Hi everyone.
I work in a restaurant in Canada and this restaurant has decided to close for three weeks in January (basically 1st – 24th). I am a salaried member of staff and have been told that I will not be paid for the time the restaurant is closed.
The owners are not closing the restaurant for any reason other than they think the profit won’t be worth being open as January is usually a quiet time in hospitality.
My assumption is that my salary covers all 52 weeks of the year and that I accrue two weeks of holidays on top of that. I usually get any holiday pay for the current year (2022) that I have not used paid out in December. As I will have no holiday pay accrued in January for the year of 2023, the owners are indicating that I will just not be paid for the three weeks that I cannot work due to them choosing to close.
Basically, I’m wondering if this is legal? I’m guessing that a closure for three weeks without pay would mean I am not being paid my entire salary either and I lose the opportunity to accrue vacation time on those three weeks.