Vacation pay

Vacation pay is a percentage of your earnings, set by your province or the federal Code. Some employers add it to every cheque; others save it up and pay it when you take vacation.

On each cheque, or saved up

1. Open the Jobs tab and tap your job.
2. Under How you’re paid, turn on Vacation pay on each cheque if your stub shows vacation pay every pay period.
3. Tap Save.

When it’s on, Paycheq adds vacation pay to each cheque’s earnings, and it’s taxed with the rest of your pay. When it’s off, Paycheq doesn’t add it. That’s how cheques look when vacation pay is saved up.

The percentage

The percentage depends on how long you’ve worked there. Set Started this job in your job’s Pay schedule, so Paycheq uses the right one. Without a start date, Paycheq uses the starting percentage.

The minimums in the law:

• British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories, Nunavut 4%, then 6% after 5 years.
• Saskatchewan 3/52 of wages (about 5.77%), then 4/52 (about 7.69%) after 10 years.
• New Brunswick 4%, then 6% after 8 years.
• Nova Scotia 4%, then 6% from the start of the eighth year.
• Newfoundland and Labrador 4%, then 6% after 15 years.
• Yukon 4%.
• Federal sector 4%, then 6% after 5 years and 8% after 10 years.

Your contract may pay more. If your vacation pay is saved up, add your contract’s percentages under Contract rules, then Vacation pay (Pro). With vacation pay on each cheque, Paycheq uses the law’s percentage.

Taking vacation

Add each vacation day so its pay is on the right cheque:

1. Open the Week tab and tap + at the top.
2. Tap Add vacation.
3. Set From and To to the first and last days.
4. Check Hours, the hours of a usual day. Leave Pay at $0 for Paycheq to work it out, or enter what your stub shows.
5. Tap Save.

Paycheq saves one day off for each weekday in the range, or each of your regular work days if you’ve set them.

How the days are paid depends on your vacation pay:

• On each cheque: you’ve already been paid, so a vacation day adds nothing.
• Saved up: each day pays its hours at your regular rate, out of the vacation pay you’ve saved up this year, and no more than that. The Pay screen shows Vacation pay owing: what you’ve saved up this year, less the vacation you’ve taken.

If your stub shows two vacation balances, such as VAC ACCR and HOL ACCR, or your vacation year starts on your anniversary, see How do my two vacation balances work? instead: Paycheq then tracks both balances, pays vacation days on a cheque of their own, and shows a Vacation pay card in place of Vacation pay owing.

If your records start partway through the year, Paycheq can’t see the vacation pay saved up before then. It then pays vacation days in full, and Vacation pay owing counts only from the day your records start.

Sick days and other paid leave work the same way: tap Add a sick day, or for other paid leave, choose Other paid leave under Kind. They’re paid at your regular rate unless you enter the pay, and they don’t count toward overtime.

Estimates only. Not legal advice.

Also useful → How do my two vacation balances work?