Questions on ILR timeframe and earnings requirement

[pcsumanth]

Hi folks,
I have a couple of questions on ILR timeframe and earnings requirement. Would appreciate if anyone can answer them.

Q1: My initial Tier 1 ( General) visa was valid from 12-01-2011 to 11-01-2013. I entered UK on 2nd-July-2011 and in 2 weeks got a job. I went back to India on August 1st to resign from previous job and I returned to UK on September 1st ( a gap of 30 days) to start my new job. Since then I have stayed in the UK with occasional travels ( less than a week) outside the country.My question is which date should I consider to calculate the 5 year period. Should I consider July 2nd or September 1st ?

Q2: this question is about earnings requirement. The company that I work was a public traded company and was acquired recently by a private equity firm. I was offered stock options at time of joining and RSUs ( Restricted Stock Units) during my employment.
These ( options and RSUs) are mentioned in the employment contract. With the acquisition, all the unvested options and RSUs vested and were cashed out through the payroll in the middle of the month. So I have 2 payslips generated for the same month - one for the vested options ( generated in middle of month) and one showing the regular salary ( generated at end of month). Can I combine the earnings from the options & the regular salary for that month or does the HO accept only one salary slip per month ?

Thanks