6.00 Paid General Holidays

6.01. 24 June is a paid general holiday in accordance with the National Holiday Act (chapter F-1.1).

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.01; O.C. 1808-92, s. 8.

6.02. Regular employees are entitled each year to 10 general holidays with pay, chosen among the following: 1 January, 2 January or 31 December, Good Friday or Easter Monday, the Monday preceding 25 May, 1 July, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, 25 December, 24 or 26 December, and another holiday, chosen by the employer, between 22 December and 5 January.

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.02; O.C. 382-84, s. 2; O.C. 1755-87, s. 4; O.C. 736-2005, s. 6; O.C. 988-2012, s. 9; O.C. 158-2020, s. 11.

6.03. A movable holiday with pay is granted each year to employees who have at least 12 months of continuous service; this annual movable holiday is taken on a date agreed upon by the employer and the employee.

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.03; O.C. 382-84, s. 2; O.C. 1755-87, s. 4.

6.04. By mutual agreement between the employer and the employee, the observance of one of the general holidays mentioned in sections 6.02 and 6.03 may be changed to another date within the 30 calendar days preceding or following such day.

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.04.

6.05. The indemnity for each general holiday referred to in sections 6.02 and 6.03 is paid as follows:

(a) the payment owed the employee for a general holiday with pay is equal to the amount to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee worked on that day;

(b) despite subparagraph a, if an employee is entitled to it and the employee’s working hours are scheduled over less than 5 days per week, the employee is remunerated as follows: 20% of the wages earned in the pay period preceding the holiday. If the pay period is every 2 weeks, the percentage is 10%. An employee may renounce to take a general holiday if working on that general holiday does not entail a 50% increase in wages.

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.05; O.C. 736-2005, s. 7; O.C. 988-2012, s. 10; O.C. 158-2020, s. 12.

6.06. The regular employee is entitled to the holiday pay mentioned in section 6.05 and upon condition that he works or that he is available to work the working day preceding and following the holiday; this condition does not apply if the employee’s absence is due to the following reasons:

a) the employee has prior authorization to be absent;

(b) the employee was laid off the day preceding or following the holiday;

(c) the employee is absent owing to sickness or an accident for a period of less than 5 days. The employer reserves the right to request a medical certifi cate from the employee justifying the absence.

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.06; O.C. 1808-92, s. 9; O.C. 99-96, s. 3; O.C. 736-2005, s. 8; O.C. 988-2012, s. 11; O.C 158-2020, s. 13.

6.07. (Revoked).

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.07; O.C. 736-2005, s. 9.

6.08. When one of the holidays mentioned in sections 6.02 and 6.03 falls on a non-working day, the holiday is moved to a working day within the 30 calendar days that precede or follow such day.

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.08.

6.09. When one of the holidays mentioned in sections 6.02 and 6.03 falls during the employee’s annual vacation, the employer pays the latter the holiday pay to which he is entitled or adds an extra day to the annual holiday.

R.R.Q., 1981, c. D-2, r. 40, s. 6.09.

6.10. The probationary employee is entitled to the following paid general holidays: 1 January, Good Friday or Easter Monday, at the option of the employer, the Monday preceding 25 May, 1 July, or if that date falls on a Sunday, 2 July, Labour Day, Thanksgiving and 25 December.

O.C. 736-2005, s. 10; O.C. 988-2012, s. 12 ; O.C. 158-2020, s. 14.

6.11. For each general holiday provided in section 6.10, the employer shall pay the employee an indemnity equal to 1/20 of his wages earned during the 4 complete weeks of pay preceding the week of the holiday, excluding overtime hours.

O.C. 736-2005, s. 10.

6.12. Where a probationary employee, is obliged to work one of the days mentioned in section 6.10, the employer, in addition to paying the employee the wage corresponding to the work performed on the holiday, shall pay the indemnity provided in section 6.11 or grant him a compensatory holiday of 1 day. In this case, the holiday must be taken in the 30 civil days before or after that day.

O.C. 736-2005, s. 10; O.C. 988-2012, s. 13 ;. O.C. 158-2020, s. 14.

6.13. Where an employee, who has not worked 320 hours in the enterprise, is on annual leave on one of the general holidays provided in section 6.10, the employer shall pay him the indemnity provided in section 6.11 or grant him a compensatory holiday on a date agreed upon by the employer and the employee concerned or fixed by a collective agreement.

O.C. 736-2005, s. 10; O.C. 988-2012, s. 14.

6.14. To benefit from a general holiday, a probationary employee must not be absent from work without the authorization of the employer or for valid cause, the working day preceding or the working day following the holiday.

O.C. 736-2005, s. 10; O.C. 988-2012, s. 15 ; O.C. 158-2020, s. 14.