Cheryl asked:

Could you tell me how Statutory Pay is calculated for long-haul drivers in Manitoba?

Representative Employment and Social Development Canada answered:

The Canada Labour Code and the Canada Labour Standards Regulations govern statutory holiday pay for federally regulated companies, which include the interprovincial road transport industry. The Code and regulations protect the rights of employees working in federally regulated workplaces and are administered by the Labour Program of Employment and Social Development Canada.

If a long-haul driver in Manitoba, or any province or territory, regularly transports goods across provincial and/or national borders, statutory holiday pay should be calculated in accordance with the Code.

The Canada Labour Code refers to statutory holidays as “general holidays”. There are nine of them: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. Employees are entitled to a day off, with pay, on each General Holiday, so long as they meet certain qualifying criteria.

The amount of general holiday pay should be the same as a regular day’s pay, excluding overtime. For employees like drivers, whose regular pay varies from day to day, a regular day's pay is calculated by taking an average of the last twenty days worked (not counting overtime) before the holiday occurs. If the employee is a member of a union, the collective agreement method applies.

In the case of interprovincial long-haul drivers required to work on a general holiday, the Code offers different options to the employer:

1. pay the regular rate of pay for the general holiday, plus, for the actual hours worked on that day, pay at no less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay;
2. pay for the actual hours worked on the general holiday, plus, grant a holiday with pay at some other time, which is convenient to both the employee and the employer; or
3. pay the employee for the first day on which the employee does not work after that general holiday (only where a collective agreement applies and so provides)

To learn more, please consult the Labour Program website (general holidays and general holidays-continuous operations) or call 1-800-641-4049.

The Labour Program develops, administers and enforces workplace legislation and regulations, such as the Canada Labour Code, that cover industrial relations, health and safety and employment standards for federally regulated workers and employers.

Examples on how calculation is done

• Calculating General Holiday Pay for a long haul driver whose regular pay varies from day to day:

  A driver is paid based on the number of kilometres driven ($0.40 per km) and because the distance he drives varies each day, his daily wages also vary from day to day.To calculate his General Holiday pay, his regular day’s pay needs to be calculated. To do this, we add his wages for the last twenty days worked before the holiday, excluding overtime pay and divide by 20. (Note that for long haul drivers, overtime is paid when the driver works over 60 hours in a week.)

  Total Earnings for 20 days prior to the General Holiday excluding overtime: $4,000.00
  Regular Day’s Pay ($4,000.00/20) = $200.00

• Entitlement to a General Holiday, with pay, for a long haul driver when required to work on the General Holiday:

  A drive is required by his employer to work on a General Holiday for ten hours during which he drives 500 kilometres. Assuming that there is no collective agreement, the employer may choose from two options in order to satisfy their General Holiday obligations:

  Option One: The employer would pay the driver General Holiday pay based on a regular day’s pay (see first example), plus, pay the driver for the actual hours worked on the holiday at 1.5 times his regular rate of pay. As the driver is paid by the kilometre, payment for actual hours worked on the General Holiday pay should be made at 1.5 times the rate per kilometre. With this option, because the employer is paying a premium wage rate for hours worked on the General Holiday, they are not required to provide another day off in lieu of the holiday.

  General Holiday Pay based on regular day’s pay: $200.00
  Actual Hours Worked on General Holiday, payable at 1.5 x regular rate: (10 hours/500 kms @ $0.40 per km) x 1.5 = $300.00
  Total - General Holiday Pay plus Wages for Actual Hours Worked on General Holiday: $500.00 

  Option Two: The employer would pay the driver his regular rate for the actual hours he worked on the general holiday, plus schedule another day off as a holiday with pay at another time convenient to both the driver and the employer. The amount of General Holiday pay would be equal to a regular day’s pay (see first example). In this option, because the employer is paying the regular wage rate for hours worked on the General Holiday, they must schedule another day off work with pay in lieu of the holiday worked.

  Actual Hours Worked on General Holiday: 10 hours/500 kms @ $0.40 per km = $200.00
  Holiday with Pay granted at some other time convenient to both Joe and the employer: $200.00

  Option Three: If there is a collective agreement another option presents itself. If the collective agreement specifies that the employees are to be paid General Holiday pay for the first day on which the employee does not work after that general holiday, then, the collective agreement applies, and the driver would be paid his General Holiday pay in accordance with the collective agreement.

  Actual Hours Worked on General Holiday: 10 hours/500 kms @ $0.40 per km = $200.00
  General Holiday Pay paid for first day on which Joe does not work after general holiday: $200.00

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