Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

Hi everyone,

would you clarify the aspect of holiday entitlement for me, please?
I heard the system is very similar to the USA's, with very few holidays entitled, especially for neo-employees
Is this true for any job? Does this vary from province to province?

from what I gathered the general situation is much worse than here in the UK where, at least, we have a very good number of days to escape from the cloud ceiling :lol:


thanks

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

I heard the system is very similar to the USA's,

Yes


with very few holidays entitled,

Yes


especially for neo-employees

Yes


Is this true for any job?

No

Does this vary from province to province?


More by job

the general situation is much worse than here in the UK

Yes

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

so basically I have to look into the jobs that I'm interested into/eligible to understand how the holiday entitlement works?

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

Yes. Everything is negotiable and some people have posted here that they've been able to get similiar holidays to those they had in the UK. I think a new immigrant is lucky to get anything in the first year and two weeks + stats in the second.

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

Select the province you are interested in then google "province name" and "labour standards." Follow links to vacation pay. This, plus statutory holidays (think bank holidays) is the minimum the employer must give you.

If you are in a minimum wage job you will likely have to accept the basic two weeks. In a unionized environment you will need to look at the collective agreement. If you are looking at a more senior, salaried, job it is often posssible to negotiate more vacation time.

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

If in doubt, check the Wiki - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Annual_Leave-Canada

HTH.

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

I'm checking humanservice.alberta.ca and I see

â– Two weeks after each of the first four years of employment with pay


what does it mean?

that I'm entitles two weeks after 12 months for 4 years, or that I must have 4 years of work to get two weeks?

EDIT: the link posted by christmasoompa cleared it up for me.
cheers

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

I posted a thread about this myself a while back:
Paid Vacation - Whats the standard? What is your experience?

Most companies at minimum will give you 2 weeks and you get all the statutory holidays off in the year (roughly 1 per month, depending on province). Stat holidays are different in the US, they are not mandated to give you the time off or extra pay during those days where as in Canada they are.

Also technically the legal requirement for companies in BC is that you only get 2 weeks vacation after a year of work, however the industry standard is that it's usually given to you on day one. The first employer I worked for here refused to give me 2 weeks in the first year and I put up a big fight about it until he caved in, especially since prior to being employed FT there I had been working there through a company contract for 2 years.

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

thanks Jimmy, that's very helpful


I see from your thread people having 5weeks/year. I didn't even think that was possible :lol:

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

I have 15 days holidays at 12 days public holidays. :thumbsup:

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

I get 20 days vacation, plus statutory holidays, plus 5 days extra at Xmas, plus 10 flex days. Sometimes I even show up and so some work.:p

I take the lot. I was allowed to start taking vacation days from day one - or after month one in reality. Be aware that if you leave, you might owe days/money back to the organization. That catches quite a few people out.

I can see, through an online system, how many hours I have "earned" or acrued and what my balance is. Inevitably, I owe a lot after taking vacation early in the year in February, but by the end of the year I'm balanced.

I do know of several organizations that make you wait one whole year (while you steadily accrue hours) until you can physically start taking time off - ie, you have to earn it before you can take it. This seems dated to me, but it does solve the whole liability issue if you leave. On the other hand, the company invariably owes you a lot of money in vacation pay if you leave... that can be a huge financial liability on their books - unless they force you to take it.

We can't carry leave over into the next year unless under extremely specific (and approved by management) circumstances.

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

My workplace, where I'll hopefully be back to next week after I "land" with my PR, does 2 weeks plus statutory holidays plus a few days around xmas too. Not much happening the week between xmas and new year so we divvy up the days and end up doing 1 work day and having a few off.

Not that I find my job "work" really. That's one of the biggest perks of it - it's enjoyable. Looking forward to getting back after 2 months on the sideline stuck in immigration processing.

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

what type of work is that then orly?

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

web design

Re: Holiday entitlement: how does it work?
 

I guess it depends on the job. I got three weeks a year right from the start, plus overtime can be taken as paid hours or vacation time.

So, after accidentally putting all my overtime to vacation rather than paid hours for much of last year, I think I have nine weeks accumulated at the moment that I haven't had a chance to use.