Updating Employee Pay Run Defaults

In order to update an employee's pay run settings

1. Go to the Employee menu
2. Click on the Employee list
3. Select the Employee whose details you wish to update
4. Select Pay Run Settings in the left hand menu.
5. Click on Pay Run Defaults.

The page may be divided into two sections. The upper section is the 'automation features' section. In this section, the award/employment agreement for the employee may be configured along with the pay rate template and timesheets settings. The 'Award' field will only appear in businesses that have installed Awards in the business, created their own Award or Agreement.

The page may be divided into two sections. The upper section is the 'automation features' section. In this section, the award/employment agreement for the employee may be configured along with the pay rate template and timesheets settings. The 'Award' field will only appear in businesses that have installed Awards in the business, created their own Award or Agreement.

Please note that selecting an Employment Agreement will automatically enable timesheets because timesheets are required in order for the award interpretation to function. Additionally, the following fields will pre-populate based on the Employment Agreement settings:

• Pay Rate Template
• Pay Rate - you can override the hourly rate pre-populated by following these instructions. In the case of a casual employee, the system will also show the equivalent rate including the rate loading.
• Rate Unit
• The 'Apply for a specified date' button allows you to schedule a pay rate for an employee that will take effect at a future date. Detailed instructions on this can be found here.
• Job Title - this uses the Employment Agreement name by default but can be overridden. Simply type the desired job title name and click on 'Save'.
• Pay Condition Rule Set
• Apply the following Leave Allowances Template - this field will list all leave allowance template (LAT) options from the Award so ensure you assign the correct LAT based on the employee's work state. 
• Super Threshold
• Quarterly maximum super contribution base
• Primary Pay Category: When there is a mismatch between the rate unit specified for the employee and the rate unit for the primary pay category, a conversion may need to occur. The equivalent amount after the rate conversion will be displayed. For example, if a 'per annum' rate is entered for the employee and the primary pay category is set up as Hourly, the equivalent hourly rate will be displayed:
  
  
  Due to rounding, the saved value may not be exactly equal to the amount entered. To avoid this, ensure that the rate unit specified is the same as the rate unit of the primary pay category. For example, if you commonly enter employee salaries as a 'per annum' figure, it is recommended that you configure the pay category to have a rate unit of 'Per annum' too. This can be done via Business payroll settings > Pay categories.

Additionally, we bring your attention to the following settings:

• Primary Location: all employees must be assigned a default location so the system knows where to cost earnings, deductions and leave if there is no other location assigned. Employees can be assigned to more than one location however. Refer here on how this is done.
• Notifications: You will note that notification modes are split between pay slips and rostering. If the business does not utilise the rostering feature then there is no need to apply a setting. Regarding pay slips however, you can only choose 'Email' if there is an email address recorded in the employee's file. Also, please be advised that assigning 'SMS' as the pay slip notification type will incur a cost per SMS sent. 
• Super Threshold: This is the minimum OTE amount an employee must be paid in the month before super is calculated in the pay run. By default, the amount is $450 (as per legislation) however you can override this amount (if the employee is not attached to an Employment Agreement). For example, if you did not want a restriction applied here and rather the employee should receive super for ALL OTE earnings then you would override this amount to '0' and click 'Save'.
• Quarterly maximum super contribution base: This is the maximum quarterly OTE earnings amount used to calculate super for the employee. The default amount in this field is as per legislation and will be updated automatically accordingly each financial year. This figure can be overridden if the employee is not attached to an Employment Agreement. Please note, manual super adjustments will also be factored into calculating the quarterly maximum super contribution amount. 
• Payroll Tax: Where an employee is exempt from payroll tax, you must select this checkbox. This  will then ensure that the figures displaying in the payroll tax report reflect this setting and does not include the employee earnings in payroll taxable earnings. 
• STP income types: This is used to indicate the income type of the employee, according to classifications provided by the ATO. The income types that can be configured on this page are as follows:
  • Closely held employee
  • Foreign employment
  • Inbound assignee to Australia
  • Other specified payments

If an employee's income type is either working holiday maker or seasonal worker, this will be configured via the employee's tax file declaration screen. Additionally, take note that no special configuration is required for any employee classified as salary & wages. The system will assume this income type by default, unless one of the other income types are selected for an employee.

Standard Work Week 

The Pay Run Defaults screen allows you to set up the working pattern of your employees. These settings then determine the following:

• the number of units of leave to be applied when an employee submits a leave request; and
• the conversion formula from days/weeks to hours when a leave request is applied in a pay run.

There are several ways to set up an employee's work pattern:

1. Where an employee has fixed hours/days each week, you can set up advanced work hours; or  
2. If 1. above does not apply, you can set an employee's average hours and days per week. These settings are still important when analysing leave requests so are essential settings. By default, an employee's hours per day setting will default to the business' hours per day. This can be overridden by deselecting the "Use Standard Business Daily Hours" checkbox and entering the number of hours worked per day by the employee.     

If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know via support@yourpayroll.com.au