KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Thanksgiving, Mon. Oct. 12, is not a paid holiday for many workers in Nova Scotia. That is because Thanksgiving is not one of the six annual “general paid holidays”. However if you lived in Alberta, BC, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan or Yukon — you would have the day off with pay as it’s a statutory holiday. It’s also a paid holiday if your workplace is governed by federal labour law — such as radio, tv, airlines, banks or Canada Post.
If you are represented by a union, you will probably get the day off with pay — that’s one union advantage.
In 4 Atlantic provinces, Thanksgiving is not a paid holiday
In NS, if you work in a hotel, in a restaurant, a gas station, a bar, a convenience store or a small grocery store – for example – you may well have to work on Thanksgiving Day. And if you do work, you do not earn extra pay or premium pay– unless you are in a union.
Thanksgiving: a Punishing Holiday
Thanksgiving, while not a general holiday, is a retail closing day in Nova Scotia. Most retail shops and services, including offices, large grocery or drug stores, hardware stores, retail malls must close on Monday. Employees will get the day off – but they will not be paid for the holiday, unless the boss feels like paying them. This is what I call a Punishing Holiday — stores and services must close so employees cannot work — but they do not get paid for the day off.
Pay cut of 20% this week…
If you do work in a place permitted to be open on Thanksgiving (the list is here see p. 19-20), you do not have the right to refuse to work on Thanksgiving Day. And if you work, you will have to work for regular pay, not time and a half or holiday pay.
In Nova Scotia, most unions have negotiated a paid holiday for their members on Thanksgiving Day. For the non-unionized, expect a cut to your pay of 20% this week — yet you may get Monday off work.
