Alberta Vacation Pay Calculator
In Alberta vacation pay is 4% of your wages, rising to 6% after five consecutive years. The catch is the wage base: s. 1(x) of the Employment Standards Code expressly excludes overtime pay and general holiday pay. On $52,000 of regular pay plus $4,200 of overtime and $1,400 of holiday pay, an Alberta employee at three years is owed $2,080.00 — $224 less than the identical worker in British Columbia.
Step 1 of 3
What you are owed in Alberta
$2,080.00
of vacation pay, on $52,000.00 of earnings Alberta counts
- Regular wagescounts
- $52,000.00
- Overtime paynot counted here
- $4,200.00
- Statutory holiday paynot counted here
- $1,400.00
- Commission and non-discretionary bonusescounts
- $0.00
- Tips and gratuitiesnot counted here
- $0.00
How this was calculated
- Earnings that count toward vacation payRegular wages $52,000.00 = $52,000.00
- Earnings Alberta leaves outOvertime pay $4,200.00, Statutory holiday pay $1,400.00 — excluded by s. 1(x) "wages"; s. 43
- Your rate — 4%, for the first 4 years$52,000.00 × 4% = $2,080.00
- Vacation time you are owed2 weeks, after each of the first 4 years — a separate entitlement from the pay
Alberta: $2,080.00 of vacation pay and 2 weeks off.
That is $2,080.00 of vacation pay you have already earned. If it is not due until your next vacation or your final cheque, NotchUp can advance up to $1,500 of wages you have already earned for a $5 flat fee.
See what you could advance- 4% → 6%at 5 consecutive years
- Excludedovertime and holiday pay
- 2 yearsto recover unpaid vacation pay
Alberta excludes overtime from vacation pay entirely
This is the single most consequential rule on the page, and it is the one most calculators get wrong.
What does count in Alberta: regular wages, salary, commissions and non-discretionary bonuses. Prior vacation pay is excluded by s. 1(x)(i) but effectively brought back by s. 43, so it does form part of the following year's base.
The rate and the entitlement
Section 34(1) gives two weeks of annual vacation after each of the first four years of employment, and three weeks after five consecutive years. Section 34.2 pays 4% for the first four years and 6% from the fifth onward.
Unlike British Columbia, Alberta has no five-day waiting period before vacation pay begins accruing — it accrues from the start of employment.
If you are paid monthly, the percentage does not apply
Section 34.1 sets a separate rule that most calculators ignore completely. An employee paid a monthly salary is not paid a percentage at all — each week of vacation is paid at the monthly wage divided by 4⅓.
For a salaried employee with no variable pay the two methods land close together. For anyone with commissions, bonuses or fluctuating hours they diverge, and the statute is clear which one governs.
Alberta gives vacation pay four times longer to claim
This asymmetry is real, it is in the statute, and almost nobody mentions it.
- Ordinary unpaid wages: recoverable for the six months before the complaint — s. 90(3)(b)(i).
- Unpaid vacation pay: recoverable for two years — s. 90(3)(b)(ii).
So an Alberta employee who discovers eighteen months of underpaid vacation pay can still recover all of it, while eighteen-month-old unpaid overtime is long gone. If you are filing a complaint, separate the two heads of claim rather than lumping them together.
Complaints go to Alberta Employment Standards. Vacation must be taken within 12 months of the year in which it was earned, and vacation pay is due at least one day before the vacation begins or on the next regular payday.
Frequently asked questions
Does overtime count toward vacation pay in Alberta?
No. Section 1(x) of the Employment Standards Code expressly excludes overtime pay, general holiday pay and termination pay from the definition of "wages" used for vacation pay. This is the sharpest divergence from British Columbia, which counts both overtime and statutory holiday pay.
Is Alberta vacation pay 4% or 6%?
4% for the first four years of employment and 6% from five consecutive years onward, under s. 34.2. The time entitlement moves at the same point: two weeks becomes three under s. 34(1).
How is vacation pay calculated if I am paid a monthly salary in Alberta?
Not by percentage. Section 34.1 pays each week of vacation at your monthly wage divided by 4⅓. For a straight salary the result is close to 4%, but for anyone with commissions or variable pay the two methods differ and s. 34.1 is the one that governs.
How long do I have to claim unpaid vacation pay in Alberta?
Two years, under s. 90(3)(b)(ii) — four times the six-month window that applies to ordinary unpaid wages under s. 90(3)(b)(i). It is worth separating vacation pay from other wage claims in a complaint for exactly this reason.
Do I earn vacation pay in my first year in Alberta?
Yes. Vacation pay accrues from the start of employment, with no waiting period — unlike British Columbia, where s. 58(1) sets a five-calendar-day threshold. Vacation time, however, is granted after each completed year of employment.
Does vacation pay accrue on vacation pay in Alberta?
Effectively yes. Section 1(x)(i) excludes vacation pay from the definition of wages, but s. 43 brings it back for this purpose, so vacation pay paid in one year forms part of the base for the next.
Sources
Every rate, threshold and formula on this page was verified against these primary sources. If a figure here disagrees with one of them, the source is right and we want to know.