1, 2018, and can be reviewed here.

If you have any questions, please reach out to a member of RLB’s HR Consulting Team or call 519-822-9933 and we will connect you to the person!

Reference:

https://news.ontario.ca/mol/en/2018/05/government-to-review-public-holiday-rules.html