Paid Time Off Policies

April 2011
All jurisdictions in Canada, whether federal, provincial or territorial have labour standards legislation providing for entitlement to annual paid vacation, statutory holidays and leaves of absences. The legislation requires that all employer establish employment conditions that meet at least the minimum standards set out in the legislation.

In March 2011, WCBC conducted a national e-pulse survey of paid time off policies for full-time employees. A total of 427 organizations from across Canada participated in the survey.

Highlights of Findings

• The majority (83%) of Canadian organizations feel that the paid time off component is an important or very important component of their compensation strategy.
  
• Forty-four percent of organizations feel that their current paid time off policies assist in attracting new employees while 59% feel their policies assist in the retention of existing employees.
  
• While 85% of Canadian employers believe that their current paid time off policies are "about right", over half (56%) admit that they feel that their employees do not recognize the high cost to the organizations of providing employees with paid time off.
  
• Employers, typically provide annual vacation and statutory holiday paid time off in excess of the required federal, provincial and/or territorial legislation.
  
  

Full results of current e-pulse surveys are available to participants only. To be included in future e-pulse surveys, please contact us.