Work Week for Establishing a Wage Base
PRO 15/2025

Effective date: July 1, 2025

Application: Applies to all time loss claims as noted in the effective date.

Policy subject: Benefits for Workers - Initial benefits

Purpose:

To establish the process for determining a worker’s wage base.

BACKGROUND

  1. POL 36/2024, Work Week for Establishing a Wage Base, provides direction to determine a worker’s weekly rate of benefits.
  2. POL 03/2007, Calculation of Probable Compensation, directs a worker’s net earnings will be calculated based on gross earnings from employment, less the probable deductions for tax credits and/or tax exemptions. Probable deductions will be based upon the information the worker has authorized the employer to deduct from their employment earnings for income tax purposes and which is available as of the commencement of the loss of earnings.

PROCEDURE

  1. How do WCB staff calculate earnings loss benefits when an absence is a week or longer?
    1. Regardless of whether the worker has regular, repeating cycle or irregular rest days a worker’s weekly rate of benefits will be calculated based on a seven-day workweek.
    2. When a worker misses seven calendar days or more of work, they will be paid based on a weekly rate.
    3. The seven-day workweek calculation uses the following formula:
Net Weekly Compensation Rate
  1.  How do WCB staff calculate earnings loss benefits when a worker misses full days of work, but the total absence is less than a full week?
    1. When a worker misses less than seven calendar days and then fully returns to work, the WCB will use a percentage of a workweek calculation on a one-time basis.

      The percentage of a workweek calculation uses the following formula:
      Days missed
    2. When unanticipated time loss occurs in subsequent weeks, regardless of the number of full days missed, earnings loss benefits will then be calculated using the seven-day workweek calculation.
  2. When a worker experiences a recurrence of a compensable work injury, earnings loss benefits will be calculated based on a seven-day workweek calculation, regardless of whether the worker has missed less than a week of work.

Attachments

Work Week Examples

Policy references

Legislative Authority

The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013
Sections 2(1)(k), 20(2)(f), 31, 37, 68(1), 69(1), 70(1)

Document History

  1. POL and PRO 34/2010, Determination of a Worker’s Daily Rate of Benefits (effective January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2025).

Complements

POL 36/2024 Work Week for Establishing a Wage Base
POL 35/2010 Compensation Rate – Casual and Seasonal Employment (Section 70(4))
POL 28/2010 Compensation Rate – Minimum and Average Weekly Earnings
POL 18/2017 Wage Base – Recurrence
POL 17/2025 Medical Appointment Allowance

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Two people signing documents

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