I have been receiving lots of queries from my readers (both workers and managers) regarding how to calculate pay for workers who claim a paid Personal Emergency Leave day but don’t work “normal” hours or shifts.
The new PEL law states that the worker is only entitled to receive regular pay for the hours they were scheduled to have worked on the day the worker claims the Personal Emergency Leave. No premiums (i.e. shift or team lead premiums or overtime rate) are payable.
Some examples:
** If the worker was only scheduled for four hours, they only receive four hours pay.
** If the worker has “irregular shifts” (they work different hours every shift, and not consistent days of the week), again, they are only entitled to pay for the hours scheduled on the day they claim the PEL.
** If the worker arrives at work, and completes part of the day (even if less than an hour), they get paid “wages” for the time spent at work, and they would receive “PEL pay” for the remaining hours they were scheduled to work.
**If your worker is coming in on “extra” time, such as an overtime shift on a weekend (whether “voluntary” or not!), and they call in sick, they are still entitled to claim Personal Emergency Leave for the day. Payment would only be the regular wages they would have earned for the hours they were scheduled. They would not receive the overtime premium, or any shift premium that may have applied.
Unpaid days are taken as whole days, regardless of how many hours the person was scheduled to work or wants to “claim”.
In all of these cases, the worker has used one full “day” of PEL entitlement, no matter how many hours are claimed.
