Ex gratia retirement payment included in death benefit income calculation; accrued sick leave payout excluded.
The applicant claimed death benefits following her husband's fatal car accident.
The dispute centered on whether an ex gratia payment and a sick leave payout received by the deceased upon his retirement, within the 156 weeks preceding the accident, should be included as income for calculating the death benefit.
The arbitrator held that the purely discretionary ex gratia payment was income earned upon retirement and thus included in the calculation.
However, the sick leave payout accrued steadily throughout the deceased's employment and was not included as income within the 156-week period.
OFSCDRSOntario Financial Services Commission - Dispute Resolution ServicesJul 14, 1999
