In Ontario, if a statutory holiday falls on a regular work day and is worked, the employee would be paid:

• A. Regular daily wage plus a substitute holiday
• B. Regular daily wage plus 1.5 times the regular rate for each hour worked on the holiday
• C. Overtime pay for the entire day
• D. Regular daily wage only

Answer: (A)

In Ontario, statutory holidays are paid days off. If a statutory holiday falls on a day you would normally work and you end up working that day, the rule is to give you a substitute holiday—another paid day off at a later date. You also receive your regular wages for the day you worked. So you effectively get your regular daily wage for that day plus a substitute holiday to take later.

This matches the idea of rewarding the employee for working on a holiday without cutting the benefit of having a holiday off, just delayed to another time. Overtime premiums (1.5x) don’t automatically apply to hours worked on a statutory holiday, and you’re not limited to regular daily wage only because you are entitled to the substitute paid day off.