The next statutory holiday in British Columbia is Remembrance Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2026, followed by Christmas Day on Friday, December 25 and New Year's Day on Friday, January 1, 2027. Nothing about BC stat holiday pay has changed this year: the province still has 11 statutory holidays, the eligibility test is still 15 of the last 30 days, and the pay is still an average day's pay, plus premium pay for anyone who works the day.
What follows is the reference: every BC statutory holiday for 2027, who qualifies, the formula, worked examples, and the cases payroll gets wrong.
What changed, and what did not
- No new statutory holiday. The last addition was the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30), made a BC statutory holiday in 2023. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act received Royal Assent on March 9, 2023.
- No change to the pay rules. The province passed Bill 10, the Labour Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, on April 16, 2026, but it changes how Employment Standards complaints and appeals are handled, not statutory holiday entitlements.
- Who this affects: every provincially regulated employer in BC with hourly, salaried or commissioned staff. Federally regulated employers (banks, airlines, interprovincial trucking, telecoms) follow the Canada Labour Code instead, which has its own holiday list.
Sources: BC Government News: B.C. will formally recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Province of BC: Statutory holidays.
BC statutory holidays 2027 (and the rest of 2026)
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thu, Jan 1 | Fri, Jan 1 |
| Family Day (third Monday of February) | Mon, Feb 16 | Mon, Feb 15 |
| Good Friday | Fri, Apr 3 | Fri, Mar 26 |
| Victoria Day | Mon, May 18 | Mon, May 24 |
| Canada Day | Wed, Jul 1 | Thu, Jul 1 |
| B.C. Day | Mon, Aug 3 | Mon, Aug 2 |
| Labour Day | Mon, Sep 7 | Mon, Sep 6 |
| National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | Wed, Sep 30 | Thu, Sep 30 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Mon, Oct 12 | Mon, Oct 11 |
| Remembrance Day | Wed, Nov 11 | Thu, Nov 11 |
| Christmas Day | Fri, Dec 25 | Sat, Dec 25 |
Not statutory holidays in BC: Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and Boxing Day. An employer can give these days off, and many do, but the Employment Standards Act does not require it or require premium pay for working them.
Yes, Remembrance Day is a stat holiday in BC. It is one of the 11 holidays named in the Employment Standards Act.
Source: Province of BC: Working in British Columbia infosheet.
Who qualifies for BC stat holiday pay
An employee is entitled to statutory holiday pay when both of these are true:
- They have been employed by you for at least 30 calendar days before the holiday, and
- They worked or earned wages on at least 15 of the 30 calendar days before the holiday.
Days with paid vacation, a paid statutory holiday or paid sick days count as days on which wages were earned. Employees working under an averaging agreement within those 30 days do not need to meet the 15-day test.
| Employee | Qualifies? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time, five days a week, hired 4 months ago | Yes | Over 30 days employed and roughly 20 days worked in the last 30 |
| Hired 3 weeks before the holiday | No | Not employed 30 calendar days yet |
| Part-time, three shifts a week | Usually no | About 12 or 13 days in a 30-day window, short of 15 |
| Part-time, four shifts a week | Usually yes | About 17 days in the window |
| Full-time, on paid vacation for the 2 weeks before | Yes | Paid vacation days count as days wages were earned |
| On an averaging agreement | Yes, if employed 30 days | The 15-day test does not apply |
The BC test does not require the employee to work the scheduled shifts immediately before and after the holiday; it looks only at the 30-day window.
Who is excluded: managers (as defined in the Employment Standards Regulation, which looks at actual duties, not job title), agricultural workers, some commission salespeople and high-technology professionals are excluded from the statutory holiday provisions. A working supervisor who spends most of their time doing the same work as the people they supervise is generally not a "manager" for this purpose.
Sources: Province of BC: Qualify for statutory holiday pay and Province of BC: Managers.
How to calculate BC stat holiday pay
An eligible employee gets an average day's pay for the holiday:
Average day's pay = total wages in the 30 calendar days before the holiday ÷ number of days worked or wages earned in that period
- Include: regular wages, commissions, statutory holiday pay and vacation pay paid in the 30-day window.
- Exclude: overtime pay.
If the employee works on the holiday
They are paid:
| Hours worked on the holiday | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 12 hours | 1.5 × regular wage |
| Over 12 hours | 2 × regular wage |
| Plus, in all cases | An average day's pay |
If the holiday falls on the employee's day off
The employee still receives an average day's pay. Christmas Day 2027 falls on a Saturday: an eligible Monday-to-Friday employee is owed an average day's pay for it, but the Act does not require you to give them a substitute day off unless you have agreed to one.
Substituting another day
An employer may substitute another day off for a statutory holiday if the employer and the employee, or a majority of the affected employees, agree. The substitute day is then treated exactly like the statutory holiday, including premium pay if they work it.
Sources: Province of BC: Calculate statutory holiday pay and Interpretation guidelines, Act Part 5, Section 46.
Worked examples for Remembrance Day 2026
These examples use an employee paid $25 an hour on 8-hour shifts.
1. Takes the day off. In the 30 days before November 11 they worked 17 shifts and took 1 paid vacation day, earning $3,600 over 18 days. Average day's pay = $3,600 ÷ 18 = $200.
2. Works 8 hours on the holiday. 8 × $25 × 1.5 = $300, plus the $200 average day's pay = $500 for the day.
3. Works 13 hours on the holiday. 12 × $37.50 = $450, plus 1 × $50 = $50, plus the $200 average day's pay = $700 for the day.
4. Part-time, three shifts a week. Worked 13 days in the 30-day window, so they do not meet the 15-of-30 test. No average day's pay is owed, and if they work November 11 it is paid as an ordinary working day.
The same rules apply to salaried employees who are not excluded managers: if they work the holiday, the 1.5x and 2x premium and the average day's pay apply on top.
Edge cases that trip up BC payroll
- Using the scheduled rate instead of the 30-day average. The average day's pay looks back at what was actually paid, so a commissioned or variable-hours employee's holiday pay can be well above or below their "normal" day. Commissions paid in the window go into the total.
- Including overtime in the average. Overtime is excluded. Including it overstates the average day's pay.
- Forgetting the June minimum wage increase. Holiday pay calculated from wages before June 1, 2026 may be under the current floor if a rate was not updated. Our post on the BC minimum wage of $18.25 covers the rate table.
- Treating Boxing Day as a stat holiday. In BC it is not one, unless your employment contract or policy says otherwise. A contract can give more than the Act, never less.
- Calling a supervisor a manager. Excluding someone from holiday pay because of their title, when their duties do not meet the regulation's definition, exposes you to a claim for the holiday pay that should have been paid.
- Counting the new hire. A new employee hired on October 20 is not eligible for Remembrance Day because they have not been employed for 30 calendar days.
Statutory holiday pay is employment income, so it runs through payroll with the usual income tax, CPP and EI deductions. See our source deductions employer guide and the Canada payroll and sales tax rates guide for the current figures.
What a BC employer should do before November 11
- Run the 15-of-30 test for every part-time and recently hired employee before the pay period closes.
- Calculate each eligible employee's average day's pay from the actual 30-day wage history, excluding overtime.
- Flag anyone scheduled to work the holiday and set up the 1.5x and 2x premium plus the average day's pay in the payroll run.
- Plan Christmas and New Year's now. Both fall on Fridays this year, and Christmas 2027 falls on a Saturday. Decide in writing whether you are offering substitute days.
- Put the 2027 dates in your payroll calendar so the same checks run for each of the 11 holidays.
Key takeaways
- BC has 11 statutory holidays; Remembrance Day is one, Boxing Day and Easter Monday are not.
- An employee qualifies after 30 calendar days of employment and 15 days worked or paid in the last 30, unless on an averaging agreement.
- Pay is an average day's pay (30-day wages excluding overtime ÷ days worked), and working the day adds 1.5x for up to 12 hours and 2x beyond.
- A holiday on a day off still earns an average day's pay; there is no automatic substitute day.
RN Canada provides bookkeeping and payroll support to BC employers from our Vancouver office, including statutory holiday and year-end payroll checks.