Yes, but there are two separate issues here: whether Erick qualifies for the New Brunswick public-holiday benefit at all, and what he must receive if he does work on the holiday. Under New Brunswick’s Employment Standards Act, an employee who qualifies and works on a public holiday must receive their regular day’s pay plus 1.5 times their regular hourly wage for each hour worked on the holiday. Therefore, if Erick has been receiving only his regular wages for the hours worked plus a separate amount equal to 1x those hours, that may be below the statutory minimum.

The “day before and day after” rule does not mean the employee has to literally work the calendar day immediately before and after the holiday. New Brunswick’s guidance says the employee must have worked their regular scheduled day of work before and after the holiday, unless there is a good reason for not doing so. So, for a part-time employee who regularly works Fridays, Sundays and Mondays, the fact that Tuesday is not a scheduled workday should not, by itself, disqualify him. For example, if the holiday falls on a Monday, you would look at his scheduled workday immediately before and after the holiday, rather than requiring him to work Tuesday when Tuesday is not part of his regular schedule.

I would also confirm that Erick meets the other eligibility requirements before making any payroll adjustment. In particular, he generally needs to have been employed for at least 90 calendar days during the 12 months preceding the holiday, must have worked his scheduled days before and after the holiday (unless there is a good reason for the absence), and must have worked the holiday if he agreed to do so. The legislation also has some exceptions and special rules for certain industries and employment arrangements.

Based on the information provided, I would recommend having payroll review Erick’s holiday payments against the New Brunswick requirements and, if necessary, correcting any shortfall for prior holidays. I would also make sure the US payroll team has a specific New Brunswick holiday-pay rule documented in its payroll procedures rather than relying on a general US/Canadian holiday-pay formula. The New Brunswick government’s Employment Standards guidance would be an appropriate compliance source to provide payroll, and if there is any uncertainty about Erick’s particular employment arrangement, I would escalate that specific question to New Brunswick Employment Standards.

-HRInsider Staff