Paid general holiday – CHRISTMAS 2025 & NEW YEAR 2026

DÉCRET

Here’s what you need to know about those statutory holidays, which are paid days off, according to the Decree.

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Employer

Thursday 25th and Friday 26th of December 2025 & Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd of January 2025, are statutory holidays that are paid and non-working. Therefore, they are paid leaves that the employer must grant to the employee.

Employee

You must meet all the following conditions to benefit from this paid statutory holiday:

You must have worked the last working day preceding the holiday and the first working day following it, according to your work schedule, not based on the company’s opening days.

If you are absent on either of these days—either the last working day before the holiday or the first working day after—you will still benefit from the paid statutory holiday if you meet one of the following conditions:

• If your absence is authorized by the Decree, the Law, or your employer.
• If your absence is justified by a valid reason and you do not receive any indemnity from the CNESST.

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HOW TO CALCULATE THE INDEMNITY THAT THE EMPLOYER MUST PAY TO AN EMPLOYEE ENTITLED TO A PAID STATUTORY HOLIDAY – ARTICLE 6.01

Working day for the employee

• The indemnity to be paid for a paid statutory holiday is equal to the remuneration that the employee would have received if they had been at work.

Non-working day or less than 20 days of uninterrupted service for the employee

• The indemnity to be paid for a paid statutory holiday is equal to 1/20 of the salary earned during the 4 complete pay weeks preceding the holiday week, excluding overtime.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can statutory holidays be moved?

In principle, the answer is NO, unless there are exceptions, namely:

Non-working day for the employee

• The leave can be postponed within 15 days before or after the statutory holiday to a working day agreed upon between the employee and the employer.

Employee on vacation

• The employer must pay the indemnity for the statutory holiday to the employee or grant them a compensatory day off on a date agreed upon between the employer and the employee.

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***IMPORTANT***

Please refer to articles 3.01, 3.02, 4.02, and 6.01 to 6.05 of the decree. The information above is provided for explanatory purposes and does not replace the decree.