Summer’s here—and with it, the promise of patio lunches, long weekends, and (if you’re lucky) a well-earned break away from your practice. However, as a dental practice owner, taking time off isn’t always straightforward. Between patient scheduling, associate vacations, and managing your team’s entitlements, the logistics can feel like more work than rest.
Whether you’re stepping away for a long weekend or planning your team’s summer schedule, this post breaks down what every dental practice owner needs to know to stay compliant, keep operations smooth, and actually enjoy the season.
Vacation Time & Pay Entitlements
As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure your team gets the time off—and the vacation pay—they’re legally entitled to. Under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), employees are not entitled to vacation time or pay until they have worked for 12 consecutive months. This, of course, is the minimum standard, and employers can (and often do) choose to give their employees vacation time and pay in their first year of employment.
One thing that often confuses employers is the distinction between vacation time and vacation pay. Whether you start early or once an employee reaches the 12-month mark, you have requirements for both. Here’s what that looks like in 2025.
Vacation Pay
Vacation pay is a standard (and mandatory) benefit under the ESA.
- 4% of gross wages for employees with less than 5 completed years of service.
- 6% once they’ve completed 5 years.
This pay must be provided either:
- On or before the pay day for the period in which the employee takes their vacation, or
- On each paycheque, if you and the employee have agreed in writing that their vacation pay will be paid this way.
Vacation Time
Vacation time is something that the employee earns as a result of being paid vacation pay in the previous year. Under the ESA, employees earn their vacation on a rolling basis for the upcoming year.
For example, if you hire an employee on January 1, 2024, and your standard vacation year is January 1 to December 31. Then, the new employee must be paid 4% vacation pay for the entire year of 2024. In 2025, that employee may now take their 2 weeks of time off because they earned it (and were paid for it) in the previous year.
Caution
Our employment lawyers hear from dentists sometimes that “they are part-time and so they do not get any vacation.” That could not be further from the truth!
All employees in Ontario are entitled to vacation pay; however, the amount may vary among employees.
Office Closures & Pre-Planned Vacation Time
Another common area of confusion is whether employers can determine when an employee takes vacation time. And the answer is – yes, you can! According to the ESA , employers can give their employees two consecutive weeks off or two blocks of one consecutive week – unless the employee consents to take their vacation differently (i.e., taking a day here and a day there).
So, if you wish to shut down the practice for one entire week during the summer, you may do so without violating any laws. Just make sure you give your employees as much advance notice as possible before doing so and confirm that it will not violate any office policies you have previously implemented.
Vacation Accruals & Banking Time
Legally, vacation time does not have to accrue year to year. In Ontario, the ESA requires that time off be scheduled within 10 months of the end of the vacation entitlement year. That means if your practice runs on a calendar year, your team should take their earned vacation before the end of the following October. If the employee does not take their vacation within 10 months of the end of the last vacation period, they are no longer entitled to take it. Don’t fall into a trap, though: you still must give an employee their vacation pay even if their right to take the vacation time has passed.
Some dental offices bank their employees’ vacation pay and then pay that banked vacation pay when the employee takes vacation time. However, there is nothing in the law that requires vacation to be paid time away from work. For example, you could pay your employees’ vacation pay on each pay cheque and then require them to take the vacation time as unpaid time away from work. Additionally, you could agree to an employee’s request to take more than the allotted time for vacation, provided the additional time is unpaid.
The key is clarity and documentation. Regardless of how you decide to manage your team’s vacation entitlements, ensure that it is documented in writing and clearly outlined (such as in a proper employment contract).
Planning Time Off Without Losing Your Mind
As a practice owner, your role during vacation season isn’t just to take time off—it’s also to keep things running smoothly while others do. Balancing vacation requests with the needs of your practice takes planning, structure, and a little bit of flexibility. Here’s how to keep everyone happy—and compliant.
Use Written Policies—Even for Small Teams
Whether you have a team of two or twenty, make sure that your vacation and leave policies are in writing and acknowledged by your team. Your policies should include:
- How vacation is accrued and requested
- How vacation pay is calculated and issued
- How requests will be prioritized (first-come, rotation, seniority, etc.)
- If and when unused vacation can be carried over
- Blackout periods, if any (e.g. early January rush, hygiene recall periods)
Providing your team with the details about how and when to submit vacation requests reduces last-minute requests and helps ensure you’re not making reactive decisions during your busiest times.
Schedule With a Calendar, Not Just a Conversation
Having straightforward substitution and scheduling protocols protects your patients and your workflow. For example, you can use a centralized vacation calendar that includes all team members. This helps avoid gaps in coverage and lets you spot issues before they become emergencies. Bonus: It also creates transparency and fairness in the approval process.
Don’t Forget Leaves and Overlap Risks
Extended absences, such as parental leave or long-term illness, can overlap with vacation time. According to the ESA, “both active employment and inactive employment shall be included” for the purposes of accruing vacation. This means that leaves of absence of all kinds count as time employed for the purpose of accruing vacation. Be sure to pay these accordingly.
Be Fair, But Practical
You’re not required to approve every vacation request just because it’s summer. Under the ESA, you’re allowed to decide when vacation is taken, as long as the employee gets their full time off within 10 months of earning it. If two team members want the same week off and you can’t manage without one of them, say so. Offer alternatives, not apologies.
Prepare for Your Own Vacation
When you go on vacation:
- Let your team know your availability (or lack thereof)
- Set boundaries for urgent vs. non-urgent issues
- Delegate key responsibilities, even temporarily
- Notify any referring specialists or labs if timelines will shift
Most importantly, trust your systems and your people. A few days of radio silence won’t sink the ship, especially if you’ve set things up properly.
Bottom Line
Vacations should be restorative, not risky. When your clinic has clear policies, fair scheduling, and ESA-compliant practices in place, everyone wins. Your team gets the time off they’re entitled to. Your operations stay on track. And you, as the practice owner, actually get a chance to relax.
Whether you’re heading to the lake or just taking a long weekend to unplug, a little prep goes a long way.
If you’re unsure whether your current vacation policy or payroll practices are up to date with ESA requirements, we can help. DMC works exclusively with dentists and can provide clear, actionable advice to help you stay compliant and confident. Send us an email or call our employment lawyers directly at 416-443-9280 extension 206.
