Substituting a Holiday : NS Labour and Advanced Education, Employment Rights

The Labour Standards Code states:

Employers may substitute any general holiday for another day, if:
  • their employees agree, and
  • the employer applies and the application is approved.

Refer to Sections 37 and 39 of the Labour Standards Code.

 

General Holidays

There are six (6) general holidays under the Labour Standards Code: New Year's Day, Nova Scotia Heritage Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Labour Day and Christmas Day.

 

Substituting a Holiday

If the employer and the employees want to work the holiday as usual and observe the holiday on a different day, the employer can apply for approval to do this.

For example, in a year when Canada Day falls on a Thursday, everyone may agree that they want to work on July 1 but take the next day, Friday July 2 off as a holiday.

 

To Apply

The employer may apply to the Director of Labour Standards for approval to substitute the holiday. To apply, the employer would:

  1. ask the employees to indicate their agreement - in writing;
  2. clearly outline what day is being substituted for the holiday;
  3. send a letter to the Director and include items number 1 and 2.