British Columbia statutory holiday pay calculator (2026)

Next statutory holiday in British Columbia

Labour Day

Monday 7 September 2026

19 days
after the last review of this page

If you qualify and do not work it, the day pays an average day's pay: the 30 calendar days before it, divided by the days you worked. The formula is below, with a worked example you can put your own numbers into.

British Columbia has eleven statutory holidays, and the pay for one of them is an average day's pay: everything you earned in the last 30 calendar days, spread over the days you actually worked.

Last reviewed August 19, 2026 · maintained by Ihor Bezrukavnyk · how we calculate

Who qualifies

These are the conditions British Columbia puts on the day. They sit on the shifts around the holiday and on your time with the employer — not on how many hours you worked in the week itself.

Thirty calendar days on the payrollYou must have been employed for at least 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday. These are days of employment, not days worked.
Fifteen of the last thirty days worked or paidYou must have worked or earned wages on at least 15 of the 30 calendar days immediately before the holiday.
No last-and-first rule hereUnlike Ontario and Alberta, British Columbia does not withdraw statutory holiday pay because you missed the shift before or after the holiday. The two tests above are what decide it.
Averaging agreements replace the fifteen-day testWhere the work is covered by an averaging agreement under the Act during that 30-day window, the 15-day condition does not apply and the employment condition is the live test.

A collective agreement that meets or beats the Act's statutory holiday provisions can replace them, in which case the agreement is what to read.

The B.C. formula: an average day's pay

The formula

total wages in the 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday ÷ number of days worked in those 30 days

The window is 30 calendar days, not 30 worked days, and it ends the day before the holiday.
The divisor is the days you actually worked in that window — not 30, and not the days you were scheduled. Twenty days worked means dividing by twenty.
Total wages includes regular wages, commissions, statutory holiday pay and paid vacation falling inside the window.

Overtime pay stays out of the base. Every Canadian jurisdiction excludes it from the wages the average is taken from, so a heavy overtime week before the holiday does not lift the day’s pay. Averaging a gross figure that still has premium hours in it overstates the holiday every time.

Worked example

Days worked in the 30 calendar days before the holiday: 20
Total wages in that window, overtime excluded: $3,150.00
Divide by days worked: 20
Average day's pay: $157.50

Nine overtime hours in the same window, paid $283.50 at time and a half, stay outside the $3,150.00.

Overtime is not in the wage base

Overtime pay is the item the Act takes out of total wages. The weeks where you worked the most can leave the average day's pay untouched, because only the straight-time side of them counts.

This holds in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta alike, and it is the line worth checking first. If a statutory holiday pay figure looks high after a heavy week, check whether overtime was folded into the base it came from.

British Columbia statutory holiday dates in 2026

The 11 statutory holiday dates that fall in 2026, in order.
Holiday	Date	Day
New Year's Day	1 January 2026	Thursday
Family Day	16 February 2026	Monday
Good Friday	3 April 2026	Friday
Victoria Day	18 May 2026	Monday
Canada Day	1 July 2026	Wednesday
British Columbia Day	3 August 2026	Monday
Labour Daynext	7 September 2026	Monday
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation	30 September 2026	Wednesday
Thanksgiving Day	12 October 2026	Monday
Remembrance Day	11 November 2026	Wednesday
Christmas Day	25 December 2026	Friday

No 2026 date falls on a Saturday or Sunday. A holiday can still land on a day you personally do not work. A statutory holiday that falls on a day you would not normally work still produces an average day's pay for an employee who qualifies. An employer and an employee, or a union, can also agree to substitute another day for the holiday; the substituted day then carries the statutory holiday rules.

Those eleven are the whole list. Boxing Day and Easter Monday are not statutory holidays in British Columbia. Many employers close on them anyway, and when they do the terms are the employer's rather than the Act's.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, 30 September, has been a B.C. statutory holiday since 2023. It is not one in every province, so a national employer may treat it differently across the country.

If you work the holiday

Time and a half for the first 12 hours

An employee who works on a statutory holiday is paid 1.5× the regular rate for the first 12 hours of that day. Eight hours at $21.00 comes to $252.00.

Double time past 12 hours

Every hour past 12 in the same day is 2× — $42.00 an hour in the same example. It is the same two-tier daily structure British Columbia uses for ordinary overtime.

The average day's pay sits on top

For an employee who qualifies, the average day's pay is paid in addition to the hours worked. The example day lands at $157.50 plus $252.00: $409.50.

Whether hours worked on a holiday also count toward the week’s overtime threshold is a separate question with a separate answer in each province. Check it against the overtime rules for British Columbia rather than assuming it either way.

Statutory holiday pay in British Columbia

How is statutory holiday pay calculated in British Columbia?

Divide the total wages earned in the 30 calendar days before the statutory holiday by the number of days you actually worked in that window. Twenty days worked and $3,150.00 in wages give an average day's pay of $157.50. The window is calendar days; the divisor is worked days.

Do I qualify for statutory holiday pay in B.C.?

Two conditions decide it: at least 30 calendar days of employment before the holiday, and work or earned wages on at least 15 of the 30 calendar days immediately before it. Where an averaging agreement under the Act covers the work in that window, the 15-day condition does not apply.

Does overtime count toward an average day's pay?

No. Total wages for this calculation takes in regular wages, commissions, statutory holiday pay and paid vacation from inside the 30-day window, but not overtime pay. A heavy overtime month therefore leaves the average day's pay where it was.

What am I paid for working a statutory holiday in B.C.?

Hours worked on the holiday are paid at 1.5× the regular rate for the first 12 hours of the day and 2× beyond that, and an employee who qualifies is paid an average day's pay on top. An eight-hour shift at $21.00 comes to $252.00 for the hours plus $157.50: $409.50.

Is Boxing Day a statutory holiday in British Columbia?

No. British Columbia's list runs to eleven days and Boxing Day is not on it, nor is Easter Monday. Employers often close for them, but a closure by policy is not the same as a statutory holiday, and the Act's pay rules do not attach to it.

What if a statutory holiday falls on my regular day off?

An employee who qualifies still receives an average day's pay for it. Separately, an employer and an employee or union can agree to substitute another day for the statutory holiday, in which case the substituted day is the one the statutory holiday rules apply to.

Check the rest of the pay period

A holiday sits inside a week that has its own rules — British Columbia pays overtime after 40h in a week and after 8h in a day. Overtally runs that side of the arithmetic, hour by hour, and shows every line behind the total.

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sources

Every figure on this page traces to the statute or agency page above. If one is out of date, tell us — corrections ship the same week.

Overtally computes what you should be paid before taxes. It does not calculate take-home pay, withholding or deductions, and it is not legal advice — it is your own record and your own estimate.