DCHP-3

stat

DCHP-2 (Apr 2013)
n. & adj. abbreviation, Administration

a statutory holiday, i.e. a federal holiday on which employees get a paid day off work or are paid extra; often used in compounds, as in stat holiday.

Type: 5. Frequency Internet domain searches indicate that the clipping stat is most prevalent in Canada (followed by New Zealand). Given the inclination towards clippings and abbreviations in Canadian English and the frequency data in Chart 1, the clipping might have originated in Canada. The 1957 quotation shows the precursors of the general clipping, here with the dot that was eventually dropped (see the 1968 quotation).
See also COD-2, s.v. "stat"(3), which is marked "Cdn informal".
In addition to the usage label informal applied in COD-2, the clipping is likely the most common form in the spoken language, with increasing uses in the written domain, some of which occur in rather formal contexts (see the 1997 quotation).

Quotations

1957
[REG. N. REQUIRED FOR MODERN 10 bed hosp. Starting salary $210 gross. $5 inc. every 6 mo. 8 stat. holidays. 1 month holiday with pay after 1 yr.]
1968
The above position offers 3 weeks vacation with pay, stat holiday and liberal sick leave.
1973
Clerical Help Wanted Mature person for part-time employment in Admitting-Switchboard department, for week-end, vacation, stat. holiday and sick relief. Typing essential, switchboard experience an asset.
1983
"They also want concessions. They want to take back retroactivity, and they want to take back statutory holidays. We only have five or six stat holidays and sometimes we like to have a nice meal with our families, especially those of us on shift work," he added.
1989
"How can I close if other stores are opening? . . . I understand it's a day for the vets, but as far as the general public is concerned it's just another stat holiday. We get a lot of people in our store," said Ken Boje.
1997
Statutory holidays are mandatory legal paid holidays to which every Canadian worker is entitled. That's why it was somewhat misleading for the Federal Appeal Court to claim, as it did in a recent ruling, that stat holidays are discriminatory.
2000
These are things which spark interest and understanding among children. This leads to a better appreciation of Remembrance Day -- more so than the symbolic gesture of a stat holiday -- and ensures that "Lest we forget" does not become an ironic turn of a phrase.
2013
The extra cost of paying workers time and a half on the stat shouldn't be an impediment to opening, he said. Assuming the city needs 10 employees to keep the pool open, simple math means you're paying the equivalent of 15 workers to cover the overtime, Burrows said.
2016
Seven out of 10 provinces had Monday off. People in other provinces filled their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds with pictures as many a New Brunswicker looked on with envy. The provincial Liberals are looking at whether New Brunswick should jump on the stat bandwagon. "Giving hard-working New Brunswickers a chance to take a break and spend a day with their families could lead to a more engaged and productive workforce," said Social Development Minister Cathy Rogers in the written statement.

References

  • COD-2

Images


        Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 16 Oct. 2012

Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 16 Oct. 2012