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Buying & Selling a Business

Will I still be paid for a statutory holiday that falls right around the closing date?

TSL Written by the Treadstone Law team· Updated August 2026

Generally, yes — your entitlement to public holiday pay doesn't depend on which company happens to be signing your paycheque on any given date, it depends on the ordinary eligibility rules that apply to any employee, and your continuous service through a sale is what makes those rules apply normally rather than being interrupted.

If a statutory holiday falls before closing, the seller, your employer at that point, owes you the holiday pay or the substitute day based on your work and eligibility around that holiday. If it falls after closing and your employment has continued with the new owner, the same entitlement applies against the new owner instead, calculated the same way it always would be. Where this can get muddled in practice is exactly around the closing date, if payroll systems are being transitioned between the seller and buyer at the same time — it's not unusual for something to get missed simply due to an administrative handoff, not because you're not actually entitled to it.

If a holiday near closing doesn't show up properly on either employer's payroll, don't assume it's fallen through the cracks legitimately; ask whichever employer was responsible for that pay period to confirm and correct it.

Key takeaways

  • Public holiday pay eligibility isn't affected by which entity is issuing your paycheque.
  • Continuous service through the sale means your normal eligibility rules keep applying without interruption.
  • Whichever employer was your employer around the holiday is the one responsible for that pay.
  • Payroll handoffs around closing can cause administrative slip-ups — follow up if something's missing.
This is general information, not legal advice. It doesn’t create a lawyer–client relationship, and the rules can change. For advice on your situation, a Treadstone business lawyer can help.
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