This is an updated version of an article originally published in the NS Advocate here.

Despite Labour Day (Mon. Sept 7) being a public holiday  and a  retail closing day in Nova Scotia – some grocery stores are allowed to open—if they are smaller than 4,000 square feet. Also allowed to remain open are flea markets, fish stores, laundromats, pool halls, and even used clothing stores, according to the Retail Business Designated Day Closing Act. Of course, gas bars, hotels, restaurants and bars are allowed to stay open, mainly because they cater to tourists.

But what about pay? In Nova Scotia, Labour Day is one of the six paid holidays in the year.  If your workplace is closed that day, or you do not work that day, you are entitled to a day off with pay.

How to qualify for holiday pay on Labour Day

To qualify for the day off with pay, you need to have worked 15 of the last 30 days; and you have to have worked your last scheduled shift before Labour Day, and your first scheduled shift after the holiday.

So many employers keep staff on part time hours, it’s sometimes hard to find out if you qualify for a paid day off.  

If your regular day off is Monday, then – if you qualify – you should get another day off with pay, which substitutes for the Labour Day holiday.

If you qualify for the paid day off, but you have to work on Labour Day, you are entitled to your normal day’s pay, plus time-and-a-half for the hours you do work that day. 

Calculate your pay if you have to work Labour Day …

If you normally work 8 hours per day at $20/hr, (note: minimum wage in NS is now $16.75 per hour and the Living Wage in Halifax is $27.60) you should get $160 for a day’s work.  Plus on Labour Day, if you have to work only 5 hours, that works out to 5 x $20.00 =  $100, plus half again as much $50.00. So if you do work Labour Day and you qualify for the holiday pay, and you only work 5 hours on Labour Day – you’d earn $160+ $100 + $50=  $310.00.

Note: If you have to work on Labour Day, you only get the double time and a half pay if you QUALIFY for the holiday. That means you have to have worked 15 of the last 30 days, and you have to have worked the shift before and after Labour Day.

If you are in a union, you will certainly get paid for the day off as a holiday, and under your collective agreement, there should be better terms if you must work on Labour Day.

Happy Labour Day.

Image at the top: Striking CUPE workers at Ocean View Continuing Care in Dartmouth on April 13, 2026. (Credit: Jennifer Henderson in the Halifax Examiner)