The authorities define insurable hours as the total number of hours for which employees work each week, for which they receive insurable earnings. Annex 1 describes the different types of insurable earnings. These earnings typically include:
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Vacation pay
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Overtime pay and,
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Statutory holiday pay
In case the employee received statutory holiday pay, the employer would need to include the statutory holiday hours in the total insurable hours. This is valid unless the statutory holiday took place after the date specified in Block 11 (for more details on this, refer to the section titled ‘Block 17B: The Statutory Holiday Pay’ that appears subsequently in this document). If this is the case, the employer might or might not have to include the statutory holiday hours in the total insurable hours. All this typically depends on whether the employee’s departure is final or not final.
The Case in Situations Where the Employee’s Departure is Final
The authorities consider an employee’s departure as final when the employer-employee relationship is not expected to continue in the future. For instance, a departure is final in cases where:
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The employer dismisses an employee
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Restructuring the organisation results in the disappearance of a job
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The business closes or,
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The employee voluntarily leaves the services of the employer
In case the departure is final, the employer would not need to include the hours for a paid statutory holiday that takes place after the date in Block 11 in the employee’s total insurable hours i.e. Block 15A.
For instance, Dominic began working for an employer on February 15, 2015, and his last day of work was December 17, 2015. The employer does not require to fill this vacant position in the company any longer. This means that Dominic’s departure is final. In this scenario, the employer would need to pay employees for paid statutory holidays that take place during the month of departure. This is why the employer would need to pay Dominic for the statutory holiday that falls on December 25, 2015.
While completing Dominic’s Record of Employment (ROE), the employer would need to put 15 February, 2015 in Block 10. The employer would need to put 17 December, 2015 in Block 11. For determining the Block 15A amount, the employer would need to use the last 44 pay periods to calculate Dominic’s total insurable hours. This is because the employer follows a weekly pay period. In addition, this is because there are 44 full, partial and nil pay periods that fall during the period of employment. It is worth highlighting that employers would not include the hours for the December 25 statutory holiday in his total insurable hours. This is because Dominic’s departure is final. This is applicable even though the employer would have paid Dominic for the December 25 statutory holiday.
The Case in Situations Where the Employee’s Departure is Not Final
The authorities consider an employee’s departure as not being final when the employer-employee relationship is expected to continue in the future. For instance, the employee’s departure is not final in situations where:
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The employee will be returning to work after a period of leave or,
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The employer intends to rehire the employee after a temporary layoff
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This is applicable even in situations where the employer does not know the return date of the employee
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In situations where the employee’s departure is not final, the employer will consider the hours as insurable if the employer has paid for a statutory holiday. This is why employers would need to include these hours in the employee’s total insurable hours in Block 15A.
For instance, consider a situation where an employer pays employees on a biweekly pay period i.e. a period that ends every other Friday. Lisa has worked at this employer’s factory since May 15, 2010, without any work interruptions. The employer has not issued any previous Records of Employment (ROEs) to Lisa. With effect from December 31, 2015, the employer needs to shut the factory down temporarily for a span of two months for performing the required maintenance. Lisa’s last day of work is December 30, 2015. However, she plans to return to work once the maintenance work is over. This employer pays the employees for statutory holidays. For this reason, this employer would need to pay Lisa for the statutory holiday on January 01, 2016.
While filling in Lisa’s Record of Employment (ROE), the employer would need to enter 15 May, 2010 in Block 11. Similarly, the employer would need to put 30 December, 2015, in Block 11. Lastly, the employer would need to put 01 January, 2016, in Block 12. This is because this is the ending date of the last pay period. It is worth mentioning that Lisa worked for more than the maximum number of 27 biweekly pay periods. This is why the employer would need to use the last 27 pay periods for determining Lisa’s total insurable hours. In addition, Lisa’s departure is not final. Therefore, the employer would need to include the statutory holiday hours in the total insurable hours the employer enters in Block 15A. Moreover, the employer would need to include the statutory holiday pay in PP 1 i.e. the final pay period field of Block 15C. Lastly, the employer would need to enter 01 January, 2016 in Block 17B, along with the amount.