- Board Directives and Guidelines (earnings basis)
- Earnings basis (bonus)
A daycare worker suffered a compensable injury in May 2011. The worker appealed a decision of the Appeals Resolution Officer denying inclusion of a quarterly bonus in the calculation of her short-term earnings basis.
The employer paid all of its employees an earnings enhancement on a quarterly basis from revenue received through government grants. The calculation of the amount was based upon hours of work.Board policy provides that short-term average earnings includes regular production bonuses and commissions. Bonuses and commissions are considered to be regular if they are paid on a weekly or monthly basis. The Vice-Chair found that the policy does not specifically address enhancement earnings paid on a quarterly basis. Bonuses and commissions are additional earnings for job performance. The enhancement earnings in this case were not a type of bonus or commission. Rather, they were an intrinsic and measurable part of the worker's actual earnings. There was no provision in the Act or Board policy preventing inclusion of these enhancement earnings in the calculation of the short-term earnings basis.The worker was entitled to recalculation of her earnings basis to take into account the enhancement earnings. The appeal was allowed.