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Annual vacation entitlement for B.C. government employees

Last updated on August 29, 2025

Your number of vacation days depends on your bargaining unit, your employment status, how many hours you work and how many years you've been in the BC Public Service. Vacation years are defined as the period from January 1 to December 31.

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Vacation earned

An employee’s first vacation year is the calendar year in which they celebrate the first anniversary of their employment with the BC Public Service. Employees hired part-way through a calendar year earn vacation for that first partial-year. The rate at which vacation is earned in the first partial-year is set out in the respective collective agreement or terms and conditions of employment. 

For example, a regular employee hired part-way through the current year would be in their first partial-year until December 31. As of January 1 of the next year, the employee is in their first vacation year because that's the year in which they mark their first anniversary of employment.

Annual vacation entitlements for regular full-time employees are as follows:

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Excluded employees

Vacation year Days Hours

1st

 20 140
2nd 20 140
3rd 20 140
4th 20 140
5th 20 140
6th 20 140
7th 20 140
8th 22 154
9th 23 161
10th 25 175
11th 25 175
12th 26 182
13th 27 189
14th 27 189
15th 27 189
16th 28 196
17th 28 196
18th 28 196
19th 29 203
20th 31 217
21st 32 224
22nd 33 231
23rd 34 238
24th 34 238
25th and thereafter 35 245
 

BCGEU employees

Vacation year Days Hours

1st

 15 105
2nd 15 105
3rd 16 112
4th 17 119
5th 19 133
6th 20 140
7th 20 140
8th 22 154
9th 23 161
10th 24 168
11th 25 175
12th 26 182
13th 27 189
14th 27 189
15th 27 189
16th 28 196
17th 28 196
18th 28 196
19th 29 203
20th 31 217
21st 32 224
22nd 33 231
23rd 34 238
24th 34 238
25th and thereafter 35 245
 

PEA employees

Vacation year Days Hours

1st

 20 140
2nd 20 140
3rd 20 140
4th 20 140
5th 20 140
6th 20 140
7th 20 140
8th 22 154
9th 23 161
10th 24 168
11th 25 175
12th 26 182
13th 27 189
14th 27 189
15th 27 189
16th 28 196
17th 28 196
18th 28 196
19th 29 203
20th 31 217
21st 32 224
22nd 33 231
23rd 34 238
24th 34 238
25th and thereafter 35 245
 

BC Nurses' Union employees

Vacation year 7-hour shifts 7.5-hour shifts

1st

 20 18.667
2nd 20 18.667
3rd 20 18.667
4th 20 18.667
5th 20 18.667
6th 21 19.6
7th 22 20.533
8th 23 21.467
9th 24 22.4
10th 25 23.333
11th 26 24.267
12th 27 25.2
13th 28 26.133
14th 29 27.067
15th 30 28
16th 31 28.933
17th 32 29.867
18th 33 30.8
19th 34 31.733
20th 35 32.667

 

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Auxiliary employees

Auxiliary employees begin to earn annual vacation entitlement once they’ve completed 1,827 hours in 33 consecutive pay periods.

Before they reach this hour requirement, they receive vacation pay at six percent of their regular earnings on each biweekly pay cheque.

They're also able to take a leave of absence without pay for up to 15 workdays (maximum of 105 hours) after working for six months.

Vacation adjustments for remote locations

Starting with the 2010 vacation year, an extra vacation day (based on a seven hour workday) is given to employees who reside and work in one of the following remote locations in British Columbia:

  • Alert Bay
  • Alexis Creek
  • Atlin
  • Bella Coola (including Hagensborg and Waglisla)
  • Burns Lake
  • Chetwynd
  • Dawson Creek
  • Dease Lake
  • Fort St. James
  • Fort St. John
  • Fort Nelson
  • Fraser Lake
  • Gold River
  • Haida Gwaii (including Daajing Giids)
  • Hazelton
  • Houston
  • Hudson’s Hope
  • Kitimat
  • McBride
  • MacKenzie
  • New Denver
  • Port Alice
  • Port Hardy
  • Port McNeill
  • Prince Rupert
  • Smithers
  • Stewart
  • Terrace
  • Tumbler Ridge
  • Valemount