Vacation and Vacation Pay

The following questions and answers are for information purposes only. For actual interpretation and application purposes refer to the Employment Standards Act and regulations, or contact an Employment Standards Officer in the Labour Services Office on the 3rd Floor of the Law Centre, 2130-2nd Avenue, Whitehorse, Yukon or call (867) 667-5944 (toll free within the Yukon 1-800-661-0408 extension 5944).

1. Are all employees entitled to annual vacation?
   
   Members of the employer's family are excluded from the vacation requirements. All other employees, whether part-time, seasonal or temporary, are entitled to an annual vacation with vacation pay after each completed year of employment.
   
   
2. How many weeks vacation must the employee be granted?
   
   The employee must be granted at least 2 weeks vacation after completing one year of employment.
   
   
3. What is the vacation pay rate?
   
   Vacation pay is 4% of the gross wages earned by the employee during the year in which the employee earned the vacation time.
   
   
4. When can the employee take annual vacation?
   
   The vacation must be granted within 10 months of the year the vacation was earned. For example, an employee who works from January 1 to December 31 of one year must be granted their vacation before the end of the following October.
   
   
5. When must vacation pay be paid?
   
   Vacation pay must be paid at least 1 day before the employee starts the vacation.
   
   
6. Is an employee who terminates before working a full year entitled to vacation pay?
   
   An employee must be employed 14 calendar days before they are entitled to vacation pay. If the employee has been employed 14 calendar days they are entitled to 4% of their gross wages as vacation pay. Vacation pay must be paid to them within 7 business days of the termination date.
   
   
7. Must the employee take annual vacation?
   
   The employer and employee may agree in writing that the employee will not take an annual vacation. Although the employee is not taking a vacation the employer must pay the vacation pay which the employee has earned.
   
   
8. What if a general holiday occurs during the vacation?
   
   The employee's vacation is extended by one day for each general holiday. The employer must pay the wages to which the employee is entitled for the general holiday.
   
   
9. What happens if a business is transferred?
   
   Transfer of a business from one employer to another does not interrupt the employee's continuous service if the employee continues to be employed; vacation and vacation pay accrue as if there were only one employer.