Annual Vacation and Vacation Pay
As an employer regulated by British Columbia’s Employment Standards Act (ESA), you are required to provide employees with annual vacation and vacation pay. Providing employees with time to rest results in greater job satisfaction, a better work-life balance and creates a focused and more productive workforce. Here’s what you should know about your employees’ entitlements.
Annual Vacation Entitlement
Under the ESA, eligible employees have the right to two weeks of annual vacation. An employee only becomes entitled to vacation time after 12 months of employment. For employees who reach five years of service with the same employer, their entitlement increases to three weeks of annual vacation.
Employers can choose to provide annual vacation within the first 12 months of employment.
Annual vacation is not the same as statutory holidays.
Vacation Pay
After five calendar days of employment, employees begin to accumulate vacation pay. When your employee takes their annual vacation earned from the previous year, you must provide vacation pay. This is calculated as follows:
| Minimum Standard | 1-5 years of employment | More than 5 years of employment |
| Vacation Time | 2 weeks of vacation time after 12 months of employment | 3 weeks of vacation time |
| Vacation Pay | 4% of wages from the previous year | 6% of wages from the previous year |
It is your employer responsibility to maintain your payroll records. Each pay stub must indicate the dates of annual vacation taken by your employee, the amounts paid, and the days and amounts owing.
Have questions about vacation pay?
Ask Employer Line how to calculate vacation pay, or how to put together a vacation policy that’s right for your small business. Call us to have your questions answered right away by our team of HR experts – 1(833) 200-5103.