Updating employee pay rates can be a very time consuming process, particularly for larger businesses that provide their employees with an annual increase as at a certain date. Completing this process manually over and over can lead to processing errors, which may not be identified until a later date.
The 'Update pay rates' page (Payroll settings > Update pay rates page) allows you to update the pay rate for a group of employees in bulk (up to 200 at once). Updates can be applied using a fixed $ or fixed % increase or decrease. Negative values may also be entered in the ‘adjustment’ column, example: ‘-100’.’
To view a short video on bulk updating pay rates, click here.
This article covers the following topics:
- Selecting employees for a rate change
- Entering values for future pay rates
- Clearing values from the grid
- Warnings when updating pay rates
- Removing employees from the grid
- Employee file changes
- Reports
Selecting employees for a rate update
In order to bulk update the pay rates for a group of employees, click the 'Add employees' button:
When this is selected, a context panel will open. Within the context panel, there is a 'Search by' drop down tool that allows you to select a group of employees using the following parameters:
- Employee list (system default)
- Pay schedule
- Primary location
- Employing entity
- Employee group
- Tags
With the above selections, these drop down fields will populate with the relevant options/categories based on the selection made, e.g. if pay schedule is selected in the filter drop down, the businesses pay schedules will display in the second drop down:
Within these results, there will also be a ‘search employee’ field, displayed beneath the filter drop downs as shown in the example above. The search field will search on employee name, within the result parameters, e.g. you can use the search field to search employees that are assigned to the 'Monthly' pay schedule.
If you select 'Employee list' you'll use the search field to manually select employees:
The results display the following fields:
-
Checkbox: Employees can be selected and deselected individually using the checkbox against their name, or bulk selected by clicking the checkbox in the header row, next to the 'Employee name' header. If there are multiple pages of employees, you'll be able to select whether to include 'Employees on all pages' or 'All employees on current page':
- Employee name
- Job title
- Current pay rate
Adding multiple groups of employees
Once you have saved a group of employees and you can see them within the grid, you can then click the 'Add employees' button again and add further groups of employees if required (up to the maximum of 200 employees in total), and the original data will be retained. When additional employees are added to the grid, they will display in addition to the ones previously added.
Entering values for future pay rates
Once you have selected the employees who need their pay rate updated and clicked ‘Save’, the employees who were selected will be added to a new grid on the ‘Update pay rates’ screen. The following fields will display:
- Select checkbox: Employees can be selected and deselected individually using the checkbox against their name, or bulk selected by selecting the checkbox in the header row, next to the 'Employee name' header;
- Employee name;
- Current pay rate: This will display the employee’s current 'pay rate’, as shown in the pay run defaults screen;
- Adjustment: This is the value the pay rate is being adjusted by (up to 5 decimal places) The drop down option allows you to select from $ or % adjustment;
- Future pay rate: The system will calculate this automatically based on the value entered into the adjustment field (displays up to 5 decimal places);
- Commencement date: The date the new pay rate is to apply from. This date must be equal to or greater than the current date. It cannot be a date that has passed. The commencement date cannot be selected unless an adjustment amount has been added:
From within the grid, you are able to enter the pay rate adjustment as required, remembering to select either $ or %. If this selection is changed while there are unsaved values displayed in the ‘adjustment’ column, a warning message will display:
In the above scenario, you can either:
- Clear values: when selected, all values in the ‘adjustment’ and 'commencement date' columns will be cleared and the adjustment type will be updated;
- Convert: when selected, the values will be retained in the ‘adjustment’ column and the adjustment type will be updated. The ‘future pay rate’ will recalculate using the updated adjustment type calculation.
As is the case in the earlier example, if there are multiple pages of employees, you'll have the choice to apply the above action to 'Employees on all pages' or 'All employees on current page'.
A handy tool is the fact that the adjustment type can be updated on each individual employee row, which allows for a combination of adjustment types to be used. Updating this option will only apply for the selected employee:
Once you enter a value into the adjustment field, you are able to click the downward facing arrow which allows you to copy the adjustment value to all employees if desired:
Once the adjustment % or $ value has been entered, the system will automatically calculate the new rate, which includes the current pay rate, plus the adjustment value.
You'll then be required to select a commencement date via a calendar picker:
Selecting a commencement date is mandatory when there is a future pay rate value displayed, and as is the case above, you can use the downward arrow to copy the commencement date to all employees (on the page or in all pages if multiple pages exist).
Upon completion of entering the data for the required fields, the following buttons will be displayed at the bottom of the screen:
- Save and export new pay rates: a CSV export of the on screen data will be downloaded
- Save new pay rates:
If you choose not to export this data (only available via CSV) you can still run the Employee details audit report and the Employee details report to obtain this information. See this section of the article.
NB: When either ‘save’ button is selected, employees who do not have a value displayed in the future pay rate field, will be excluded and no changes made to their pay rates.
Clearing values from the grid
You are able to clear the values for all employees within the grid if need be. To do this, simply click the 'Clear all values' button, and if you have more than 1 page of employees, you'll be able to select to clear the values for ‘Employees on all pages’ OR ‘All employees on current page’:
Warnings when updating pay rates
When updating pay rates, there are various scenarios that will inhibit a successful update for all employees. Below are some examples.
Upcoming rate change
If an existing upcoming rate change has been set up for an employee, an indicator will display, as shown below:
Then, if you try to add another rate change with the same 'commencement date', the below warning will display when save is selected (and the new rate will override the existing rate change):
Linked pay rate template
If an employee is linked to a pay rate template, and their pay rate is updated via this process, a warning will display and the pay rate will display as 'overridden' in the pay run defaults screen:
Existing pay run
If an employee is included in an existing pay run which includes the 'commencement date', the new pay rate cannot be applied. A warning will display to advise of this:
In this scenario, if you click 'OK', the employees listed in the warning will be excluded from the update and no change will be applied to their existing pay rates. Employees who were not displayed in the warning and have a ‘future pay rate’ listed in the grid, will have the rate change applied.
If you select 'Cancel', you will be taken back to the ‘update pay rates screen’ with no changes saved. The values previously displayed will continue to display for editing.
Removing employees' from the grid
If you would like to remove individual employees from the 'Update pay rates' list, you can do this by ticking the checkbox next to their name and then clicking on the trash can icon which is displayed above the grid.
You can remove employees in bulk by ticking the checkbox to the left of the 'Employee name' header:
NB: The trash can icon will be enabled when the checkbox against at least one employee has been selected.
Employee file changes
When either ‘save’ button is selected and the commencement date is the current date, the following applies:
- The ‘future pay rate’ value will be set as the ‘pay rate’ in the employee’s pay run defaults screen
-
This will be effective from the current date and not set up as an upcoming rate change
- NB. if you use a commencement date that is "today" (not in the future) then the actual effective date is, as per usual, the date AFTER the pay period end date of the most recently finalised pay run
When either ‘save’ button is selected and the commencement date is a future date:
- The ‘future pay rate’ and ‘commencement date’ values will be used to create an upcoming rate change, as per below screenshot:
- The ‘future pay rate’ value will be set as the ‘pay rate’ in the upcoming rate change
- The ‘commencement date’ provided will be set as the commencement date for the upcoming rate change
Reports
Employee details report
The employee details report will display the updated pay rate and commencement date (where a future pay rate has been set up) for the changes saved, provided that you use the 'Future earnings' filter:
Where the commencement date is the current date, the new rate will display when you use the following fields:
- Rate of Pay
- Ordinary Rate of Pay
- Rate of Pay (inc. loadings)
Where the commencement date is a future date, the new rate and commencement date will display in the ‘Future Earnings’ field. Once the commencement date passes, the new rate will display in the Rate of Pay, Ordinary Rate of Pay and Rate of Pay (inc. loadings) fields and no longer the Future Earnings field.
Employee details audit report
The employee details audit report will track the changes made to the rate of pay, rate unit and commencement date via the ‘Update pay rates’ screen.
Where a future pay rate has been set up, the report will display the details of the future pay rate, with the new pay rate and effective date:
Once the commencement date has passed and the new rate has been applied, the report will display the change in rate.