(a) General rule. Except as provided in this section, benefits are payable to any qualified employee for each day of sickness after the fourth consecutive day of sickness in a period of continuing sickness, as defined in § 335.1(c), but excluding four days of sickness in any registration period in such period of continuing sickness.

(b) Waiting period. Benefits are payable to any qualified employee for each day of sickness in excess of seven during his or her first registration period in a period of continuing sickness if such period of continuing sickness is his or her initial period of continuing sickness beginning in the benefit year. For this purpose, the first registration period in a period of continuing sickness is the registration period that first begins with four consecutive days of sickness and includes more than four days of sickness. For the purpose of computing benefits under this section, a period of continuing sickness ends on the last day of a benefit year in which the employee exhausts rights to sickness benefits as provided for under part 336 of this chapter.

(c) Computation of compensable days—(1) Example 1. An employee has an initial period of continuing sickness from June 14 through July 25, and all days in that period are days of sickness. The employee's first registration period covers June 14 to June 27, and his or her subsequent registration period covers June 28 to July 11, and July 12 to July 25. In the one-week waiting period the employee is paid benefits for days of sickness in excess of seven. In each of the two ensuing registration periods the employee is paid benefits for days of sickness in excess of four.

(2) Example 2. Same facts as in Example 1, but the employee later has a new period of continuing sickness based upon a different illness or impairment beginning September 17. The employee's first registration period in his or her new period of continuing sickness covers September 17 to September 30. The employee is paid benefits for days of sickness in excess of seven in that 14-day period because that period is his or her first registration period in a new period of continuing sickness commencing in the benefit year beginning July 1, and he or she did not previously have a waiting period in any registration period earlier in the benefit year.

(3) Example 3. Same facts as in examples 1 and 2, but the employee then has a new period of continuing sickness beginning January 1 in the same benefit year. January 1 to January 14 is the employee's first registration period in that period of continuing sickness. The employee is paid benefits for days of sickness in excess of four in that registration period because earlier in the benefit year he or she had a registration period, September 17 to September 30, in which he or she satisfied the initial seven-day waiting period.

(d) Amount payable. The gross amount of sickness benefits for any registration period in a period of continuing sickness shall be computed by multiplying the number of compensable days of sickness in such registration period by the employee's daily benefit rate, as computed under part 330 of this chapter.