Paying Workers – Compliance – Staff Personnel File

by | Aug 14, 2016 | Business Development, General, Payroll

When it comes to paying your staff, it is really important that you get things right, or as close to right as possible. To do this there are a few things that you need to know, like the Award they work under, Classification they are on within that award, any allowances they are entitled to and many more.  We have covered these in detailed in previous blogs, but now its time to put it all together.

Your Record Keeping Obligations

The Employee Records must:

  • Be in a form that is readily accessible to a Fair Work Inspector
  • Be in a legible form and in English
  • Be kept for seven years
  • Not be altered unless for the purposes of correcting an error
  • Not be false or misleading to the employer’s knowledge

They are to be kept private and confidential, but access to them can be given to the following people:

  • The employee (or former employee once they leave)
  • The employer
  • Relevant payroll staff
  • Fair Work Inspectors
  • Organisation Officials such as Trade Union

Staff Personnel File

The best way to track everything about your staff member and their payments is through a Staff Personnel File/Folder.  This will contain all information that you have on your staff, so if at any time you get an audit you will be able to easily provide information to the ATO/Fair Work.  This will most probably be created in two different ways, or maybe three, but make sure you are consistent no matter how many you create.

    1. A physical file/folder, this will contain:
      1. A copy of the letter of engagement
      2. A copy of their resume
      3. A copy of their qualifications
      4. A copy of everything they have returned from their employment pack
        1. Employee Information Sheet
        2. Tax File Declaration Form
        3. Stand Choice Form
        4. Signed copies of Company Policies
      5. Leave requests
      6. A copy of their staff reviews
      7. A copy of disciplinary letters
      8. A copy of requests for flexibility arrangements
      9. A copy of their workplace giving program agreement
      10. A copy of anything from their induction that you need to have reference to

 

    1. A Card File in your payroll program, this will contain:
      1. Name
      2. Address
      3. Date of Birth
      4. Contact Number
      5. Email Address
      6. Emergency Contact
      7. Banking Details
      8. Tax File Number
      9. Are they claiming the Tax Free Threshold or not?
      10. Do they have a HELP debt or not?
      11. Any other Tax details you need to know from the Tax File Number Declaration Form
      12. Their Superannuation Fund and Membership number
      13. Details of the election to be in the workplace giving program
      14. Start Date
      15. Termination Date (when it happens)
      16. Pay run Details – either weekly, fortnightly or monthly
      17. Job Title
      18. Are they Casual, Full Time or Part Time?
      19. The Award they are working under
      20. Their Classification in that Award
      21. Allowances they will be paid
      22. Deductions they have requested to be done
      23. Leave Accruals
      24. History of hours worked
      25. History of wages paid

 

  1. A Electronic Version of the Physical File/Folder
    1. This can hold scanned copies of the following:
      1. A copy of the letter of engagement
      2. A copy of their resume
      3. A copy of their qualifications
      4. A copy of everything they have returned from their employment pack
        1. Employee Information Sheet
        2. Tax File Declaration Form
        3. Stand Choice Form
        4. Signed copies of Company Policies
      5. Leave requests
    2. A copy of their staff reviews
    3. A copy of disciplinary letters
    4. A copy of requests for flexibility arrangements
    5. A copy of their workplace giving program agreement
    6. A copy of anything from their induction that you need to have reference to
    7. Copies of any emails between you and the staff member that are relevant to their employment
    8. Copies of any Staff Reviews that are done electronically
    9. Copies of any disciplinary letters that are undertaken electronically
    10. All other electronic correspondence that is relevant to their employment, including induction forms, formal training forms etc.

Fair Work has been undertaking audits over the last few months, the aim of the audits was to ensure employers are aware of their workplace responsibilities and to update businesses on how the Agency can assist them to access, understand and apply information to build a culture of compliance.

They found that 72% of businesses were complaint, this means that 38% of businesses either didn’t have the correct information on their staff or weren’t paying them correctly.  Some businesses were asked to back-pay staff, some received letters of caution, putting them on notice that future breaches of work place laws could result in enforcement action.

This highlights the need to make sure you are complaint with all requirements of the payroll/workplace system. Having records like I have listed above will help you understand what you need to do as an employee and help you stay complaint.

If you have any questions about this or any other part of the HR/Payroll blogs that I have written recently, please email me or contact me on Facebook or Twitter.