Labour Standards
Your employer must give you 2 weeks of vacation within 4 months of every 12-month period.
In other words, if you began working in October of 2020, then your employer must give you two weeks off some time between October 2021 and the end of January 2022. You are entitled to your 2 weeks of vacation only after you complete your first year of employment, unless you make an agreement with your employer to take your vacation earlier.
You must take your vacation time. You cannot create an agreement with your employer to continue working without a vacation unless you work less than 90% of regular working hours during a continuous 12-month period. If this is the case, you can inform your employer in writing that you are choosing not to take your vacation and get your vacation pay within one month of the 12-month period.
Your employer may also decide when to give you your vacation time and need only to give you at least one week's notice of when your vacation will begin. Many employers allow their employees to request vacation time, but the employer always has the final say.
BIG ISSUES: There are currently no explicit rules governing whether employers can cancel or move vacation time that has been agreed to. However, some workers have experienced issues where their employer attempted to cancel or postpone previously agreed vacation at the last minute or during the vacation itself. In response, courts in other jurisdictions determined that it is unreasonable for employers to expect employees to cancel or cut short agreed upon vacation plans at the last second (Watson v. Summar Foods Ltd). If you find yourself in a position where your employer is attempting to pressure you to cancel travel or vacation plans at the last second, please reach out to the Workers’ Action Centre.