Mary Ann earns on Victoria Day when she works 8 hours. Which method would be used to calculate her earnings?

• A. Regular daily wage plus 1.5 times her regular rate for 8 hours
• B. Regular daily wage only
• C. Overtime at double rate for all 8 hours
• D. 1.5 times regular rate for all hours

Answer: (A)

On a statutory holiday, if an employee works, they usually receive pay for the holiday itself plus a premium for the hours worked that day. The standard premium is 1.5 times the regular rate for the hours worked on the holiday. So for Mary Ann, since she worked 8 hours on Victoria Day, she should get her regular daily wage for the holiday plus 1.5x her regular rate for those 8 hours. That matches paying the regular daily wage plus 1.5 times the regular rate for the 8 hours worked.

Paying only the regular daily wage would ignore the extra compensation for working on a holiday. Paying overtime at double the rate for all 8 hours would be too high here, since the typical premium on a holiday is 1.5x, not 2x. Paying 1.5x for all hours without the regular daily wage would miss the holiday pay component that employees receive for simply having the holiday.