B.C. tribunal looks at agreement involving negative vacation balance
An accountant who took a three-month paid study leave and resigned just three weeks after returning must repay his former employer $4,664 in "vacation debt," a British Columbia tribunal ruled on Jan. 22, 2026.
Tribunal Member Peter Nyhuus found that Mohit Bains had agreed to repay Johnsen Archer LLP for the negative vacation balance he accumulated during his leave, even though no written policy explicitly required it.
The case highlights the risks employers face when making informal arrangements for employee development and raises questions about when verbal understandings become legally binding obligations.
Bains began working as a staff accountant at Johnsen Archer LLP in 2021. In summer 2023, he requested a three-month study leave from July 1 to Oct. 2. Without sufficient accrued vacation time, Bains asked to go into a negative vacation balance to continue earning salary while away from work. The firm agreed to advance him 50% of his salary during the leave period, an exception to its usual practice.
Johnsen Archer's controller provided Bains with spreadsheets showing what his negative balance would be at various salary percentages and recommended he take only 25% to reduce the debt. The tribunal noted, “Johnsen Archer says it offered this arrangement with the understanding that Mr. Bains would either work his way out of the negative vacation balance or pay Johnsen Archer...
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