Calculator

How much vacation have they earned?

Someone starting in May? Leaving in September? Enter their annual entitlement and a couple of dates, and get prorated vacation days so you don’t have to wrestle a spreadsheet.

Enter the details:

How many days they can take in a year. The minimum in most provinces is two weeks.
When vacation starts building: often Jan 1, a hire date, or a work anniversary.
An employee’s last day, a new hire’s first day, or simply today.
2 weeks
Minimum paid vacation in most provinces after one year
AB / BC / ON / QC
3 weeks
Saskatchewan’s minimum from day one; most provinces reach it after five years
SK
4%
Minimum vacation pay as a share of gross wages in most provinces
AB / BC / ON / QC
2–4 weeks
Federal minimum, rising with years of service
Canada.ca
Earned so far
0
vacation days accrued to date
Left to earn
0
still to accrue this vacation year
0% of the vacation year complete

The math, step by step

Calendar days accrued so far —
Daily accrual rate —
Earned so far —
Left to earn —

Which number do you need?

Someone’s leaving
Use Earned so far. Set the as-of date to their last day. That’s the vacation they’ve accrued this year. Subtract any days already taken to find what’s owed on their final pay.
Someone just started
Use Left to earn. Keep the accrual start at the beginning of your vacation year and set the as-of date to their first day. That’s their prorated allowance for the rest of the year.

How this calculator works

We prorate by calendar days: annual entitlement × days accrued ÷ days in the vacation year. The vacation year runs 12 months from the accrual start date; if February 29 falls inside it, we count 366 days.

The as-of date itself is counted on the “still to earn” side, not the “earned” side. For a 15-day entitlement, that’s a difference of about 0.04 days. If your policy counts the final day as worked, nudge the as-of date forward by one.

Results are rounded to two decimal places. Your payroll system or collective agreement may round differently; when in doubt, round in the employee’s favour.

A note on Canadian employment standards

Every province and territory sets its own minimum vacation time and vacation pay, and federally regulated workplaces follow the Canada Labour Code. Employment standards typically treat vacation as earned once a full 12-month year is complete; many employers grant or prorate time from day one instead. That’s fine: you can always give more than the minimum, just never less.

For vacation pay, it’s usually counted as a percentage of gross wages (typically 4–8%, rising with years of service) rather than in days, which can produce a different payout than day-based proration, especially for employees with variable earnings, overtime, or commissions. Always check the applicable standards before finalizing a payout. Ideally, your payroll software does this for you.

Still tracking vacation in a spreadsheet?

See Rise in action

This tool provides a general estimate based on calendar-day proration. Vacation entitlement and vacation pay are governed by provincial or federal employment standards, your policies, and employment agreements. Confirm against those before processing a payout. This isn’t legal or payroll advice.