How to calculate your average weekly wage properly?

An average weekly wage is an important number for people filing for workers’ compensation benefits. If the claim is successful, workers receive a replacement check that correlates to their weekly average from before the injury. 

There is a problem, however, calculating this average can quickly become quite complex, depending on the situation, as there are many confusing factors to consider. 

An average weekly wage calculator can help you accurately calculate your average pre-injury income. This is the same number that your employer’s insurance provider will use to determine how much you will receive in your benefit checks.

Without further ado, let’s see how to calculate your average by using the average weekly wage calculator, and get a better idea of how many benefits you can receive. 

Average weekly wage basics

What is this average based on?

An average weekly wage is based on how much you earned in the 52 weeks before the date on which your injury occurred. Your take-home pay is not a part of this calculation, meaning you only need to use your gross earnings combined with overtime. In short, you only need to calculate how much you earn before taxes.

Many workers wonder how much money they will receive weekly if their application is successful. This is understandable, as being injured and recovering at home while the medical bills are mounting up can leave even the strongest minds spinning into overdrive.

Luckily, this is something that’s going to be relatively easy to answer once you use the average weekly wage calculator to come up with the precise weekly wage. 

You can receive approximately two-thirds of your average weekly wage per week. So if your average weekly wage was $700 before the injury, you will receive two-thirds of that amount, which is around $466 per week. 

Wage information

Before the ball starts rolling, your employer’s got some things to do first. They must fill out a form aptly named Employer's Statement of Wage Earnings Preceding Date of Accident, more commonly referred to as Form C-240.

This form outlines your gross pay before taxes and deductions. It also includes the number of days you’re paid each week along with the paid time off in the 52 weeks preceding the date of your injury.

If you didn’t work for a full year, your employer may use the time you worked to fill out the form.

Similarly, if you only worked for a short time before getting injured, your employer will have to work a bit harder to fill out the C-240. They will have to use the salary of a worker who holds the same or a similar position and who has worked for the required 52 weeks.

The easiest way to figure out your average weekly wage

The number you need to figure out first is your salary. It refers to the annual figure in the employment contract you signed when you got hired. So before using the average weekly wage calculator, you can use a tool that helps you calculate your salary.

If you worked the usual five-day workweek, you can figure out your weekly average wage by dividing your salary by the complete number of days you got paid for. Next, you’ll have to multiply that number by 260. Lastly, you’ll divide the result by 52. 

If you’ve done everything right, you’ve just used the average weekly wage calculator to figure out your weekly average. 

Let’s use an example to illustrate how this formula works.

If your total salary is $50,000 and you got paid for 250 days for the year before the date of the injury, the average weekly wage would be $1000.

If you worked six days a week, on the other hand, you’ll have to divide your salary by the number of days paid. The difference is you’ll multiply the result by 300, and just as before, you’ll divide it by 52. 

The same principle applies to seasonal workers and those who worked four days a week. Divide your total salary by the number of days you got paid for, multiply the result by 200 and divide it by 52. 

Exceptions to the average weekly wage calculator 

If your situation is not as clear-cut, you’ll have to calculate your average weekly wage a bit differently. 

One of the factors that might affect the calculation is if you work less than four days per week. The same is true for situations where you worked one job for part of the year and did the rest of the year at a different job, or even if you didn’t work for a full year before your injury.

Sometimes, people have to work two jobs to achieve more financial stability. If you worked for two employers at the time you got injured, you might qualify for concurrent employment benefits. In this situation, you’ll have to calculate both average weekly wages and combine the results. 

However, you must fit strict criteria for your jobs to be considered concurrent. Both jobs must be similar, more precisely, the duties you perform need to be connected. 

Lastly, if you were under 25 years old at the time of the injury, you might be granted wage expectancy consideration. This means you can claim a higher average weekly wage than the one described previously.

Keep in mind that the final calculation can also be skewered depending on different factors. For instance, if you took some days off to recover from an illness or if you took a long vacation before the injury. Additionally, you might have been on light duty when you got injured. These factors could potentially reduce your average weekly wage.

Clearing up any confusion

By using the average weekly wage calculator, you can figure out how much compensation you’ll receive. While calculating it isn’t hard, there are too many factors involved that can significantly complicate your workers’ compensation process.

To make your workers’ compensation claim go along as smoothly as possible and to ensure you receive fair compensation, you should consider hiring an attorney.

An attorney with experience in workers’ comp claims can help you calculate the right average weekly wage and analyze your benefits to give you a better idea of how much you should receive. They can demystify all the smaller factors that might affect your benefits, giving you a better understanding of what you’re up against.

Get in touch with RITE by calling (904) 500-RITE (7483) or by sending an email at info@rite4justice.com to get the most out of your workers’ compensation experience. 

Note:

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.