Brian asked:

Is vacation pay in Ontario based on an employee's previous years earnings?

Julie King answered:

From reading the Employment Standards publication on the Ontario Government website it looks like the answer is a bit more complicated than that.

The government site reports that eligible employees earn 2 weeks of vacation with pay after each 12 months of employment. The twelve month period is known as the "vacation entitlement year".

The legislation allows for a standard vacation entitlement year, which is a recurring 12-month period that starts the day the employee is hired.

However, the legislation also allows for an alternative vacation entitlement year, which is a recurring 12 month period that starts on a specific date specified by the employer. If your employer is using the alternative period, you are entitled to a pro-rated amount of vacation with pay in the period between the date that you are hired and the start date of the alternative vacation year entitlement period.

For more information on vacation pay entitlement, please see the following Ontario Government webpage: http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/es/factsheets/fs_vacation.html

Yours truly,

Julie King

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