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Leave Entitlement Calculator

Ontario vacation pay calculator

Vacation pay in Ontario is at least 4% of the gross wages you earned in the vacation entitlement year, rising to 6% once you have five years of employment. Enter your earnings and service below; Ontario is pre-selected, and you can change it if your job is covered by another jurisdiction.

Most jobs are covered by the province or territory you work in. Federally regulated work is the exception — see below.

Employment Standards Act, 2000, Part XI. Rules checked 16 September 2026.

The earnings your jurisdiction counts for vacation pay. What counts and what is excluded is explained with the result.

Whole years finished with this employer by the end of the year you are asking about. Enter 0 if you are still in your first year.

Many employers pay vacation pay on every cheque. Enter what has already been paid to see what is left.

Choose your jurisdiction, then enter your eligible earnings and service to see your gross vacation pay, with the workings.

Worked examples

Our own worked examples using the published Ontario rates, not official government examples.

Two years' service, CA$50,000 gross wages
Under five years, so 4%: 50,000 × 4% = CA$2,000 vacation pay for the entitlement year.
Six years' service, CA$50,000 gross wages
Five years complete, so 6%: 50,000 × 6% = CA$3,000 — and vacation time rises to three weeks at the same point in Ontario.
Paid 4% on every cheque
If CA$1,400 has already been paid out during the year, enter it as already paid: the calculator shows roughly CA$600 still to come rather than counting the full CA$2,000 twice.

Ontario rules the calculator applies

Employment Standards Act, 2000, Part XI

Vacation pay rate
4% of eligible earnings from the start, then 6% after 5 completed years.
Vacation time
2 weeks after 1 completed year, then 3 weeks after 5 completed years.
Entitlement year
A 12-month “vacation entitlement year”. By default it runs from your hire date; an employer may instead set an alternative vacation entitlement year, in which case a shorter “stub period” bridges your hire date and the start of it.
Which earnings count
Gross wages earned in the vacation entitlement year or stub period, excluding any vacation pay itself.
First and partial years
If you do not complete the full vacation entitlement year or stub period you do not qualify for vacation time, but you still earn vacation pay on the wages you did earn. A stub period is pro-rated.
Does pay build up before time vests?
Ontario is explicit that vacation pay is earned as wages are earned: work even one hour and at least 4% of that hour's wages is vacation pay.
Exemptions and limits
  • Some jobs are exempt from the vacation standard in Part XI, including certain commission salespeople and some information-technology professionals. Check the ESA exemptions guide for your role.
  • A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Official sources for Ontario

Rules checked 16 September 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Common Ontario questions

Do I earn vacation pay in my first year?
Yes. Ontario is explicit that vacation pay is earned as wages are earned — at least 4% of every hour's wages — even though the right to take vacation time arises only once you complete the vacation entitlement year.
What is a stub period?
If your employer moves everyone to a common vacation entitlement year, the gap between your hire date and the start of that year is a stub period. Vacation time for it is pro-rated; vacation pay is still the percentage of the wages you earned in it.
Is vacation pay the same as public holiday pay?
No. Ontario's nine public holidays and public holiday pay are a separate ESA entitlement with its own formula, and this calculator does not cover them.

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