Key takeaways
- Most provinces: 2 weeks of vacation and 4% vacation pay to start
- Ontario, BC, Alberta and Manitoba: 3 weeks and 6% after 5 years
- Quebec: 3 weeks and 6% after 3 years
- Saskatchewan: 3 weeks (3/52, about 5.77%) from the start, 4 weeks after 10 years
- Federal jobs: 4% to start, 6% after 5 years and 8% after 10 years
Vacation pay rules by province
| Jurisdiction | To start | After more years |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 2 weeks, 4% | 3 weeks, 6% after 5 years |
| British Columbia | 2 weeks (after 12 months), 4% | 3 weeks, 6% after 5 years |
| Alberta | 2 weeks, 4% | 3 weeks, 6% after 5 years |
| Quebec | 1 day per month in year one (up to 2 weeks), 4% | 3 weeks, 6% after 3 years |
| Manitoba | 2 weeks, 4% | 3 weeks, 6% after 5 years |
| Saskatchewan | 3 weeks, 3/52 (5.77%) | 4 weeks, 4/52 (7.69%) after 10 years |
| Federal jobs | 2 weeks, 4% | 3 weeks, 6% after 5 years; 4 weeks, 8% after 10 years |
These are minimums. Your employer can give you more vacation or a higher rate, but never less.
How vacation pay is calculated
Vacation pay is a percentage of your gross wages for the vacation year. Gross wages usually include regular pay, overtime, commissions, holiday pay and non-discretionary bonuses. They do not include the vacation pay itself.
Vacation pay = gross wages × vacation pay rate
Employers pay it in one of three ways: as regular salary while you are on vacation, as a lump sum before you leave, or as a percentage added to each paycheque (for example “4% vacation pay” on your stub). If it is added to every cheque, you usually take your vacation time unpaid.
The calculator finds your rate from your province and years of service, multiplies it by your wages, and shows the hours of pay that equals if you enter your hourly wage.
Worked example
You have worked 3 years in Ontario and earned $52,000 this vacation year.
- Rate: 4% (under 5 years)
- Vacation pay: $52,000 × 4% = $2,080
- At $25 an hour, that equals about 83 hours, or about two 40-hour weeks.
The same wages in Quebec would give 6% ($3,120), because Quebec moves to 3 weeks after 3 years. In Saskatchewan you would get 3/52, about $3,000.
When do you get vacation time?
- Ontario: you earn vacation in each 12-month “vacation entitlement year”. Your employer must let you take it within 10 months after that year ends.
- BC: you earn vacation pay from day one, but you are entitled to 2 weeks of time off only after 12 months of work.
- Quebec: the reference year usually runs May 1 to April 30. In your first year you get 1 day for each full month worked, up to 2 weeks.
- Leaving your job: in every province, you must be paid any vacation pay you have earned but not yet received when your job ends.
Check your pay stubs
Look for a line called “vacation pay” or “vac pay”. If it is missing and you never took paid vacation, ask your employer. If you cannot fix it, your province’s employment standards office can help for free.
Related tools: stat holiday pay, overtime pay and net pay.