- Loss of earnings {LOE} (lay-off)
The Board granted the worker entitlement for elbow disablement with an accident date in July 2011. He did not lose time and continued to work until he was laid off by the employer in October 2011, due to a shortage of work. The worker appealed a decision of the Appeals Resolution Officer denying LOE benefits in October 2011.
The lay-off in October 2011 should be considered to be a short-term lay-off. According to Board policy, short-term lay-offs usually last no more than three months. In this case, the worker did not return to work until March 2012, which was more than three months. However, the employer had recalled the worker a few weeks after the lay-off but the worker declined. Further, in the year prior to the accident, the worker had been laid off on more than one occasion due to a shortage of work. Each of those lay-offs had been for less than three months.For short-term lay-offs affecting the entire work force, Board policy provides that, generally, benefit status at the time of the lay-off should be maintained. The worker did not come within any of the exceptions in the policy.The worker was not entitled to LOE benefits in October 2011. The appeal was dismissed.