Hi

I am an IT contractor. What generally happens at the 2 weeks at Xmas & NY in Canada.

- Do Canadians take off a week or two?
- Or do they disapear from the office and work from home. ie. Hide and do no work?
- In the UK employers tend to make contractors take enforced holidays as they don't like paying them when permies are off. Is that the same here?

Based in Vancouver- don't know if that affects the answer or not?

Just wondering in case we have anyone over for the hols.

Cheers
Muffback

Depends on employer. Christmas day and New Years are the only two days that are stats. Some close down, some keep working.

In my business (accounting) and in my customer's business (mostly construction and sub trades) you get paid for the hours you work. Day, night, holidays and weekends are irrelevant.

Is Boxing Day not a stat anymore?

Only in ON.

Unless you work for the Feds and the chances of finding an IT contractor working for the Feds over that period is minimal.

It isn't in BC

For the OP, it all depends on company. Some work through xmas, and some do not. Some allow you to work from home, some do not. It's not something anybody other than your "employer" can answer for you.

I get Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day as well as New Years Eve, New Years Day and the day after New years Day as stat Days in Quebec.

When I worked as a contractor I got the same stat days. But I do know of other employers who give less.

Ah well, that explains it. When we lived in BC I was a stay at home wife/mom. I only ever got paid when we lived in Ontario.

Isn't it? I've been taking it off assuming that it is.

Nope. But i do the same as you. I take it off anyway since my team are mainly based in the US and UK so they have no idea where Canada is, never mind what bank holidays we have

Yeah, the people I work with have no idea either - I could make a load up and they wouldn't notice. I think I'll carry on treating boxing day like a bank holiday

the girl at the bank today was shocked that i was entitled to 20 days holiday a year

she was even more shocked when i told her that back in the UK i got 32! :O

i guess Canadians just love to work?

No they're just content with being shafted

Was she even more suprised that there was someone from Ayrshire with a job ?