To Safeguard the Workers’ Benefit Rights, the BLI Reminds the Insured Units to Regularly Check and Adjust the Insured Salary.

The monthly insured salary is the most important basis for calculating the various benefits under labor insurance, employment Insurance and labor occupational accident insurance (hereinafter referred to respectively as the LI, EI and OAI). To ensure that adequate benefit payment is made to the workers when an insurance incident occurs, the BLI reminds all insured units to accurately report the monthly insured salary for their employees. To protect the workers and avoid penalty, the insured units should regularly check and adjust the insured salary in time if there is any change.

The BLI further expressed that the insured units should, based on the “ Table of Grades of Labor Insurance Salary” and “Insured Salary Category Chart of Labor Occupational Accident Insurance”, accurately report the monthly insured salary for the LI, EI and OAI for their employees according to the total monthly salary thereof. If the total monthly salary of an employee has changed, the insured unit should accurately report the adjustment before the deadline required by law (the end of February and the end of August each year). How is “Total Monthly Salary” defined? The BLI explained that “Total Monthly Salary” shall include all the compensation a worker receives for his/her work, including wages, salaries, premiums, allowances, whether payable in cash or in kind of computed on an hourly, daily, monthly, or piece-work basis, and other regular payments under whatever name. For example, overtime pay, duty allowance, attendance bonus, payment against leaves untaken, incentives for goals achieved and sales incentives shall all be reckoned as “Compensation Received from Work” and included as part of the total monthly salary for the current month.

Also, insured units often raise questions about the methods for adjusting the monthly insured salary for LI (EI and OAI) for those employees who are not receiving fixed amount of salary each month. The BLI further explained that, for those whose total monthly salary is unstable due to overtime pay, bonus, allowance or other payments, the insured units should examine the payment status and apply for an adjustment of the monthly insured salary at least twice a year at the end of February and August, accurately, based on the average salary of the latest three months. Such application for adjustments may also be filed whenever necessary. The adjusted monthly insured salary shall become effective on the first day of the month following the month when the application was filed by the insured unit to the BLI.

Insured units that fail to report employee’s insured salary accurately as required by law will be subject to a fine following the BLI’s confirmation of such violation. The insured unit, furthermore, is obliged to compensate the employee if the benefit payment to the employee is adversely impacted for that reason. The BLI, therefore, calls on all insured units to regularly check the insured salary of their employees and make accurate adjustments if there is any change, so as to fulfill their responsibilities as employers and protect the interests of the workers.