Mitrefinch TMSBlogger

Excessive Overtime may be linked to Depression

2012-02-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

The current economic climate is forcing many white-collar, public sector workers to spend more time at work than the typical 9-5.

However, this could have a damaging impact on their mental wellbeing, with a recent study finding that working 11-hour days on a regular basis can more than double a worker’s risk of depression compared to employees who typically work an eight hour day.

More than 2,000 British civil servants who had no mental health problems were researched when the study began in 1991. Six years later, 66 cases of major depression were found in the workers after they received mental health screenings.Men and women who worked more than 11-hour days had a more than twofold increased risk of depression, compared to employees who spent less than eight hours at the work.

Marianna Virtanen, a study researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health believes that a variety of genetic, physical, and emotional factors can make a person vulnerable to depression. At the workplace, the prolonged stress felt by people with long hours is one of the contributing factors to depression.

Dr Virtanen believes that: “Long working hours are likely to be related to less time to relax and less sleep. It is also possible that excessive working hours result in problems with close relationships, which in turn, may trigger depression”.

Signs of depression can be found in trouble sleeping, feeling stressed, being irritable and dissatisfied, or lacking pleasure in those things that usually make you happy. A depressed person can also be less efficient at their job, make more mistakes than normal and have trouble getting organized or concentrating.

It is important that managers use the data collected by their time and attendance systems to monitor not only the contracted hours of their staff but also the extra hours that employees put in to complete projects.

Armed with this information you may be able to justify hiring additional staff or bringing in contractors at times of increased activity, or at the very least acknowledge the effort being put in by your team - perhaps introducing a Time in Lieu scheme or incentives for those that put in the hard yards? In the long run, this ultimately benefits you as a motivated and happy workforce generally means increased productivity!

What's more, if your employees are having to frequently work extra hours without compensation you could have a potential lawsuit on your hands. (See blog Post: "Aussie Workers are being forced to work extra hours without compensation, how could a Time and Attendance System help you avoid a potential lawsuit")

There are many more benefits of using an automated time and attendance system, visit our website to find out more or feel free to contact us directly on +61 2 8762 7888 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9038507/People-who-work-11-hours-are-twice-as-likely-to-suffer-depression.html

Tell your employees you love them this Valentine’s Day!

2012-02-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

Did you know you can display messages, reminders or alerts to your staffas they clock in/out of work through Mitrefinch’s wall mounted Time andAttendance terminals.

You can easily set the system up to display messages to particular groupsof employees, specific department, or your entire workforce.

This provides you with a quick and easy way of informing staff of upcomingcompany functions or training events.

In addition, boost employee morale by acknowledging them on particular daysor holidays like today - Valentine’s Day!

There are many more interesting little functions available in our automated time and attendance system, visit our website to find out more or feel free to contact us directly on +61 2 8762 7888 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au

No Leave, No Life - Stockpiled leave is unhealthy for your business

2012-02-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Australian workers have amassed 129 million days ofannual leave worth up to $40bn in wages? What effect could this be having onyour bottom line?

An article on HC Online this week warns that, excessive amounts ofstockpiled leave can be a huge liability sitting on the balance sheet foremployers – with Andrew McEvoy, Tourism Australia’s Managing Director, advisingthat it’s well worth planning for and addressing the challenges associated withaccumulated annual leave.

This is particularily important when you consider that, employees who don’t take annual leavecan often demonstrate higher levels of depression or anxiety-related stress comparedto those who do take their holidays*.

McEvoy advises that, “there are easy-to-implement methods employers canuse to encourage a leave-taking culture, with clear benefits to be gained suchas building and engaging with a productive employee community.”

The “No Leave, No Life” campaign championed by Tourism Australia, allows enablesorganisations to tackle the issue of stockpiled annual leave. The campaign websitefeatures an employer resources toolkit with a series of modules and practicalcase studies to assist with implementing a successful annual leaveprogram.

Some of the keyfocus areas include:

Identifyingchallenges facing management such as pressure to meet targets, lack ofreporting, competing priorities
Recognising thebarriers to leave-taking and prioritising leave-taking policy in the workplace
Integratingleave-planning into current processes to ensure adequate coverage
Engaging employees– CEO, management and HR commitment is critical to success
How to setobjectives and review regularly
Considerations tokeep in mind when encouraging leave – compromise with employees on leave-takingwithin the context of your plan to ensure acceptable outcomes for employees andmanagement
Developing aholiday-planning checklist to help staff better manage their departure from andreturn to work
Points to helpmanagers look at how to measure the success of their annual leave policy

For more information on “No Leave, No Life” and access to employer resourcesvisit: http://noleavenolife.com/employer/

Do you know how much leave your employees have stockpiled?

An automated time and attendance management system can help you effectivelymanage leave and holiday planning processes by:

Keeping a centralrepository of all employee leave records, tracking all leave types such asVacation/Personal leave
Calculating leaveeligibility based on an employee’s hours worked and hire date
Generating realtime absence management and vacation planning reports
Creating work schedules that take in account employees on leave, thus ensuring you have sufficient cover to meet customer or project demands and deadlines

In addition, Employee Self Service functionality empowers your staff tocheck their own leave records andentitlements, and request/book leave online without having to converse with their supervisor or HR.

Want to find out more?

If you would like find out more about effective Leave Management and Holiday Planning contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

* Dr Peter Cotton, Medibank Health Solutions Director

Businesses fear a mass sick day this Friday after Australia Day

2012-01-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

Apparently our National Day is not an excuse for a hangover at work or “chucking a sickie” this Friday - how very unAustralian I hear some of you say!

But, with hangovers costing businesses $5.6 billion a year, maybe it's time we had a rethink about overindulging during Australia Day festivities.

NSW Business Chamber Executive Officer, Stephen Cartwright, urged revellers not to get carried away when they still had to put in a full day’s work before the weekend.

“While Thursday will be a day off for many Australians to celebrate their national holiday, Friday is a normal working day, and employees will be expected to show up to the workplace ‘bright eyed and bushy tailed’”.

Mr Cartwright said employees who planned to take a ‘sickie’ on Friday should be warned that they will be fooling no one.

“Anybody who takes a ‘sickie’ on the Friday after Australia Day is not going to go unnoticed by their employer or their colleagues and it is likely to damage their professional reputation”.

Employees who are planning an extra-long weekend have been urged to use their annual leave or talk to their employers to come up with alternative arrangements.

“The impact of staff taking a ‘mass sick day’ on a business is significant in financial costs and lost productivity.”

Read the full article on the NSW Business Chamber website here

Leave Slots are an innovative holiday planning feature now available in the latest release of Mitrefinch’s Time Management System.

This new functionality enables managers and supervisors to limit how many employees can be off on a given day or time period e.g. this Friday following Australia Day - averting potential staffing shortfalls and ensuring you have sufficient staff on hand to meet demand.

Employees can view available Leave Slots online and they will be unable to request leave once the limit has been reached – hence HR won’t need to deal with multiple requests from staff on what days are available etc...

In addition, Absence Profiling, allows you to see who took a sick day, when, and if any particular pattern is forming. For example, you could check back to last year and see if there was a spike in sick days taken the day after Australia Day or other popular public holidays – and take appropriate action.

If you happen to work in an industry where staff are required to work on Australia Day, an automated Time and Attendance Software System can also take the stress out of payroll processing – by easily calculate overtime pay and public holiday penalties, and exporting this information direct to your external payroll application.

Now all you have to worry about is how you are going to celebrate Australia Day!

To find out more about Leave Management, Absence Profiling or Employee Time Management contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Hungry Jack's to back pay staff more than $104,000

2012-01-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

(Source Payroll News)A Hungry Jack’s fast food outlet in central Victoria has been penalised for underpaying its staff for more than four years.

The Federal Magistrates Court ordered the operator of the Bendigo outlet to pay a penalty of $46,200, after the company volunteered to pay back more than $104,000 it owed to its staff, who were mostly junior employees.

The Fair Work Ombudsman said most of the underpayments resulted from the company failing to upgrade wage rates as required for the employees’ length of service.This resulted in underpayments of the minimum hourly rate, overtime and public holiday rates.

The company also underpaid or failed to pay annual leave entitlements and a laundry allowance.

The Fair Work Ombudsman said as well as repaying its workers, the company had appointed a new payroll adviser.

The ruling comes in the wake of an official audit revealing a quarter of Australian employers in the $240 billion retail industry were underpaying staff or failing to record work times and wages properly.

The Fair Work Ombudsman's random inspection of almost 1900 businesses found 26 per cent were breaking workplace laws or regulations - many unwittingly.

The findings have retailers fearing a huge bill, with sector's peak body, the Australian Retailers Association, warning there could be millions more owed in back pay because many of the 140,000 businesses were confused about their new obligations under the changed industrial relations regime and the change to a federal system.

An automated Time and Attendance Software System can take the stress out of payroll processing, award and entitlement calculations.

Easily calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties, as well as leave loading and shift penalties, ensuring consistent application of your business rules. A direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

If you would like discover how your organisation can benefit from more efficient Award Interpretation and effective Employee Time Management contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

Minimising the Festive Frenzy with a Time Management System (Part 3)

2011-12-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

In this, thethird and final instalment of our mini Christmas-themed series, we take a lookat how an automated Time and Attendance System can alleviate panic and stressin your HR department.

Withthe Christmas and Summer holiday season well and truly upon us, HR departmentsacross the country are being bombarded with various requests for time off.

How your business deals with these requests can make a big difference to yourbottom line - as well as your HR team's wellbeing!

An automated Time and Attendance System, with Employee Self Service functionality, empowers your staff to manage their own time and attendance in acontrolled, accessible and efficient way.

Employees can also view their accrued leave, entitlements, and request updatesto their personal records without having to bother the HR department.

A web-basedinterface could be customised to suit the needs of your complete workforce, handlingremote clocking in from desktop PCs, laptops and the latest smart phones. Thiswould allow staff to clock in/out and on/off tasks, appointments and projects, regardlessof their physical location.

Leave Slots are an innovative holiday planning feature now available in the latestrelease of Mitrefinch’s Time Management System.

This newfunctionality enables managers and supervisors to limit how many employees canbe off on a given day or time period - averting potential staffing shortfalls andensuring you have sufficient staff on hand during times of increased demand –think December 26^th for those in the hospitality and retail sector!

Employeescan view available Leave Slots online and they will be unable to request leaveonce the limit has been reached – hence HR won’t need to deal with multiple requestsfrom staff on what days are available etc...

In anut (cracker) shell, Employee Self Service is ultimately designed to make yourbusiness more profitable and your HR team more efficient.

To find out how, please visit www.mitrefinch.com.au or call +61 2 8762 7888 andput improved Employee Management on your Christmas Wishlist today!

Minimising the Festive Frenzy with a Time Management System (Part 2)

2011-12-11T20:35:00.001-08:00

In the second instalment of our three-part series looking at how a Time Management System can help ease your festive stress, we reveal how you caneffectively manage public holidays and holiday pay rates.

In Australia, each State and Territory has slightly different arrangementsfor public holidays over Christmas and New Year, which can result in muchconfusion, particularly for companies with numerous sites across the nation. Asa result, Fair Work Australia (FWA) have put together a list of the publicholidays for each specific State and Territory for the 2011/12 holidayChristmas period – view list here.

So now you know the public holiday dates what pay are your staff entitledto?

According to FWA, if a full-time or part-time employee’s ordinary hours ofwork fall on a public holiday, and the employee does not work on the day, theemployee is entitled to their base rate of pay for their usual hours of work onthe day.

If the employee does not usually work on the public holiday, the employeeis not entitled to payment.

If the request is reasonable, an employer may ask their employees to workon a public holiday. If the employee is required to work on a public holiday,their entitlement to penalty rates is determined by their modern award,industrial agreement or contract of employment.

In addition to the specified national public holidays, State and Territorygovernments can also specify other public holidays. These can apply throughoutthe State or Territory, or only in a specific region e.g. Melbourne Cup Day.

A State or Territory government can also substitute another day for thepublic holiday. For example if a public holiday falls on a weekend, a State orTerritory government may either declare a ‘substitute day’ for the publicholiday, or declare an ‘additional day’ to the public holiday.

Regardless of the State or Territory you operate in, Mitrefinch's Time Management System (TMS) takes the stress out of employee allowances andentitlement calculations via an in-built, fully customisable Award Interpreter.

Easily calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties,as well as leave loading and shift penalties, ensuring consistent applicationof your business rules. A direct interface to your external payroll applicationfurther reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payrollerrors.

For more information contact Mitrefinch Sales on 1300 884 831 (+61 2 8762 7888) or visitMitrefinch Online

Sources: Fair Work Australia

Minimising the Festive Frenzy with a Time Management System (Part 1)

2011-12-04T15:42:00.001-08:00

With the festive season almost upon us, many organisations are beginningto feel the effects of increased pressure and activity. In addition, resourcingchallenges, managing multiple requests for annual leave, and allowing forpublic holidays and penalty rates, can all contribute to high levels of stresswithin your Operations and HR department!

Over our next three blog posts we will look at the different areas wherean effective Employee Time ManagementSystem can help ensure that you have a hassle free run up to the holidays!

First up is employee scheduling and ensuring you have the staff on hand tomeet customer or production demands.

An automated time and attendance system, with scheduling capabilities, enablesyou to roster staff to fixed and flexible shifts according to predefinedbudgets. Any subsequent roster changes will trigger a notification if the shiftis in danger of exceeding budget. By looking back over previous year, you canalso schedule staff numbers to mirror forecasted customer numbers over theholiday period, or ‘on-the-fly’ to meet emergency requirements.

A number of workforce management systems also allow you to create groups or pools of availableemployees to help with scheduling multiple departments or stores. Casualsor agency staff can nominate themselves as being available to work for certaintimes of the week, and can be rostered on by supervisors to assist with fillingpositions or vacant shifts. A notificationis then sent direct to the employee so they are aware that they have beenincluded in the shift.

With many organisations (particularly in Retail and Hospitability),relying on casuals to provide the extra manpower required to operateeffectively over the holiday period, they will need to be closely monitored toensure they are serving their purpose. If they are late, taking long breaks or chucking sickies, you run the risk of having to pay permanent employees overtime asthey may be required to cover and work extra hours. An automated Time and Attendance system, provides supervisors with an insight into how their casualsare performing, enabling them to address any issues before it affects yourbottom line.

If you’d like to find out more about how an automated Time and Attendance system can help contain your Festive stress levels contact MitrefinchEmployee Management today on 1300 884 831(Australia) or 09 363 9557 (NZ).

Our Free Guide to Choosing a Time and Attendance system is also available to download online.

It's Go Home On Time Day!

2011-11-29T17:06:00.001-08:00

Each year, Australians work more than 2 billion hours of unpaid overtime,which is the equivalent of $72 billion worth of foregone wages (See: Something for Nothing: Unpaid overtime in Australia).

Do you find yourself working back late? Never enough hours in the day todo all the things you need or want to do? Or with the emergence of Smart Phonesand mobile applications are work calls or emails getting in the way of yourfree time?

Perhaps you are a manager who values your staff, do you want to show them how importantthey are?

Well, Go Home On Time Day on Wednesday November 30 is a great way torecognise that life doesn’t need to revolve around work - and here at Mitrefinch we are loving the idea!

To find out more or get involved see: http://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au/

As a provider of Time Management Systems, we are often asked about the value of having a Time and Attendance System when an organisation only has salaried staff on the books.

In our opinion, if you don't measure it you can't manage it!

By having all staff clock in/out, managers and supervisors can easily identify just how much unpaid overtime their employees are putting in and if there is a particular pattern forming - e.g. staff being forced to work overtime around the end of the month or busy trading periods.

What's more, if your employees are having to frequently work extra hours without compensation you could have a potential lawsuit on your hands. (See blog Post: "Aussie Workers are being forced to work extra hours without compensation, how could a Time and Attendance System help you avoid a potential lawsuit")

There aremany more benefits of using an automated time and attendance system, visit ourwebsite to find out more or feel free to contact us directly on +61 2 8762 7888 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Biometrics for Healthcare - Leading Technology captures Fingerprints through Gloves

2011-11-23T15:01:00.001-08:00

In a recentarticle on Nextgov, Katherine McIntirePeters noted research firm Gartner’sreport on 2011Cool Vendors in IAM (Identity and Access Management). As part of thereport, Gartner analystsflagged a handful of companies developing innovative identity managementtechnologies.

Lumidigm Biometric Technology can capture fingerprint images through gloves

"Theseup-and-coming technology providers offer [identity and access management]products and services based on a broad range of technological approaches anddelivery models. One trend clearly identifiable throughout their offerings is aserious attempt to deliver IAM components that enhance the user experience tosupport mission-critical business decisions," analysts wrote in an introductionto the firm's 2011Cool Vendors in IAM.

Mitrefinch’s biometric technology partner,Lumidigm, was listed as one of the mostinteresting companies having developed a new kind of fingerprint sensor thatemploys multispectral imaging. According to Lumidigm,unlike other common biometric sensors, performance isn't affected by moisture,dry or dirty skin, or bright ambient light. Multispectral imaging capturessurface and subsurface ridge patterns, and analyses the spectroscopiccharacteristics of the surface, thereby making it less vulnerable to spooffingerprints.

The report also mentions that, “a client told Gartner that oneparticular advantage of the Lumidigmtechnology is its ability to capture a fingerprint image through a medicalglove. Ultrasound sensors can also do this, but they are far bulkier and moreexpensive, which should make Lumidigmsensors appealing to healthcare delivery organisations”.

Other organisations in the market for fingerprint biometric devices can also benefit from Lumidigm's superiorperformance. Take for example; Meat Processors who operate in cold, refrigeratedareas, or Construction workers with cuts and calluses on their hands, as wellas dirt and dust.

In Australia, Mitrefinchis the only Time and Attendance system provider to integrate Lumidigm’s powerful multispectral imagingsensors into all their Biometric Time and Attendance units – from wall mountedclocking terminals to desktop USB devices.

For more information or to see the Lumidigm sensors is action contactMitrefinch on +61 2 8762 7888 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Half of Australian workers admit to fleecing their employers with Buddy Punching and Time Theft

2011-11-13T22:02:00.001-08:00

Australians are the third most likely worldwide to try to fleece theiremployer by being a little less than honest when it comes to clocking on andoff work, according to a new survey by Kronos APAC.

An article in last week’s HeraldSun, stated that 51 per cent of surveyed workers admitted to some degree ofTime Theft, with NSW leading the way on 45 per cent - which amounts to alot of lost productivity and revenue!

The survey also foundAustralia's most dishonest employees were 18 to 24-year-old men earning amiddle income.

Top tricks used include; clocking in earlier or out later than scheduledand neglecting to clock off for lunch or breaks.

Ask yourself, if any of the following statements sound familiar? Perhapsyou have used them in the past, or maybe your employees are using them now...

“I knew I’d be late this morning, so I gave my mate on the same shift myproximity fob and ID pin and he clocked me in”

“I need to make up my 38 hours this week. If I shorten my actual lunches onmy Time Sheet no one will ever know.”

“I needed to take a 20 minute break to make a phone call, but I just didn’tbother clocking out and in again.”

So how might you reduce the potential for Buddy Punching, Time Theft orTime Sheet padding within your business?

While an employee time and attendance system certainly is a step in theright direction, you need to ensure you have the right system in place to matchyour organisational set up.

For example:

Will the time and attendance system prevent employees from clocking in orout for one another?
If it is a mobile time and attendance solution, does it use GPSfunctionality to ensure that the employee is clocking in from the appropriatelocation?
Are time sheets linked to a clocking system allowing you to see that theemployee clocked in/out at a specific time and they are not fudging their times?
If you are using a biometric time and attendance system, has it beenproven to reject “spoof” fingerprints?

For more information on employee time clocks to accurately monitor employee time and attendance, visit www.mitrefinch.com.auor contact us directly at sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Happy National Payroll Week - celebrating the contribution of Kiwi Payroll Professionals

2011-11-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

Mitrefinch are pleased to support National Payroll Week, a new initiative from The New Zealand Payroll Practitioners’ Association (NZPPA)

National Payroll Week - supporting NZ Payroll Professionals

Running from November 7th to November 11th, National Payroll Week aims to acknowledge the contribution of hard working Payroll Professionals, and raise awareness of the important role payroll plays in the everyday lives of the NZ workforce, economy and the wider community.

Payroll is one of the most highly regulated functions within any business. Compliance with complex legislation, terms and conditions of employment and business policy is critical, yet despite these challenges, payroll officers still manage to calculate employee’s pay accurately and on time, every pay run.

As part of National Payroll Week, NZPPA are running a Poster Campaign which encourages payroll people to celebrate their profession and spread the word about the important role they play within their organisation. In addition, NZPPA members are encouraged to write an article on “Why Payroll is a Profession”, and the winning submission will be the feature article for the first issue of NZPPA’s new “Pay And You – PAY” publication.

“During National Payroll Week we are delighted to acknowledge the essential role that payroll personnel play in every business”, said Jamie Fitzsimons, Mitrefinch Marketing Manager. “Payroll is an extremely important component of every worker's life. Yet, the challenges involved with processing our pay is something that many of us take for granted.”

“Payroll error rates can account for up to 1.2% of total payroll costs, amounting to millions of dollars in overhead costs for many NZ businesses”, said Allan Murdoch, Mitrefinch NZ Business Development. “Having qualified payroll personnel as well as a user-friendly system to help automate payroll processing can significantly reduce error, offering huge cost savings”.

Mitrefinch’s Time Management Solution, TMS, is used on a daily basis by payroll professionals, helping them automate the transfer of hours and rates to their payroll system, improving productivity and efficiency.

For more information or to get involved with National Payroll Week please visit: www.nzppa.com.au

The Melbourne Cup and a mysterious spike in Sick Leave?

2011-10-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today's Industry Search Bulletin has reported that Victorian employers have raised concerns about the tendency for workers to call in sick today as the Monday before the Melbourne Cup public holiday.

Mysterious spike in Sick Leave this week?

While many employees take a legitimate four-day weekend by applying for leave, many also tend to fake an illness, VECCI workplace relations policy manager Alexandra Marriott said.

"Anecdotally, we see from year to year that there are quite significant unplanned absences or sickies on that day," Marriott said. "It is a difficult problem to address because employers have limited capacity to assess the authenticity of a day of sick leave."

Marriott said it was difficult to put a figure on the costs associated with absenteeism on the day before the Melbourne Cup but said it created reduced productivity and engagement. But taking a four-day weekend using allocated annual leave was good for parts of the economy, particularly tourism, she said.

“Unplanned absenteeism is a major concern for many businesses and employers must consider both the direct and indirect costs incurred when an employee is absent”, said Jamie Fitzsimons, Marketing Manager at Mitrefinch Employee Management.

Direct costs are the benefits paid to the employee to provide income during an absence i.e. Sick, holiday and vacation pay as well as a disability benefit. However the indirect costs associated with unplanned absence are typically ignored or poorly tracked yet they can have a considerable impact to an organisation’s bottom line.

Some indirect costs include;
• A decrease in productivity, resulting in missed business opportunities or reduced customer service
• Fees of the temporary staff required to cover for the absent staff, or overtime costs for other staff covering for their absent colleagues
• Weaken morale of staff forced to cover for absent colleagues, may have a knock-on effect, establishing a culture for “chucking a sickie”

So what can you do to control the impact of absenteeism?

As the old saying goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”.

Organisations need to have an effective means of measuring staff absence in place, enabling them to assess the extent of the issue and decide the best means of tackling the problem.

A Time and Attendance system can monitor and record patterns of absenteeism, sick leave, and productivity, allowing you to establish any regular patterns or sudden unexplained changes.

For example, the Mitrefinch Time and Attendance solution, includes advanced Absence Management functionality allowing employers to profile staff by absence tracking. The system measures how the work absences of individual employees impact your business - by recording the number of absences and the duration of each incidence and providing a ‘score’ for each employee.

With this information readily and quickly available, management can identify workers suspected of abusing sick leave and possible absenteeism trends – allowing them to deal with problem areas before they do any more damage to the organisation’s bottom line.

So if you want to enjoy your Melbourne Cup festivities without having to worry about a loss of productivity for the rest of the week, give us a call today on 1300 884 831 or visit Mitrefinch to find out more about effective Absence Management.

(Sources: “Melbourne Cup holiday sees spike in VIC worker sickies” - http://www.industrysearch.com.au/News/Melbourne-Cup-holiday-sees-spike-in-VIC-worker-sickies-55621)

Building a Better Payroll at the TAPS Annual Workplace Review

2011-10-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Mitrefinch Australia were pleased to be involved with the recent Sydney Payroll Expo, as part of The Association of Payroll Specialists’ (TAPS) Annual Workplace Review Event, which took place at the Sydney Showgrounds last Thursday and Friday (October 20-21).

This year’s Workplace Review, Australia’s biggest and longest running payroll conference, had a “Building a Better Payroll” focus and was opened by Keynote Speaker, James Valentine, who provided an entertaining, yet thought-provoking session, on “Change is the only Constant”. The educational seminars that followed provided attendees with detailed information on topical issues such as; Paid Parental Leave, NES Leave, Superannuation, Terminations, Long Service Leave, and Preparing for an Audit.

Building a Better Payroll - TAPS Annual Workplace Review

Completing the day's festivities, the infamous TAPS Theme Dinner, complete with some interesting entertainment and costumes on show, provided attendees with an opportunity to network with other payroll professionals and unwind after a long day in the classroom.

Day two of the conference was split into different educational streams: Payroll Essentials and Advanced Payroll, ensuring that all attendees’ information needs were met. New Horizons Learning Centres provided an Excel Masterclass, while other sessions addressed Unfair Dismissal, Balancing your Payroll, Expats, Fringe Benefits, and a fascinating session on Payroll Fraud (we were assured that attendees were shown how to effectively manage the risks associated with payroll fraud and not how to get away with doing it!)

The Payroll Expo, which ran in conjunction with the Conference, provided attendees with an opportunity to learn more about the very latest payroll and HR technologies, and the tools available to help them become more efficient, accessible and cost effective.

As such, Mitrefinch were pleased to showcase their biometric employee time and attendance management solutions, as well as iPhone and mobile applications for effective employee time management and job costing for remote staff.

In addition, Mitrefinch Consultants were on hand to demonstrate how their mitrefinch employee management solutions have enabled some of Australia’s leading organisations to reduce payroll costs and associated administration, improve payroll accuracy, and achieve superior planning and control of employee schedules and jobs.

The Mitrefinch team now look forward to featuring at the TAPS Melbourne Workplace Review which will take place at Hilton on the Park on October 27-28th. To register for the event contact TAPS on 1300 711 240 or visit www.workplacereview.com.au

Alternatively the Payroll Expo is free to attend on the Thursday afternoon, so feel free to drop by and visit us at Stand 8 (we'll have some more of the popular Mitrefinch Jelly Beans to give away!).

Are you monitoring Employee Absence and Leave? Maybe it's time you did!

2011-10-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

An interesting article in HR Morning recently caught my eye andeffectively highlights why organisations should maintain an accurate record ofemployee leave and absence.

The article in question reported that Douglas Rydalch, a Sales Agent for SouthwestAirlines, tried to bring an Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference case upagainst his former employer.

Rydalch had a back injury that would flare up on occasion, and when it didhe’d take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). While that’s all well and good, his injury seemedto flare up just before, or after, his regularly scheduled time off — particularlyaround public holidays.

For example: He used FMLA leave in conjunction with July 4, Labour Day,Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, as well as around his birthday. All up,he took FMLA leave in conjunction with regular days off at least 35 times.

Understandably, Southwest were beginning to get suspicious and began tomonitor Rydalch’s FMLA use. And when he again took leave on Dec. 26 and 27, theyterminated him for abusing FMLA leave and violating the company’s attendancepolicy.

But not to be outdone, Rydalch returned serve by filing a lawsuit againstSouthwest for FMLA retaliation and interference.

However the case didn’t last long and a federal court quickly threw out hislawsuit – as Southwest’s thorough documentation of Rydalch’s leave requests providedthem with a very strong reason to believe that he was abusing his FMLAprivileges.

Therefore, the court ruled Southwest was well within its rights toterminate Rydalch.

As HR Morning advises, this case serves as a good reminder to organisationsto keep accurate records of employee leave requests. Then, if leave abuse issuspected, management will be able to show in court it has legitimate reasonsfor taking action against the offending employee.

Read the full article here

An Employee Time and Attendance system is a powerful tool for analysing and managing employee time and attendance.

By recording unplanned absences, holidays and other leave (compassionate, parental etc...), a Time and Attendance system builds a complete Employee Absence Profile which can be viewed on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis. While a Group Absence Profile allows you to analyse absence for a specific team, department or site.

By measuring the work absences of individual employees a Time and Attendance system can identify how these absences impact the organisation’s overall productivity, while real-time colour-coded reporting allows supervisors and managers to quickly identify potential problem areas and plan work schedules according to available resources, skills sets etc…

If you’d like to find out more about how an automated Time and Attendance system can reduce your company’s absence rates and boost productivity contact Mitrefinch Employee Management today on 1300 884 831 (Australia) or 09 363 9557 (NZ).

Our Free Guide to Choosing a Time and Attendance system is also available for download online.

Mitrefinch to feature Time Tracking Solutions at The Association of Payroll Specialists’ Payroll Expo in Sydney and Melbourne

2011-10-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Mitrefinch to feature Time and Attendance Solutions as part of TAPS Payroll Expo

Once again Mitrefinch are pleased to be associated with The Association of Payroll Specialists’ (TAPS) and their Annual Workplace Review Conference and Payroll Expo.

As Australia’s longest running payroll related event, last year’s conference attracted over 250 delegates, and due to increasing demand from members, TAPS have decided to bring the event to Melbourne, in addition to Sydney this time around.

With a “Building a Better Payroll” theme, the conference boasts an impressive educational line-up with a strong emphasis on recent changes to legislation, as well as educational sessions related to; Fringe Benefits, Leave, Superannuation, Terminations, Expats, and an Excel Masterclass.

Following on last year’s success the “Payroll Expo” will also make a welcome return, providing attendees with an opportunity to learn about the latest payroll technology and tools to implement best practices, operational efficiencies and cost savings.

“Mitrefinch are delighted to be associated with TAPS and the Payroll Expo again this year, and we are especially looking forward to exhibiting at our first Melbourne event”, said Jamie Fitzsimons, Mitrefinch AsiaPac Marketing Manager. “We will be on hand to demonstrate our range of mitrefinch biometric time and attendance solutions, as well as our new mobile applications for effective job costing and time management of remote staff.”

The Sydney event takes place on October 20/21 at the Southee Complex, Sydney Showgrounds and at Hilton on the Park in Melbourne on October 27/28. You can catch Mitrefinch and their innovative mitrefinch time tracking solutions at Booth 14 (Sydney) and Booth 8 (Melbourne).

For more information contact Mitrefinch direct on 1300 884 831 or visit the TAPS Workplace Review website

How much is employee lateness costing your business?

2011-09-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever missed your train or gotten a flat tyre en route to work? Maybeyour just not a morning person or you struggle to get the kids out for schoolbefore you head to the office?

Whatever the reason, when not measured andmanaged properly, employees’ lateness can cause businesses thousands ofdollars each year in lost productivity and profits.

To understand exactly how much lateness could cost your organisation, let’slook at the example below.

Company ABC Pty Ltd has 150 employees.

10% of their workforce (15 employees) is persistently late for work by 10minutes. Their average hourly pay is $25.00 p/h (10 minutes late represents $4.16)

Assuming there are 232 working days per year: 232 x 15 (late employees) x$4.16 ($ lost due to lateness) = $14,476.80 lost per year

Combine that with the lost productivity, extra overtime costs occurredwhen covering workload, and the order value of the contracts lost due to delaysin delivery, and you can clearly see how just a few minutes lateness can reallyaffect your bottom line.

So what can you do to address the issue? The Forum of Private Businessproposes the following below steps:

1. Set boundaries

Your staff needs to know what you expect from them, therefore a clearlateness policy should be introduced and communicated across your workforce.

The policy should cover:

The requiredstandards of timekeeping, i.e. working hours, shift patterns, any flexi-time orflexible working arrangements
Any consequencesof persistent lateness
What disciplinaryaction will be taken under the disciplinary procedure
How your companywill monitor time keeping, i.e. timesheets or clocking in machine
If and how yourstaff will have to make up any time they have missed
Who they shouldreport lateness to if they know are going to be late and by when

2. Create a formalprocedure

The Forum suggests that persistent lateness can often be resolved informallyand the employee may be given an opportunity to improve.

This often proves to be a more effective way of resolving such an issue atan early stage - highlighting potential problems that you can quickly addressand negating the need for an investigation and disciplinary meeting.

If after the informal action lateness continues to occur, it may creategrounds for a formal disciplinary procedure.

3. Be fair andflexible

We’ve all been affected by unexpected events i.e. rail strikes, trafficaccidents or inclement weather, which can impact on the time taken to travel towork.

Employers need to be realistic and understanding about occasionalunavoidable problems with getting to work. They should always listen toemployee’s reason for lateness, which may indicate problems concerningmanagement, working relationships and work hours.

Where possible companies should plan ahead and be open to changing shiftpatterns, allowing temporary home-working or flexible working arrangements, ifappropriate.

How to effectivelymonitor attendance and reduce the financial impact of Employee Tardiness

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if you monitor employees’ attendance and absencepatterns their overall presence rate will generally improve.

An automated Time and Attendance system can help reduce employee latenessby effectively monitoring and analysing working time and absence patterns. Ifor one know that if I have to register my attendance in the morning, I makedouble sure I make it into the office on time!

An effective Time and Attendance system also allows you to set up specificrules relating to your business operation. For example, you could set up a rulewhereby once a person arrives late to work by 7 minutes, the system rounds thatfigure up to 15 minutes, meaning 15 minutes worth of pay will be reduced fromyour employee’s salary.

Continue to our website to find out more information about automated Time andAttendance systems and absence management modules.

Spring Clean your HR and Employee Management Processes

2011-09-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

With Summer on the way for us Southern Hemisphere folk – have you thought about giving your current HR and Employee Management processes a good Spring clean?

Sit back and ask yourself:

Is it difficult to get meaningful information from your current systems?
Does the system lack integration with your other business applications? Need to enter the same data more than once across multiple systems e.g. Payroll, HR, ERP?
Are you still relying on spreadsheets to process payroll and create management reports?
Are you manually calculating award entitlements, different pay rates and overtime costs across multiple sites/departments?
Are you constantly bombarded with requests for leave or updates to employee records?
Could you easily implement Work from Home or Flexi-Time initiatives with your current setup?

The Solution?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above problems maybe it's time you started looking for an automated Employee Management system that will meet and exceed your expectations.

Companies generally invest in a Employee Management system to automate the capture and management of all employees’ clocking in and out times and attendance information.This data capture ensures that organisation are complying with all federal and state workplace legislation, such as employee entitlements and modern awards, without having to manage mountains of administrative paperwork.

A customised scheduling function also allows you to separate work groups that are on different pay scales. While a direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

Integrated Employee Self-Service capabilities allow staff to view holiday entitlements, apply for leave, and request updates to their personal records online 24/7 without having to engage an already busy HR department. The ability to clock in/out or on/off jobs via the Internet or Smart Phone would also allow you to keep track of employees working from home our out on the road.

With all employee data, files and correspondence centrally stored, the filing and retrieval of vital information is quick and easily managed. This information can in turn be used to run reports on past and present data, such as training and development requirements.

These are just some of the benefits of using an automated time and attendance system, for more information on how we can help improve your current processes visit us online today or call 1300 884 831 (+61 2 8762 7888 for those outside Australia)

Despite increasing adoption Biometric misconceptions still rife

2011-09-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

A recent feature on AM, ABC Radio's flagship current affairs program, regarding a Melbourne Local Council’s plans to track employees' work hours with biometric technology garnered some interesting debate surrounding data privacy and security.

AM revealed that the City of Monash in Melbourne's south-east is considering vein scanning technology to capture time and attendance information for up to 100 library staff, including casuals.

The technology will capture the vein patterns in a person's fingers and store them as a template for future scans.

But while biometric technology like iris, fingerprint and vein scanning was once reserved for Hollywood and the stuff of sci-fi movies, isn’t it becoming more commonplace now?

With Public Sector agencies and corporate organisations around the country, such as Woolworths, already using biometric technology to check and verify the identities of their staff and record work hours. Even patrons at popular theme parks and venues, such as the Coogee Bay Hotel, are now required to present their fingers! (Read More: "You want a drink? Give us your fingerprints”)

So what’s the problem?

Judging by the feedback from the AM talk back show and the subsequent comments voiced by readers on ABC News, the vast majority are worried about privacy issues.

"They're concerned about where this information is going to be stored, what will happen with the information when they leave council, who owns the information, what's the legal ramifications," said Igor Grattan, Australian Services Union assistant branch secretary.

Indeed, this is an all to common reaction we, as Biometric Time and Attendance providers, come across when speaking to prospective clients and unions alike.

As Phil Scarfo, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at Lumidigm Inc. explains, “Though most biometrics systems rely solely on templates, or mathematical representations of the physical characteristic, the general public is not aware of this fact. It is the misperception that people are storing fingerprint images in databases that creates concerns related to privacy.” (Read More: What’s behind the biometric template?)

As such, our presales process involves educating users and management that the multi-spectral biometric technology we utilise doesn't actually collect and store fingerprints.

Instead, when an employee enrols via our biometric clocking terminal, the system saves a mathematical representations of the fingerprint and reproduces this as a template. The template is then checked against those stored by the reader, for a possible match. If one is found, the employee’s registration is accepted - otherwise it is rejected.

Contrary to popular belief, this biometric template cannot be reconstructed back to the original fingerprint image.

If you would like to read more about common biometric misconceptions check out: “Dispelling the Myths About Biometrics: Misguided beliefs about biometrics should be investigated for proper understanding of the technology")

Isn’t it time you considered biometrics?

Biometrics can significantly improve the ROI associated with implementing an automated Time and Attendance solution. By utilising this technology oganisations can:

Enhance site security – as no one without the proper identity is admitted, misplaced cards and staff borrowing “swipes” to gain access to controlled areas is no longer an issue
Reduce time and attendance fraud – cut out ‘buddy clocking’ practices, where one employee clocks on for another
Eliminate costs associated with physical ID card production and proximity fobs
Facilitate accurate reporting – in the unfortunate event of an emergency supervisors have an up-to-the-minute view of exactly who is onsite/where they are located

Visit our website today for more information on our Biometric Time and Attendance systems.

Or feel free to join in the conversation on our Facebook page and Twitter.

Failure to comply with Fatigue Management laws costs Perth Truck company - how are you managing Fatigue?

2011-09-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

IndustrySearch reports that a West Australian truck company has been fined $20,000for failing to comply with fatigue management laws for its drivers.

Holm, trading as Cockburn Transport, employs drivers to transport freightacross Australia on journeys that can take more than two weeks.

In July and August 2008, WorkSafeinspectors investigated the company's fatigue management practices and found ithad failed to keep records of work time, breaks from driving or non-work timefor trips undertaken by two drivers, and did not ensure that drivers observedfatigue management regulations on three occasions.

Interestingly, the company had been convicted of two similar charges andfined $10,000 in June 2007.

Acting WorkSafe WAcommissioner Lex McCulloch said it was "disappointing" that somecompanies are still failing to comply with laws that have been in place since1998.

Workplace fatigue is not isolated to the transport andlogistics industry. Regardless of what sector you operate in, fatigue cansignificantly affect a worker’s ability to operate effectively, with sideeffects including reduced performance and productivity, and greater potentialfor workplace accidents.

Automated Timeand Attendance systems can assist organisations with effective fatiguemanagement, enabling them to proactively monitor staff work and break hours.

Employees have the ability to clock in/out or on/off jobs via wall mounteddevices at the depot, head office or manufacturing plant, or via the Internetand mobile or wireless devices for remote staff. This attendance data isrecorded and Supervisors and HR are sent an alert when an employee isapproaching their work hour limit, enabling them to adjust rosters and shiftsaccordingly, and enforce minimum break times.

In addition, and automated Timeand Attendance system can accommodate current workplace legislation andmodern awards, as well as any organisation-specific work rules, and can easilyaccommodate any new legislative changes. This ensures that your staff are onlypermitted to work if they satisfy all the associated rules, providing you with‘peace of mind’ that they are alert to perform their duties in a safe manner.

By automating annual reporting and maintaining a complete audit trail, an effectiveTime and Attendance system will also arm you with all the informationneeded in the unfortunate event of legal action.

Ask yourself, how does your fatigue management plan stack up? If you haven'tgot the processes in place maybe it's time you took a look at a system thatwill help safeguard your employees and your business.

To find out more about how an automated Time and Attendance system could help you apply Fatigue Management procedures within your organisation check us out online, email sales@mitrefinch.com.au or call us on +61 2 8762 7888

Aussie Workers are being forced to work extra hours without compensation, how could a Time and Attendance System help you avoid a potential lawsuit?

2011-09-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

A backlog of projects to get through, and pushed to deliver them withinthe required timeframes?

If this sounds like your workplace, it may come as little surprise that many Australian employees arebeing forced to work extra hours without being compensated, as revealed by a new ACTU survey.

The poll of 42,000 employees, believed to be one of the largest everconducted with Australian workers, has found that many are under increasingpressure at work.

ACTU President Ged Kearney told ABC Radio, "We have in fact what wecall a productivity squeeze which means businesses are achieving productivity(gains) through a great deal of pressure on workers,"

And what's more worrying is that there is a large amount of unpaid workbeing done - "We are being told by our members that they are workingharder than ever, longer than ever and not getting paid for that extra work,"she said.

HRMorning.com in their recent “Unauthorized OT: One big pitfall for supervisors” article, also found that many supervisors are cutting corners to avoid rackingup an expensive overtime bill, by either not properly recording employees’ overtime hours or simply not paying employees for the extra work.

But if one of those employees decides to notify Fair Work Australia, it’sgoing to end up costing a lot more than a little overtime pay, as a number ofcompanies have discovered of late (See our previous Blog Post).

Kearney added that, a large number of respondents, particularly those incasual or part time positions, feel obligated to put in the extra hours forfear of not getting shifts or additional work when they may need it.

"This survey shows that workers are working harder than ever and thatin some ways they're getting exploited even though the legislation is there toprotect them."

So what can you do to avoid costly workplace lawsuits?

Labour and Employment Law Expert, BillPokorny from the Wage & Hour Insights Blog (which is a great read BTW) advises supervisors to:

Ensure employeesare compensated for all hours worked
Set realisticexpectations i.e. they can’t pressure employees to “just get it done” byworking off the clock
Verify employees’time records regularly to make sure workers are properly reporting their time –as even where employees don’t keep accurate time records, companies could stillbe on the hook for unpaid OT, if a supervisor knew about it.

Could an automated Time and Attendance system help?

An automated Time and Attendance system would provide a complete,up to the minute record of all employee time and attendance data, giving an accurateinsight into how long employees are spending at the office, or on specificjobs and projects.

For salaried staff, this would allow you to ensure they are compensatedfor extra hours worked outside of their normal working day (may be in the formof Time Off in Lieu etc..).

By analysing overtime data and work records, youmay also find that it could be more cost effective to bring in additionalresources or contractor staff in times of high demand as opposed to paying highovertime rates.

In addition, with mobile and web-based Time and Attendance applications, you could introduce flexi-work arrangements and work from home initiatives, which enable employees to record their start and finish times, as well as allocate time to specific jobs/projects - regardless of their location.

Continue to our website to find out more information about Time and Attendance systems as well as other workforce management alternatives that may help you address overtime issues within your organisation.

Alternatively feel free to call us on 1300 884 831 (Australia) or 09 363 9557 (NZ)

Use of Project Contractors Skyrockets – How are you keeping track of your Contractor Staff?

2011-09-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

In what might be a sign of the current economic climate, HC Online reports that many companies are now opting to keep a limited team of full time-permanent staff, and bring skilled contractors on board for special projects as they are required.

An annual survey by Resources Global Professionals canvassed the opinions of Australian senior consultants who work on a project basis across a range of sectors. While the results revealed that senior project workers are increasingly in demand, 75% of senior project consultants admitted that they needed to be flexible with their pay rates for the period ending July 2011.

62% of project consultants also indicated their services had been more demand than in the previous year. The financial services and resources sectors continue to offer the most project work, and despite the apparent decline of the Australian manufacturing sector, 28% of those surveyed predicted there would be project opportunities for them within this sector.

The top three reasons given for businesses engaging contracted project professionals over the past 12 months were:

1. Staff shortages causing inability to execute projects;

2. Large scale projects requiring additional people; and

3. Lack of in-house expertise

Are you having trouble keeping track of your contractor staff?

Struggling to keep track of paper timesheets and work records? A web-based time and attendance management system could be the answer to your problems.

A web-based time and attendance management system can easily track your contractor or consulting professional’s time.Workers simply log in and out electronically or via a smart mobile device, and assign their time to specific projects or tasks - providing management with valuable insight into a contractor’s daily activities as well as completed work, pending work, and the amount of time spent on certain projects.

Sound like the system you’ve been searching for?

Contact Mitrefinch today for more information on web-based time and attendance and other innovative employee management solutions

Mitrefinch Web-based Time and Attendance System - Online Timesheets

How a Time and Attendance System could help you implement a Salary Sacrifice Scheme

2011-08-28T23:38:00.000-07:00

A city council in the UK has revealed that they've made savings of up to $230,000 by implementing a salary sacrifice scheme which allows employees to buy extra annual leave.

The ‘Holidayplus’ plan at Nottingham City Council gives employees an option to sacrifice part of their monthly salary in order to increase their holiday entitlement, and they also have the option to spread the extra holiday cost over 12 months.

Staff can choose to purchase additional annual leave whilst making savings of up to 41% on tax and national insurance. This also benefits the council with savings on its national insurance employer contributions, which has resulted in a reduction of the overall annual salary bill.

Angela Probert, Nottingham City Council’s director of HR and transformation commented: “With the UK public sector facing substantial financial cuts, we need to try to reduce costs where possible, creating as little detrimental impact on our employees and customers as possible.”

“Holidayplus is the perfect example of an innovative solution which not only supports our efforts to reduce outgoings, but importantly, offers a positive benefit to our colleagues,” she continued.

“It has been well received by colleagues and we hope to make more savings in this way in the future.”

For more information see: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/43333

So how might an automated Time and Attendance system help you introduce a similar program at your organisation?

Implementing an automated Time and Attendance System with Self Service funtionality is a good first step to introducing a salary sacrificing scheme.

An automated Time and Attendance System can easily manage the increase in the number of leave entitlements and would enable you to avoid any inaccurate payments made as a consequence of errors associated with manually tracking leave.

With Employee Self-Service functionality, a Time and Attendance system allows employees to request personal leave without having to speak to their manager directly, employees can also view their accrued leave, entitlements, and request updates to their personal records without having to bother the HR department, saving time spent on administrative duties.

In addition, during busy periods i.e. the run up to Christmas, a supervisor can set up Leave Slots. This option restricts the number of people that can take Annual Leave on the same day. For example, if an employee tries to book leave on a day when 3 other people have already requested leave, they would get a rejection message and would have to change or abandon their request.

In the event that department managers are on leave, they can ‘escalate’ their responsibilities regarding approving/declining holiday requests to other supervisors so that any holiday-related issues could be sorted without any delays.

If you would like more information on Time and Attendance and Employee Self Service functionality contact us on +61 2 8762 7888 or visit Mitrefinch online today.

Introducing Mitrefinch Mighty-Fine Rewards - Our new Customer Referral Program

2011-08-23T18:05:00.001-07:00

Drum roll please! Mitrefinch are very happy to announce the launch of our new Customer Referral Program – Mitrefinch Mighty-Fine Rewards.

Thanks to a little RedBalloon magic, our growing customer base of more than 400 companies, across Australia and New Zealand, will receive RedBalloon experience vouchers for every contact they refer that becomes a Mitrefinch Time and Attendanc e customer, enabling them to do something memorable, with over 2500 possible experiences to choose from.

"We recognise the value of customer referrals and are delighted to know that our users are willing to share the benefits of our automated time management solutions with their peers," said Mitrefinch Marketing Manager, Jamie Fitzsimons.

"Previous referral programs were centered around product related incentives, but with our new initiative we wanted to adopt a personalised approach, rewarding clients with something exciting that they could enjoy themselves”.

According to RedBalloon General Manager for Corporate Matt Geraghty, non-financial incentives and referral programs are an area of growth, with many companies realising that no matter what business they are in or what products and services they sell, highly motivated sales staff, effective incentives and positive word of mouth are key to success.

“Everyone it seems, is asking how do we sell more, win more customers, strengthen our relationships, gain market share and increase productivity?” Mr Geraghty said.

“That’s why we are so pleased to be working alongside Mitrefinch as they continue to build their personalised incentive program, and we are optimistic that they will see positive results in the form of new and satisfied customers.”

For more info on Mitrefinch Mighty-Fine Rewards contact Jamie on +61 2 8762 7888, email jamie.fitzsimons@mitrefinch.com.au or check out our RedBalloon page

Allegations of underpayment and lack of adequate employment records see Auto Service Provider in hot water

2011-08-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

Ultra Tune, an auto service provider, is facing legal proceedings over allegedly underpaying an employee by more than $20,000.

It is also alleged to have breached workplace laws by failing to keep correct employment records for a further 10 Filipino workers it had brought to work in Australia on 457 visas.

According to court documents, Ultra Tune recruited and sponsored the employee on a 457 visa to work at their Warwick outlet in regional Queensland.

However, the company allegedly paid the worker a flat hourly rate of $15.34, rather than the minimum hourly rate, and did not pay overtime.

Fair Work inspectors were made aware of the allegations after receiving a complaint from the man following the termination of his employment when the Warwick outlet closed.

No attempts were made to employ him at another outlet and the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) claims Ultra Tune failed to pay wages in lieu of notice, redundancy and accrued annual leave entitlements.

The company has since been ordered to pay the man $11,000 of the payable entitlements they allegedly attempted to evade.

The FWO said Ultra Tune’s inadequate documentation hampered their investigation of up to nine other worker’s pay records.

The company faces multiple charges, with maximum penalties of up to $33,000 per breach.

Read the full article on HC Online here: http://www.hcamag.com/newsletter/content/117104/

How an automated Time and Attendance can help you avoid making a similar mistake...

One of the primary reasons why companies invest in a Time and Attendance Solution is to automate the capture and management of all employees’ clocking in and out times and attendance information.

This automatic capture ensures that organisation are complying with all federal and state workplace legislation, such as employee entitlements and modern awards, without having to manage mountains of administrative paperwork.

A customised scheduling function also allows businesses to separate work groups that are on different pay scales. Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly schedules can also be based on pre-defined budgets to keep payroll costs as low as possible.

Download our Free Guide on "How to Choose the right Time and Attendance System for your Business".

Alternatively, to find out more about Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance Solutions, please visit us online or call +61 2 8762 7888 today.

Presenteeism believed to cost Aussie business more than Absenteeism, how might a Time and Attendance system help reduce the effects?

2011-08-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks back we reported that 1 in 3 employees have admitted to chucking a sickie, but what about the flip side of the coin – those who show up for work when the aren’t feeling 100%?

Presenteeism refers to productivity that is lost when employees come to work but are not working at full capacity due to sickness and other medical conditions, or distraction due to personal non-work issues i.e. caring for a sick relative, financial or marital problems.

And it may surprise you to find that the cost of presenteeism to businesses and the economy is estimated to be far greater than absenteeism - with research released by Medibank this week revealing that “presenteeism” burdens the Australian economy with an annual cost of $34bn, with an average of 6.5 working days of annual productivity lost per employee.

Which does make a lot of sense, as employees who work when sick or distracted are generally less productive than if they took a day off. In addition, staff who work when they are ill are more prone to injury and, if contagious, increase the risk of passing on an illness to colleagues.

As such, organisations need to be aware that low absenteeism rates may not be telling the whole story.

See: http://www.hcamag.com/newsletter/content/116953/ for more info on the study

So what deters us from for taking time off?

Perhaps the fear of putting our job at risk, the notion that the work won’t get done in our absence, or the fear of letting our colleagues down?

Employees may also feel pressured to go to work when ill due to strict attendance policies, possibly resulting from abuse of the company's sick pay system by colleagues who 'chuck sickies'.

What can be done to help address presenteeism?

While combating presenteeism can be difficult, Medibank advises that investments need to be made in the health of staff, so that employers can reduce presenteeism rates, boost productivity and, in the long term, generate an overall positive impact on business.

The introduction flexible working initiatives can be beneficial. In particular for employees who have a long-running medical condition or have responsibilities for the care of children or other sick relatives.

The introduction of flexi-work arrangements and working from home initiatives are made easy via web-based Time and Attendance, which enables employees to record their start and finish times, as well as allocate time to specific jobs/projects regardless of their location.

In addition, by rebranding “sick leave” as “personal leave” employees may be more likely to use a Personal Day when they aren’t up to coming into work. With Employee Self-Service functionality, a Time and Attendance system would allow employees to request personal leave without having to speak to their manager directly, side-stepping any embarrassment that may be associated with a particular illness or personal issue.

Continue to our website to find out more information about web-based time and attendance systems, absence management and Employee Self-Service as well as other workforce management alternatives that may help you address presenteeism within your organisation.

Alternatively feel free to call us on 1300 884 831 (Australia) or 09 363 9557 (NZ)

How to persuade employees that a Time and Attendance system isn’t workplace Big Brother?

2011-08-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Introducing an automated Time and Attendance software system undoubtedly brings many benefits to your business; from payroll savings, improved productivity, greater management visibility, reduced absenteeism, and improvements to health and safety. However, while these benefits may be obvious to you and senior management, they are often less so to those working on the coal face.

For this reason, the implementation of an automated Time and Attendance system can prove to be a difficult task. And by implementation I don’t mean the physical installation process! I mean convincing your employees and colleagues that such a system can help them too.

At first, your employees may feel that you are trying to create a “Big Brother” type organisation - which is understandable when a Time and Attendance system can provide management with a clear record of lateness, length of lunchbreaks, as well as holidays and sick leave, and even productivity.

Even if you aren’t the person who initiated the project, as a Human Resources manager, your job would involve ‘selling’ the idea of an automated Time and Attendance system to your employees – lucky you!

So what can you do to achieve staff buy in?

1. Be a Time and Attendance Champion
First things first, you need to be a clear supporter of the idea in order to overcome potential employee obstacles, and have the confidence to answer difficult questions or arguments that may arise - getting rid of any doubts raised by your staff.

2. Be prepared for some resistance
Your Time and Attendance system provider will be able to assist and prepare you for potential objections you may encounter. You should also know that the employees who resist technology are likely to be the least productive workers!

3. Keep Staff Informed
Effective communication is key. Share information about the new Time and Attendance system with employees and their representatives/union officials as soon as possible. Explain exactly how the change will impact them i.e.: will they need to use swipe cards, proximity fobs, or biometric scanners to register attendance.

4. Communication must be two way
Don’t just provide information to the employees, also give them an opportunity to express their concerns and ask questions. For example, with biometric Time and Attendance, employees might be concerned about the prospect of their fingerprint information being stored. You will need to assure them that this isn’t the case.

Your Time and Attendance provider will have basic information (without getting too technical) on how their biometric systems work, which you can use to reassure employees that their personal data will not be compromised.

5. Explain employee benefits
You need to make sure your employees understand how they will benefit from using a Time and Attendance system. Once they are convinced that more accurate data tracking will improve the accuracy of their wages and provide them with early notice of schedule changes that impact their working hours, they are more likely to buy-into the change.

The ability to request holidays without having to ask their managers directly and amend their personal details, such as address, telephone number etc without contacting HR will also be welcomed.

While, instant access to their absence profile or annual leave balance would enable them to manage their time more effectively. With a Time and Attendance system the staff who consistently outperform are the ones who will shine which could encourage you to implement performance-related incentive schemes.

6. Get Supervisors on side
Involving supervisors and line managers in the change process, reduces the risk of them potentially sabotaging the system further down the track. When supervisors realise the importance of having accurate attendance data and that the system will help them minimise the time spent on tedious administration tasks, they will be more likely to embrace the idea and become Time and Attendance champions too!

7. Training
Sufficient training time to understand the system would also be a valuable step towards better system implementation.

8. Keep an eye on proceedings
Your job doesn’t end once the system is up and running - you will need to continue to monitor the process well beyond implementation to ensure that you achieve the desired outcomes.

An automated Time and Attendance system may well create a barrier to entry, but with your carefully planned awareness campaign and training it will be well worth the invested money!

For more information on Choosing an effective Time and Attendance System download our FREE Guide.

Alternatively contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 (Aus) or 09 363 9557 (NZ) for more information on implementing an automated Time and Attendance system for your organisation.

Is your organisation taking advantage of flexible working arrangements?

2011-07-31T23:01:00.000-07:00

The team at Mitrefinch were interested to discover that over one million Queensland employees have engaged in some form of flexible working arrangements as part of their main job, and it begged us to ask the question - is your organisation engaging in Flexi Working?

As reported in HC Online, the figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), found that Government sector employees reportedly make greater use of flexible working arrangements than their colleagues in the private sector, with 67% of government staff using some form of flexible working arrangement in the last year. However the private sector aren’t far behind, with 56% of employees advising that they are able to take advantage of similar flexible work arrangements.

Those working in the government sector enjoy the additional freedom of being able to choose their start and finish times as well as when to take annual leave.

It’s not a big surprise that financial reasons were the driving force behind Queenslanders wanting to work more hours. While, lifestyle was the main reason given for those wanting to work less hours.

The benefits of flexible workplace arrangements have been well documented and the Australian Government Job Access factsheet provides employers with a multitude of reasons why organisations should look to offer flexible work options to employees, such as:

improving the ability of employers to attract skilled and motivated employees
creating greater staff loyalty and higher return on training investment
increased trust and respect
reduced stress levels and improved morale and commitment
reduced absenteeism and staff turnover
improved productivity
potential for improved occupational health and safety records
assisting compliance with anti-discrimination and workplace relations laws.

For further information you can read the full article on HC Online here.

Want to introduce flexible working arrangements but not sure how?

Web-based time and attendance software is an effective, yet affordable, means of managing an organisation's entire workforce, allowing management to take full advantage of today’s flexible working practices such as mobile working and flexi-time, keeping costs low and increasing employee productivity.

A web-based time and attendance system allows employees to manage their own time and attendance information in a controlled, accessible and efficient way - regardless of their location.

Staff can remotely clock in and out of tasks, appointments and projects via desktop PCs, laptops, iPads/notebooks and the latest communications devices and smart phones. They can also view their holiday entitlements, apply for leave, and request updates to their personal records without constantly interfering with the valuable time of HR staff.

A web-based time and attendance system also facilitates real-time project tracking, providing accurate analysis of employee activity anytime, anywhere – this greatly increases efficiency and ensures that labour-related costs are genuine.

Meanwhile, powerful reporting functionality enables managers and supervisors to identify the commercial impact of staffing decisions.

Ready to take the next step?

For more information on how a web-based time and attendance system could help you embrace mobile workforce management and flexible working arrangements contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 (Aus) or 09 363 9557 (NZ).

Alternatively feel free to chat with us online at http://www.mitrefinch.com.au

One in 3 workers chuck sickies - how are you monitoring Absenteeism?

2011-07-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever “chucked a sickie”, taken a “doona day” or invented an elaborate excuse to take a day off?

If so, you’re not the only one, with new research revealing that one in three British workers have lied to their boss in order to take time off.

As reported by Human Capital, the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study found that the majority of respondents (61%) said they did so because they felt unmotivated and tired with their job.

The research also revealed that 15% of those who took a day off work felt they’d been working hard and deserved it, whereas 21% "pulled sickies" to deal with "family responsibilities".

Interestingly, hangovers, good weather (you can’t blame the British for wanting to make the most of the sunshine when they get it!) and romance were also named as motivating factors behind calling in sick.

On a more serious note, absenteeism costs UK businesses up to 32 billion pounds ($48.5b) a year and can be crippling for many small companies. However, Neil Roden, HR consulting partner at PwC, believes that a large percentage of absenteeism could actually be prevented.

"Our findings suggest a large chunk of this loss is preventable. If people are bored and depressed with their jobs, employers need to think creatively how they can get people back in gear", he said.

SO WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

According to Human Capital, the NSW government have published a number of strategies that HR professionals and small businesses can adopt to help reduce absenteeism on their industrial relations website. These include:

Promote a high performance work culture and emphasise the importance of the employee fitting into this culture
Provide flexible work practices which meet the needs of your business and your employees
Promote the use of carer's or domestic leave
Widen job responsibilities
Increase promotional opportunities
Recognise and reward your employees' contribution
Provide training and development
Establish an effective means of monitoring annual leave and long service leave data to ensure your employees are taking adequate recreational breaks.

IF YOU CAN’T MEASURE IT YOU CAN’T MANAGE IT!

By effectively measuring absence and sickness in the workplace, supervisors and managers can easily identify:

how often a worker is absent
how much working time has been lost
if there is any particular pattern forming (i.e. a particular worker regularly calls in sick on a Monday morning)
and where absenteeism occurs the most (i.e. within a particular department, team)

Armed with this valuable information, management can then assess the extent of their absenteeism issues and decide on the best means of tackling the problem.

For example, if absence is high among a specific team or department there may be an issue with the supervisor/manager, or employees may be subjected to workplace bullying.

HOW CAN A TIME AND ATTENDANCE SYSTEM HELP?

An Employee Time and Attendance system is a powerful tool for analysing and managing employee time and associated costs.

By recording unplanned absences, holidays and other leave (compassionate, parental etc...), a Time and Attendance system builds a complete Employee Absence Profile which can be viewed on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis. While a Group Absence Profile allows you to analyse absence for a specific team, department or site.

By measuring the work absences of individual employees a Time and Attendance system can identify how these absences impact the organisation’s overall productivity, while real-time colour-coded reporting allows supervisors and managers to quickly identify potential problem areas and plan work schedules according to available resources, skills sets etc…

A web based Time and Attendance solution can also facilitate flexi-work patterns and working from home initiatives, enabling employees to record their start and finish times, as well as allocate time to specific jobs/projects regardless of their location.

Employee Self Service functionality also provides staff with the opportunity to check their own Annual Leave balances and request time off (subject to approval) without having to speak directly to their manager or HR department - if they have accumulated enough leave they may be encouraged to book some time off as opposed to “Chucking a Sickie”!

If you’d like to find out more about how an automated Time and Attendance system can reduce your company’s absence rates and boost productivity contact Mitrefinch Employee Management today on 1300 884 831 (Australia) or 09 363 9557 (NZ).

Our Free Guide to Choosing a Time and Attendance system is also available for download online.

Benchmarking Payroll: Feedback from the NZPPA Annual Conference and Payroll Expo

2011-07-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

Mitrefinch were delighted to be a part of the New Zealand Payroll Practitioners Association (NZPPA) Annual Conference and Payroll Expo which took place in Auckland last week.

The event, the largest of its kind in New Zealand, featured an impressive line-up of presentations with a strong emphasis on current payroll legislation, with Peter Dunne, Minister of Revenue, providing the keynote speech.

Round table discussion groups hosted by NZPPA’s Accreditation arm, Inland Revenue, Payroll Giving, the Department of Labour, and Buckett Law facilitated interaction between attendees and industry specialists, enabling them to ask questions and find out more about services available to them.

While the Training streams covered conference related subjects such as; Customer service skills for payroll, the Wages Protect Act, Top 5 Payroll Calculations, handling difficult people and managing stress in Payroll.

As one of the event exhibitors, the Payroll Expo provided Mitrefinch with an opportunity to speak to a large number of payroll professionals on the challenges involved in fulfilling the ever-changing demands of their businesses.

In keeping with the Conference Theme, “Benchmarking Payroll - Improvement, Performance, and Achievement”, we were only to happy to demonstrate how our employee management solutions have enabled some of the world’s leading organisations to reduce payroll costs and associated administration, improve payroll accuracy, and achieve superior planning and control of employee schedules and jobs.

Our extensive range of data capture options, in particular our mobile applications for effective time management and job costing for remote staff, drew lots of attention to our booth, as well as our delectable Mitrefinch cupcakes (courtesy of the 12 Cupcakes company) and our prize draw for a hamper from The Sweetest Little Chocolate Shop!

If you missed out on the event, the presentations and photos will be available online at the NZPPA website later in the week.

Alternatively to discover how Mitrefinch Time and Attendance and Employee Management solutions could help benchmark your payroll processes contact us on 09 363 9557, marketing@mitrefinch.co.nz or visit us online.

Mitrefinch also look forward to exhibiting at the TAPS Payroll Expo in Sydney and Melbourne later this year (October).

Aussie cleaners share in back pay pay out - how can you safeguard your business from an underpayment case?

2011-07-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of cleaners across Australia are sharing in a $242,000 pay out after investigations by the Fair Work Ombudsman found they were being underpaid, reports the Canberra Times.

A total of 621 cleaners in Australia were rewarded back pay after Fair Work investigators looked into 315 companies as part of a nationwide campaign.

Of those 315 companies, 117 were found to have breached workplace law, with the most common breaches being underpayment of penalty rates and inadequate record-keeping practices.

United Voice branch secretary, Lyndal Ryan commended Fair Work Australi a but said the issue went beyond the 11 employees.

''The problem of underpayment is probably not reflected in the figures because it is more widespread,'' she said.

Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson advised that they were alerted to a potential issue within cleaning services when records between March 2006 and April 2010 showed it was generating the fourth-highest number of complaints.

So how can you safeguard your organisation from a potential underpayment case?

Ensuring that you are compliant with penalty rates and modern awards can represent a major headache for many organisations, with recent workplace cases such as Toys 'R' Us having to pay back up to $1 million to more than 1000 young employee s, highlighting the importance of effective Award Interpretation and Time Management processes.

An automated Time and Attendance System can take the stress out of employee allowances and entitlement calculations via an in-built, fully customisable Award Interpreter.

Easily calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties, as well as leave loading and shift penalties, ensuring consistent application of your business rules. A direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

Visit our website to find out more about effective Award Interpretation and automated Time and Attendance Systems or feel free to call us on 1300 884 831 (Aus) or 09 363 9557 (NZ).

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or join our Linkedin group for updates on employee time management solutions.

Can you afford not to?

Mitrefinch to exhibit at NZ Payroll Expo as part of the NZPPA Annual Conference in Auckland

2011-07-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Mitrefinch Group are looking forward to being a part of the upcoming New Zealand Payroll Practitioners' Association (NZPPA) Annual Conference and Payroll Expo in Auckland this coming Thursday and Friday (21-22nd July).

The NZPPA Annual Conference is the largest payroll event in New Zealand, drawing over 150 payroll professionals from small, medium and large businesses across the region.

This year’s conference has a “Benchmarking Payroll - Improvement, Performance, and Achievement” theme and will feature an impressive line-up of speakers including the Minister of Revenue, Peter Dunne and best-selling Author, Debbie Mayo-Smith.

The conference program aims to enage attendees with a number of interactive sessions; round table discussion with a range of government, technical experts and payroll related organisations, practical training on conference related topics, and case studies from payroll practitioners providing real-world advice.

Running in conjunction with the conference, the Payroll Expo will provide attendees with the opportunity to learn about the latest payroll technology and tools to implement best practices, operational efficiencies and cost savings. The Mitrefinch team will be showcasing our range of Employee Time Management solutions at Booth 11.

“Mitrefinch are delighted to be associated with NZPPA and the Payroll Expo. We look forward to meeting fellow NZPPA members and demonstrating our new biometric time and attendance solutions, as well as mobile applications for effective job costing and time management of remote staff”, said Jamie Fitzsimons, Mitrefinch AsiaPac Marketing Manager.

As an event sponsor, Mitrefinch have negotiated a special deal for clients who want to attend the conference at the discounted NZPPA member rate. For those who can’t make the conference, the Payroll Expo is open to the general public and entry is FREE.

The NZPPA Annual Conference and Payroll Expo takes place on July 21 - 22 at the Rendezvous Hotel in Auckland, to register or to find out more about event visit http://www.nzppa.co.nz

Mitrefinch feature in The Guardian's HR Supplement

2011-06-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

The Guardian newspaper in the UK recently published a supplement on HR Software, focusing on how IT is enhancing organisational performance.

The publication examined how different sized organisations, across the UK are benefiting from cost savings, improved efficiency and enhanced commercial performance as a result of implementing HR systems.

Mitrefinch's Technical Manager, Andrew Stead, had the pleasure of being interviewed for the supplement and his thoughts were published as part of the experts’ panel.

Subscribers of The Guardian or The Observer can download the supplement here

Alternatively, we have included Andrew's contribution below:

The Guardian: HR is all about people, so how do you ensure your workforce engages with a piece of software?

AS: By providing functionality that the employees find useful. An example would be the ability to book and view their holidays on-line 24/7. Using this functionality allows the employee to check if any ‘leave slots’ are available first before attempting to book their holiday.

Depending upon the setup of the system, the holiday can be authorised immediately if enough cover is available. If not, their line manager can be emailed, thus reducing the amount of time taken to authorise their absence. As holiday booking is an emotive subject, this immediately provides a major benefit to the employees.

The implementation of an HR solution can often generate employee concerns around a ‘Big Brother’-type environment. By allowing employees to maintain their own personal data, the employee can ensure that any data stored about them is accurate.

By providing visibility to HR data, concerns about the system can be considerably reduced, thus producing a better working environment. Self-service training modules can also allow employees to book themselves on relevant training courses allowing for their own personal development. This can help foster employee goodwill, providing major benefits to both the individual and to the company as a whole.

The Guardian: Does HR software provide one true source of data?

AS: In smaller companies, the HR software can often be the true and accurate source of data. However, in larger organisations, it will more likely be interfaced with data from other sources to provide the full employee record, for example, IT -based data, Time & Attendance and Security Systems.

Because the majority of today’s HR solutions provide extensive import and export functionality, it is relatively simple to link data from several sources together to provide this record. For example, if an employee changes their telephone number via the HR self-service module then this number can be automatically updated in the email system and any other relevant systems.

However, data linked to IT resources will often be updated in a separate application which may, in turn, then update the HR system with this information.

Using this technology ensures data integrity across systems and ensures an authoritative source for all pieces of information. With this in place, it is simple for a company to prove their compliance with legislation such as the Data Protection Act 1998 which includes the requirement that data is accurate and kept up-to-date.

The Guardian: Does HR software just streamline HR administration or is it a business application?

AS: In the initial stages of any implementation, the primary focus will always be ensuring that the HR software delivers on the major benefits i.e. reducing HR administration. When these benefits have been realised, the second and subsequent phases of the implementation will move to making the HR software an integral part of the business.

At this point, the solution becomes more than just about reducing administration costs but more of a business application which helps provide major benefits across the entire organisation. An example of a major business benefit surrounds the issue of absence management.

With an HR solution, it becomes straightforward to investigate where the major absences which impact on the business occur. With this information, the whole company can generate a strategy which will help alleviate the impact of absences on the company. Automating the company’s employee administration can help move the burden to better placed personnel within the organisation.

With this in place, the HR Department can provide more of an employee relations function rather than just standard administrative function. This will help ensure a more efficient and effective workforce. However, it should not be forgotten that any successful HR solution should just be a tool to aid the company deliver a better service/product to their customers.

Any HR solution should never cause an obstruction to this.

If you would like more information on Mitrefinch or our range of Employee Management Solutions please feel free to visit us online, email sales@mitrefinch.com.au or call us on 1300 884 831 (Aus) or 09 363 9557 (NZ)

Are your Payroll and HR Departments ready for the New Financial Year?

2011-06-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

As businesses around the country prepare for the end of the financial year, experts are warning organisations they need to be aware of the legislative changes that will come into effect on July 1.

A raft of new legislation including paid parental leave, unfair dismissal thresholds, new minimum wage requirements and award increases will be introduced on Friday, and according to industry experts many companies aren't prepared.

Speaking to SmartCompany, Alison Baker, Partner at Hall & Wilcox advises, “Many employers will need to get cracking and get the right advice about the paid parental leave obligations. There's not much time left."

Here are some of the new legislative requirements businesses will face:

Minimum Wage Increase The $19.40 per week increase on the minimum wage comes into effect from July 1. Employers need to ensure they meet all necessary pay requirements and update their payroll schedules to ensure employees are not underpaid.

Modern Award Increases The recent 3.4% increase in modern award wages, handed down by Fair Work Australia (FWA) will take effect from the first pay period to start on or after July 1. Revised modern awards which include the increased wages will be available on the FWA website.

National Paid Parental Leave Scheme While the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) Scheme was introduced at the beginning of this year, this was only the first stage of a two-phase introduction.

Government processing of the Scheme expires on June 30, so from July 1 employers will be responsible for processing the payments (18 weeks' pay at the national minimum wage to eligible employees who have or adopt a child from that date).

Under the Scheme, employees are obligated to request the benefit from the Family Assistance Office (FAO). Once the FAO is satisfied the employee is eligible for the benefit, it contacts the employer to say the employee has submitted an application, met the criteria, identified them as their employer. If the employer agrees with the application, they then need to provide the FAO with their bank and pay cycle details. The FAO then makes the payment to the employer, who passes it onto the employee.

Baker advises employers to ensure they have processes in place for dealing with the PPL scheme and to be aware that any existing parental schemes they have will also need to be paid.

Still confused? Centrelink have compiled a Paid Parental Leave Toolkit designed to assist employers and HR staff in preparing for their role in providing PPL to their eligible employees. You can download it by clicking here.

Reducing End of Financial Year Stress
Did you know that an effective Time and Attendance System can help reduce the workload associated with the transition to a new financial year?

Here's how:

Minimise risk by automating compliance with Modern Awards and work rules
Ensure consistent application of pay rules, policies and workplace legislation
Cut Payroll Costs by reducing costly payroll errors and inflation
Reduce Payroll Processing time by automating the transfer of hours direct to your payroll system
Safeguard you and your business with a complete Audit Trail

Sound like the answer to all your prayers?
If you would like to find out more about automated Time and Attendance Systems and how they can help you manage your end of financial year payroll woes contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 (Australia) or 09 363 9557 (NZ). Alternatively visit us online

Start the new financial year well-prepared for the HR challenges that lie ahead

2011-06-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

Struggling to control labour costs, reduce absenteeism, and manage multiple sites and a mobile workforce? All while trying to comply with the latest legislative requirements?

Sounds like you need a sophisticated Employee Management Solution to help make your life a little easier.

Yet for many organisations, investing in separate Time and Attendance Systems, Rostering Packages and HR Management Software would be out of the question.

But what if you could get all of these systems for the price of one?

Mitrefinch’s Employee Management Solution (Mitrefinch TMS) combines a robust Time and Attendance System with HR Management and Employee Scheduling functionality in one complete package.

Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance capabilities allow you to manage your staff with greater efficiency. By accurately tracking and analysing your employees’ time, you will benefit from reduced staff costs, increased productivity, better job costing, and more effective planning of future projects - all while taking full advantage of today’s flexible working practices.

Mitrefinch’s HR functionality ensures all your employee data, files and correspondence are centrally stored, making the filing and retrieving of vital information quick and easy to manage, and reducing the risk of error. The stored information can be used to run reports on past and present data, such as training and development requirements.

While Employee Self Service features provide employees with the ability to view their available Annual Leave entitlements and send Leave Requests direct to HR. This greatly reduces time spend on data-input, filling out forms, and dealing with employee questions. Employee reviews and recruitment processes can also be monitored and recorded within the system.

So why waste your time and money on numerous systems when you only need one?

To see how much money Mitrefinch TMS can save your business, try our ROI Calculator online or call 1300 884 831 (Australia)/09 363 9557 (NZ) to book a FREE Consultation or Demonstration.

'Smart' technology set to mobilise the workplace

2011-06-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

New research has found that employees will enjoy a more mobile work environment within three to five years as "smart" technology becomes commonplace at work.

The Optus study of 320 medium to large organisations found an increasing demand from workers to use personal smart phones, tablets and mobile applications at work.

However, it also revealed that IT and HR departments are not working together to make the transition possible.

The research indicated there was a disconnect between the policies being developed by HR departments and those being implemented by IT around personal mobile devices.

"If HR and IT departments don't collaborate better, the move to more flexible working environments could be hampered and impact Australian business growth," advised Optus Business Managing Director Rob Parcell.

"IT departments need to educate their organisations on the tools available to support flexible working, while HR departments need to consult their IT teams on tools to support flexible working."

IT survey respondents expect the number of employees working from different remote locations to increase from 27 per cent to 42 per cent, while 84 per cent of employees would be issued with tablets over the next three to five years.

Read the full new article from The Age here

Is your organisation ready to take advantage of mobile working?

Web-based time and attendance software is an increasingly-used and affordable method of workforce management, allowing organisations to take full advantage of today’s flexible working practices such as teleworking and flexi-time, keeping costs low and increasing employee productivity.

A web-based time and attendance system allows your employees manage their own time and attendance in a controlled, accessible and efficient way regardless of their location. Staff can remotely clock in and out of tasks, appointments and projects via desktop PCs, laptops, notebooks and the latest communications devices and smart phones. They can also view their holiday entitlements, apply for leave, and request updates to their personal records without constantly interfering with the valuable time of HR staff.

A web-based time and attendance system also facilitates real-time project tracking, providing accurate analysis of employee activity anytime, anywhere – this greatly increases efficiency and ensures that labour-related costs are genuine. While, powerful reporting functionality enables managers and supervisors to identify the commercial impact of staffing decisions and unplanned absence.

For more information on how a web-based time and attendance system could help you embrace mobile/remote working contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 or feel free to chat with us online www.mitrefinch.com.au

Are your current HR Software Systems working as hard as you do?

2011-06-07T22:25:00.000-07:00

A recent survey conducted by People Management magazine in the UK revealed that many HR professionals are frustrated with their current HR software systems and say they do not help them meet strategic goals.

Only 39 per cent of the survey’s respondents agreed that their HR software systems had all the functionality they require. While 54 per cent were satisfied with the way their systems help them with payroll and administration, this dropped to just 18 per cent for more strategic functions such as talent management.

Most HR professionals were not willing to admit that their own lack of strategic thinking might play a part in their frustrations, with only 18 per cent revealing that their department lacked a clearly defined strategy for supporting the needs of the business. More stressed that a lack of knowledge of the software available might be letting them down, while 46 per cent felt they had a good understanding of the range of HR software tools available on the market.

James Brockett from People Management believes that most HR professionals want to think and act strategically to support their business, and the survey shows that while software can help them achieve that, it can also be a source of frustration if the wrong tools are selected.

He also believes that, “While administration functions are currently being reasonably well-served by software, the findings highlight the need for HR decision-makers to consider their other needs and to make sure they do thorough research when making decisions about new HR software.”

So when should you start looking for new software?

When evaluating your current Employee Management System you need to ask yourself several important questions:

- Is it difficult to get meaningful information from your system?
- Does the system lack integration with your other business systems?
- Do you have to enter the same data more than once across multiple systems?
- Does your system limit the number of users, entries etc?
- Are you still relying on spreadsheets to prepare payroll and create management reports?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions maybe it's time you started looking for an Employee Management system that will meet and exceed these expectations!

Don’t waste anymore time!

Download our FREE Guide on Choosing an effective Time and Attendance System!

Alternatively, give us a call today 1300 884 831 or visit us online www.mitrefinch.com.au to learn more about our award-winning Employee Management Solutions, including Time and Attendance, HR Management, Job Costing and Time Allocation, Employee Scheduling and Employee Self Service.

Fair Work Ombudsman awards Wollongong truck driver $11,500

2011-05-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

Payroll News reports that a truck driver in Wollongong has been back-paid $11,500 following an investigation from the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Following a complaint lodged by the employee, Fair Work inspectors contacted the driver’s employer to clarify its obligations. The driver was subsequently back-paid three weeks’ sick leave and termination pay.

Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director, Michael Campbell, advised, “We have a flexible, fair approach and our preference is always to work with employers to help them resolve any non-compliance issues we identify.”.

He added that the Agency places a strong focus on educating and assisting employers to understand and comply with workplace laws.

The business in question has now put processes in place to ensure the mistake is not repeated.

So how can other businesses ensure they don’t make similar mistakes?

Small to medium-sized businesses without dedicated HR staff can ensure they are better equipped to manage employees by using free employment documentation templates available through the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website.

A series of Best Practice Guides have also been developed by the Fair Work Ombudsman to assist employers make better use of the provisions of the Fair Work Act and better understand other aspects of workplace laws.

These guides cover work and family, consultation and co-operation, individual flexibility arrangements, employing young workers, gender pay equity, small business, workplace privacy, managing underperformance, effective dispute resolution, parental leave and improving workplace productivity in bargaining.

Businesses can also benefit from implementing an automated Employee Time Management System, which records employee attendance as well as automatically calculating specific pay scales, modern awards, pay penalties and overtime rates. This information is then uploaded directly to the organisation’s payroll system – enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of the pay run.

Real time Absence Management reports also allow management to view the Annual Leave and sick leave taken by employees to date, while Employee Self Service functionality enables staff to view accrued leave and request holidays with the click of a mouse.

For more information download Mitrefinch’s Free Guide to Implementing a Time and Attendance System. Alternatively feel free to call 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au to discuss in more detail.

Read the full article on Payroll News: http://www.payrollnews.com.au/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=50565

Cooler temperatures mark the arrival of Sickie Season, is your business prepared for unplanned absence?

2011-05-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

As Sydney shivered this week with the abrupt end to Autumn, did you notice an increase in the number of employees calling in sick?

While we don’t get the extreme snow experienced in the US and Europe, the drop in mercury can often tempt employees to hit the snooze button and take a “Duvet Day” or “Chuck a Sickie”.

In addition, with the cooler temperatures an increase in cases of genuine sickness, like influenza (Man Flu doesn’t count!), can result in an average of 3 days absence from work*.

This unplanned absenteeism is a major concern for many organisations and employers must consider both the direct and indirect costs incurred when an employee is absent. (Read More: Have you noticed a spike in sickies this week?)

As a result organisations need to be proactive and plan in advance to safeguard their business from the effects of Winter Absence.

So what’s the solution?

First things first, businesses need to establish an effective means of measuring and monitoring employee absence.

By effectively measuring absence and sickness in the workplace management can easily identify:

how often a worker is absent
how much working time has been lost
if there is any particular pattern forming (i.e. a particular worker regularly calls in sick on a Monday morning)
and where absenteeism occurs the most (i.e. within a particular department, team)

Armed with this valuable information, management can assess the extent of their absenteeism issues and decide on the best means of tackling the problem.

Clear policies and procedures for reporting sickness absence as well as dealing with unacceptable levels of absence must be established and communicated to all staff. This sends a clear message to employees that management take unplanned absence very seriously.

For example, making it mandatory for absent employees to speak directly to their line manager or supervisor and to attend a back-to-work interview on their return.

The introduction of flexible working arrangements and the opportunity to work from home may also help discourage employee’s from feigning illness to take a day off.

How might a Time and Attendance System help?

A Time and Attendance system is a powerful tool for analysing and managing employee time and the associated costs.

For example, the Mitrefinch Time Management system can record unplanned absences, holidays and paid parental leave, building a complete Employee Absence Profile for further analysis.

By measuring the work absences of individual employees the Mitrefinch Time Management System can identify how these absences impact the organisation's overall productivity, while real-time colour coded reporting allows management to quickly identify potential problem areas and resolve any issues before they get out of hand.

A built-in current and projected manpower planner also enables management to act or plan work schedules according to available resources, skills sets etc...

To faciliate flexi work patterns and working from home initiatives, Mitrefinch’s Mobile Time and Attendance solution provides employees with the ability to record their start and finish times, as well as allocating their time to specific jobs/projects regardless of where they choose to work from.

While, Employee Self Service functionality allows employees to check their own Annual Leave balances and request holidays. If they have accumulated a number of holidays they may be encouraged to book some time off as opposed to “Chucking a Sickie” or taking a self proclaimed “Duvet Day”!

For more information please feel free to call 1300 884 831 or visit us online.

Alternatively click here to download our Free Guide to Choosing an Effective Time and Attendance System.

* http://www.healthworks.com.au

Ineffective Time and Attendance Management costs Levi Strauss $1million

2011-05-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

Levi Strauss & Co has agreed to pay more than $1 million to about 600 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor found that the jeans maker failed to record all the hours employees worked in its payroll system.

An investigation by the labor department's San Francisco district office found that the company misclassified several groups of workers as been exempt from overtime, over a two-year period.

Levi Strauss has agreed to pay the overtime wages due to all its affected employees nationwide, and upgrade its time and attendance system.

Read full article here: http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE72S6Y020110329?ca=rdt

How to learn from Levi Strauss & Co’s mistake...

One of the primary reasons why companies invest in a Time and Attendance Solution is to automate the capture and management of all employees’ clocking in and out times. This automatic capture ensures that organisation can comply with all federal and state workplace legislation, such as employee entitlements and modern awards, without having to manage mountains of administrative paperwork.

A customised scheduling function also allows businesses to separate work groups that are on different pay scales. Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly schedules can also be based on pre-defined budgets to keep payroll costs as low as possible.

Download our Free Guide on "How to Choose the right Time and Attendance System for your Business".

Alternatively, to find out more about Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance Solutions, please visit www.mitrefinch.com.au or call 1300 884 831 today.

Sham Contracts still rife with two companies set to face court next month

2011-05-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

Some companies still aren't getting the message, with two call centre service providers set to face court after the Fair Work Ombudsman accused them of breaking "sham contracting" guidelines.

The organisations in question are being accused of breaching a number of workplace laws, by employing 10,000 call centre workers and door-to-door sales people as contractors, resulting in "massive underpayments".

The Ombudsman defines sham contracting as an employer disguising or misrepresenting an employment relationship as an independent contracting arrangement, thereby avoiding employee entitlements such as minimum pay rates and leave entitlements.

Speaking at the Australian Industry Group's workplace conference earlier this week, Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson, stressed that while hiring independent contractors is not illegal, if an organisation sets out to evade their workplace relations responsibilities, by using commercial processes to find a business partner who will undercut established minimum wage rates, then that may be considered unlawful.

"The pretence that commercial negotiations can procure below award wages or that the cover of an ABN can avoid an employment arrangement are merely that – pretences. And they are pretences that can have significant consequences," he added.

In March, the Ombudsman warned that it would be cracking down on sham contracting in the health and beauty, cleaning, and call centre industries.

That same month, a Brisbane call centre company and its director were fined $214,500 for sham contracting and underpayments while the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union also threatened industrial action against developers and builders that engage staff as ''sham contractors'', which is believed to account for up to 168,000 workers (See Blog Post: Employers shirk Employee Obligations).

Read the full story: http://www.smartcompany.com.au/industrial-relations/20110503-fair-work-ombudsman-claims-two-companies-labelled-10-000-workers-as-sham-contractors.html

Avoid your business being branded a sham

Ensuring that you are compliant with penalty rates and modern awards can represent a major headache for many organisations, but you don't need to evade the law to avoid the stresses of Award Interpretation and Employee Time Management processes.

An effective Employee Time Management System can do all the hard work for you via an in-built, fully customisable Award Interpreter.

Calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties, as well as leave loading and shift penalties, ensuring consistent application of your business rules. A direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

If you would like discover how your organisation can benefit from more efficient Award Interpretation and effective Employee Time Management download our Free Guide on How to Choose a Time and Attendance System.

Alternatively feel free to contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

A typical day in the life of a HR Professional

2011-04-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Just another day at the office....

You arrive at work, full of a positive energy after the extra long Easter Break - you’re focused, motivated, and ready for today’s challenges.

So far, so good!

8:52am You’ve just opened your inbox – 52 emails, most of them flagged as ‘urgent’ – better get some caffeine into your system.

9:07am Brett from one of the Production Lines has rung in sick. That’s the 5th time within the past 3 months. His Supervisor believes he is deliberately “chucking sickies”, particularly as it’s the day after a public holiday weekend, and wants to start an investigation. He has asked for your advice and Brett’s absence data for the past year.

9:20am You begin researching Brett’s absence documentation. There is a mountain of files and archived emails to go through.

9:45am John from Sales sends you an email, he wants to know his Annual Leave Balance and would like to request a day off on May 2nd.

10:00am You’ve just received an email from a Forklift Operator who hasn’t been paid for his overtime last month.

10:20am A phone call from Jane in Sales enquiring about her Paid Parental Leave entitlements. It's a compulsory obligation for employers to process these payments from 1 July 2011. Need to make sure we fully understand our obligations to both employees and Government.

10:30am Kate from Finance has just handed in her notice, she’s off on a round the world trip and hopes to settle in the UK for a few months. Need to start recruiting ASAP and organise a reference letter for Kate.

11:00am You finally get around to making a start on this month’s payroll which needs to be complete by Friday.

11:15am You can’t focus on payroll as you’ve just had a phone call from a Production Manager informing you that three staff from his department were late today causing a significant delay in an order delivery. Need to look at revising corporate procedures for dealing with lateness.

12:00noon No time for a full lunch break, as you still need to check all your files to find Brett’s absence documentation.

1:00pm Still searching! More new emails and requests to deal with and you’ve had to answer at least 5 phone calls from recruitment agencies.

2:00pm Eventually you get around to the payroll run again. Only 2.5 days left and a number of spreadsheets to go through, as well as taking account of all the Public Holiday penalty rates.

It looks like it's going to be another late evening…

Sound familiar? Then stop pulling your hair out and think about a solution!

A robust Time and Attendance and HR system supports hardworking HR professionals, like you, by monitoring the working time of your employees and automate time consuming administrative tasks, in turn enhancing productivity and providing necessary up-to-the-minute information and reports on employee absence, annual leave entitlements, attendance records etc...

In addition, by eliminating the manual calculation of working hours, an effective Time and Attendance System will greatly minimise the administrative workload involved with payroll processing and help you gain peace of mind regarding compliance with workforce regulations and award entitlements.

An Employee Self Service module would allow your staff to manage their own attendance and holiday information in a controlled, accessible and efficient way. Employees could simply access the system online to view remaining leave, entitlements, and request updates to their personal records without having to bother you or your team.

In addition, all your employee data, files and correspondence are centrally stored, making the filing and retrieving of vital information quick and easy to manage. This information can in turn be used to run reports on past and present data, such as training and development requirements.

Want to find out more?

Stop sacrificing your lunch break to deal with HR issues, download our Free Guide on how to choose the right Time and Attendance System today.

Or feel free to call us on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au to discuss your particular needs in more detail.

Easter Holiday woes for HR and the Payroll Office

2011-04-17T17:29:00.001-07:00

Each year, the Easter holiday period raises a number of different employment issues for employers and represents a demanding time for HR and Payroll departments across the country.

Common issues experienced range from an increase in levels of absenteeism among employees, a spike in the number of annual leave applications as this period coincides with the school holiday break, and questions regarding the day or days that have been declared a public holiday by the respective state or territory government.

And as if things weren't complicated enough, this year Easter Monday and Anzac Day both fall on the same day (Monday, 25 April). Nevermind the current NAB problems that may also be reeking havoc with your payroll payments!

According to the NSW Business Chamber, an employee’s entitlement to a public holiday is derived from the Fair Work Act 2009, the relevant state or territory public holiday legislation, the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement, or the employee’s contract of employment.

Easter Public Holidays

To help clear up the confusion below are the days listed by the Act as public holidays for this Easter period, as well as the public holiday declared by the relevant state and territory government as a public holiday for that particular state or territory:

*Good Friday, 22 April - all states and territories

*Easter Saturday, 23 April – all states and territories (except South Australia and Western Australia)

*Easter Sunday, 24 April – New South Wales only

* Anzac Day, Monday, 25 April – all states and territories (except Victoria – observed on Tuesday, 26 April)

* Tuesday, 26 April (Easter Monday) – all states and territories (except Tasmania)

Easter School Holidays

In addition, the following are the listed school holidays over the Easter period in each state and territory

New South Wales and Victoria: Saturday, 9 April – Tuesday, 26 April

Queensland, South Australia and ACT: Saturday, 16 April – Sunday, 1 May

Western Australia: Wednesday, 20 April – Wednesday, 4 May

Tasmania: Friday, 22 April – Sunday, 1 May

Northern Territory: Friday, 22 April – Tuesday, 26 April

Thankfully help is at hand!

For our Mitrefinch Time and Attendance System users we can help reduce the extra pressure normally suffered by the HR and Payroll Office around this period with the following functionality:

Employee Self Service: Employees can check their Annual Leave Balances and Request Annual Leave without having to annoy the HR department

Leave Slots: Allows management to limit how many employees can be off in one day, employees cannot request Annual Leave once the limit has been reached. This feature is particularly useful in times of high demand for holidays like Easter or in the run up to and during the Christmas Break, as well as times of heightened production/activity i.e. January Sales for Retail

Group Absentee Profile: Allows employees to view Leave Slots and whether the limit has already been reached, stopping them from generating requests for leave

Absence Profile: Allows Management/supervisors to enforce minimum notice for absence, and enforce minimum or maximum length for absence

In addition, our powerful Time and Attendance system automates all the payroll calculations , managing all the different pay and penalty rates associated with the holiday period, this information can then be imported to your payroll system – reducing data entry, saving you time and reducing the potential for payroll error.

All you need to do now, is sit back, relax and enjoy all that Easter chocolate!

Are your Admin staff stretched and overworked?

2011-04-10T23:34:00.000-07:00

Well, apparently they aren’t the only ones, with new research revealing that three quarters of office and administrative staff in Australia are forced to work outside regular office hours.

And believe it or not, they aren’t just doing it to impress you or senior management. Being “over-stretched” and having too much work to do were cited as the main reasons for staying late in the office.

The study compiled by recruitment firm, OfficeTeam, examined the working habits of 540 administrative professionals across the country. They found that while 76 per cent of recipients admitted to voluntarily working outside their contracted hours, more than half of those questioned said that they felt pressured by their employer to put in extra graft to help keep on top of their workload.

Stephen Langhammer, Associate Director of OfficeTeam explained that, “It is the responsibility of employers to manage their staff’s hours and ensure that they are not burning out at work.” “Managers need to heed the warning signs and look at ways they can alleviate the pressure if their administrative staff are regularly working overtime,” he said.

Interestingly, the survey also revealed that 84 per cent of those questioned said that they sometimes went to work when feeling ill, while one in four were not satisfied with their current remuneration package. Langhammer advises employers who can’t afford to renumerate staff for the extra hours that they are putting in, to instead look at compensating them in other ways, and aim to offer a better work/life balance.

“Whilst alternative work arrangements have obvious health and well-being benefits for employees, there is also a strong business case for equipping staff to work flexibly, as it can boost efficiency and, in turn, reduce the pressure to work overtime and to come into the office when sick,” he added.

Source:http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/A1/0C06FEA1.asp

How might an automated Time and Attendance System help?

A first step might be to monitor the hours your admin staff are actually putting in at work. An automated Time and Attendance System will allow you to track when staff are working longer hours and if there is a particular pattern i.e. at month or quarter end, every fortnight etc...perhaps you need to hire extra manpower during these busier periods to help elevate the workload inflicted on your admin staff.

If you want to introduce flexible working practices, an automated Time and Attendance System can be customised to match your specific working patterns and legislation, supporting flexi-time and shift work across multiple sites and pay centres, while seamlessly integrating with you other business, HR and Payroll systems.

Web-based and Mobile Time and Attendance applications can be customised to allow remote clocking in from desktop PCs, laptops and the latest smart phones - enabling staff to clock in and out of tasks, appointments and projects whether they are in the office, working from home or out on the road.

In addition, by eliminating the manual calculation of working hours, an effective Time and Attendance System will eradicate the mountain of administrative work involved with payroll processing, and thus saving the Payroll Department from unnecessary stress and hardship as the generate the pay run.

While an Employee Self Service module, would allow your staff to manage their own attendance information in a controlled, accessible and efficient way. Employees could simply access the system online to view their accrued leave, entitlements, and request updates to their personal records without having to bother the HR department.

Want to find out more?

Don’t stress! Simply download our Free Guide on “How to Choose an Effective Time and Attendance System” or call us on 1300 884 831 for more information.

Smartphone use in Australia is going through the roof, how can you leverage this to better manage your workforce?

2011-03-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

A new study by TNS Global has confirmed Smartphone usage in Australia is growing at an exceptional rate.

The international study, now in its 8th year, uses an online panel across 43 markets. This year, 34,000 consumers worldwide took part in the survey, with 504 Australian respondents split across gender, socioeconomic background, and age.

"The biggest surprise this year is we're starting to see Smartphone usage go through the roof," TNS director of technology Marcus Pritchard told Marketing magazine.

"HTC, LG and Samsung are also becoming top of mind for replacement phones, we're seeing the death of the traditional phone."

And it’s not just the iPhone, Pritchard says consumers are becoming more open to other Smartphone alternatives as they learn more about them. "It's about the experience that each can deliver," he explains.

However the study does reveal that Australia is still a little behind other developed markets for technology adoption, the quality of mobile service, and data download speeds.

Check out the complete article in the latest online edition of Marketing Magazine.

So how can you leverage this growth in mobile technology to manage your workforce more accurately and efficiently?

New mobile workforce management applications developed for Smartphones, improve workplace productivity by making it easier for supervisors and employees to complete a wide range of work related and administrative tasks from any location, at any time.

By utilising the mobile devices they are already familiar with, employees can clock in/out or on/off specific jobs from remote work sites, request leave, and review their work information in real time.

While supervisors and managers can monitor real time operations and onsite records, check anomalies, approve timesheets, and respond quickly to leave requests. GPS tracking or Google Map functionality also allows supervisors to check where specific clockings were made.

To find out more about Mitrefinch’s Mobile Workforce Solutions and how they can enhance your employee time and attendance, rostering and absence management processes see www.mitrefinch.com.au, call Sales on 1300 884 831 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Unlimited leave policy abuse treated "very seriously" by Fair Work Australia

2011-03-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

Fair Work Australia, the national workplace relations tribunal, has upheld an international corporation's dismissal of a worker who fraudulently used his carer's leave to take a weekend off, advising that such an action could harm other employees by undermining the employer's trust-based "unlimited" leave policy.

A production worker at Nyrstar in Hobart, Tasmania initially sought annual leave for a weekend last September, but was refused on the basis that it would have left the operation short-staffed. He then sought carer's leave, with the support of a medical certificate providing that he needed time off to attend appointments with his daughter, who had been on crutches after an injury.

The company approved the leave and planned to cover the absence with a labour hire employee. However on hearing rumours that the worker's leave request wasn't authentic, management employed the services of an independent investigator who conducted surveillance on the employee, and returned with a report and DVD that showed he had travelled with his family to the Tamar Valley Resort, for the weekend in question.

The employee was confronted with the evidence and after having a chance to explain his actions, was eventually dismissed due to “his utilisation of carer's leave under false pretences” and that he had "consciously taken a decision to defraud the company".

Commissioner Deegan from Fair Work Australia took into account that the employee's misuse of his unlimited entitlement to leave, "could have the effect of bringing about a change in policy and lead to greater restrictions on the availability of leave for other employees in the future". "For this reason I think it is understandable that an employer treat very seriously any circumstances in which such entitlements are abused".

Nyrstar’s HR manager, Tim Wilson-Haffenden, told Fair Work Australia that the company provided a personal leave entitlement that included carers' leave. It was a "no debit/no credit" system, "in the sense that if an employee is sick, then providing they supply the appropriate documentation, they are entitled to paid sick leave".

Wilson-Haffenden advised that the system was treated with a fair degree of trust and that in the context of good relations between management and employees, there was no systematic abuse.

Commissioner Deegan said she was satisfied that the employee intended to go on the trip to northern Tasmania when he applied for the carer's leave.

As such, his use of the leave for that purpose, supported by the medical certificate claiming he had to take his daughter to "appointments" was "at no time a legitimate use of that leave", she said.

Consequently, the company had a valid reason for dismissing the worker based on the dishonest answers provided to Wilson-Haffenden.

Source: http://www.workplaceexpress.com.au/

By administering and tracking both paid and unpaid leave policies, Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance System (Mitrefinch TMS) plays a valuable role in helping organisations maintain compliance with federal, state, and union mandates.

Today, due to the robust workplace legislation surrounding the Fair Work Act, organisations are struggling to accurately track leave for all their employees. Yet with the rise in Workplace lawsuits being brought up against organisations, it is more important than ever for management to accurately track and administer leave time.

Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance System allows organisations to:

Keep a central, remote repository of all employee leave records, facilitates tracking of all leave types such as Vacation/Personal leave

Automatically determine leave eligibility based on an employee’s hours worked and hire date.

Generate absence management and vacation planning reports

Store doctor’s certifications and will send alerts when new certifications are required

Reduce the likelihood of Workplace investigations and employee lawsuits

Eliminate administrative error and reduce admin time as employees can request leave and explain absences online while supervisors oversee anomalies and authorise or decline requests automatically

Reduce the time required to manually administer federal and state leave laws by as much as 65%.

Employees can check their own leave records and entitlements quickly and easily

If you would like discover how your organisation can benefit from effective Leave Management and avoid costly law suits contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 931 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Employers shirk employee obligations with Sham Contracts

2011-03-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

As per an article in the latest online edition of the HR Leader, a Brisbane call centre has been ordered to pay a total of $214,500 after being found guilty of underpaying its staff by using “sham contracts”.

Contracting Plus Pty Ltd was found guilty of violating workplace laws by paying its workers less than the minimum hourly rate of pay, amounting to $46,000.

The former Brisbane CBD call centre attempted to classify workers as “independent contractors” rather than employees, and therefore avoided mandatory requirements relating to salary and benefits.

At the ruling, Federal Magistrate Michael Burnett said that, “Sham contracting is a serious matter because if workers are incorrectly classified as independent contractors, they can miss out on fundamental entitlements such as minimum pay rates, penalty rates and annual leave.”

Burnett ordered that the fines should go towards reimbursing the employees of Contracting Plus Pty Ltd, a large number of whom were under the age of 21.

“To purposely deny vulnerable and low-skilled workers these important employment entitlements by disguising them as contractors is particularly reprehensible,” he added. “As such, it is important that my agency mark its disapproval of such behaviour and deter others from doing the same.”

Michael Campbell, Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director, praised the decision, advising that it sent out a very clear warning to other would-be employers looking to evade workplace legislation and their obligations to employees.

The HR Leader reports that the trend of so-called sham contracting appears to have spread into several sectors, with a recent investigation led by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) halting hundreds of illegal contracts at construction sites across Australia. Nationwide audits look set to continue, with well-known multi-nationals such as Bovis Lend Lease and Multiplex construction being questioned by the CFMEU.

Construction workers have teamed up with the union to create the ‘Stop the Sham’ campaign, in an effort to voice their anger against the growing practice of sham-contracting. They are also calling for co-ordinated Federal Government action.

CFMEU Construction National Secretary Dave Noonan said that he blamed authorities for turning a blind eye to the practice, and as well as treating workers unfairly, the organisations responsible were also evading business taxes.

“These companies are taking lucrative Federal Government construction contracts with one hand, and undermining Australia’s tax base with the other,” he said.

To read the full article see: http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/27/0C06F927.asp

There is an easier way to comply with penalty rates and workplace legislation without resorting to Sham Contracts

Ensuring that you are compliant with penalty rates and modern awards can represent a major headache for many organisations, but you don't need to evade the law to elevate the stress of effective Award Interpretation and Time Management processes.

Mitrefinch's Employee Time Management System (TMS) can do all the hard work for you via an in-built, fully customisable Award Interpreter.

Calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties, as well as leave loading and shift penalties, ensuring consistent application of your business rules. A direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

If you would like discover how your organisation can benefit from more efficient Award Interpretation and effective Employee Time Management contact Mitrefinch today on 1300 884 931 or email sales@mitrefinch.com.au

You can't afford not to.

(Source: HR Leader)

Flexible work options to boost job opportunities in rural areas

2011-03-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

The introduction of a high-speed broadband network and a shift in employee attitudes towards working remotely will undoubtedly benefit regional areas in terms of increased job opportunities. This was the outlook from Cisco’s “The Changing Nature of Work” debate last week.

Speaking at the event, Senator Kate Lundy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, explained that the growing flexibility of working locations and advancements in technology and infrastructure would present a ‘phenomenal opportunity’ for those not living in metropolitan areas.

“People will have choice in this country about where they work, and how productive that work can be, like no other country. The change would set Australia up to be a fascinating test bed for change in work practice across the world, and lead by example,” she said.

Jacob Murray-White, Head of Salmat@Home, said that geographic diversity and ‘working from home’ allows organisations to “to reach out to people all over Australia and therefore attract a really high quality of people who really want to work from home.”

He added, “it allows people to make a lifestyle choice about where they want to live and it allows them to work in what is essentially a very nice work environment at home doing a high white collar style job on their own terms – it means that we get some fantastic people who would have no other way of participating in this type of work force.”

As a precursor to the debate, Cisco conducted a survey "The Connected World" which questioned over 2600 workers from around the globe. The results revealed that two thirds of participants would rather have flexible working arrangements than a higher salary, while in Australia the figure was even higher at 73 per cent. However, 43 per cent of Australian employees believe that they needed to be physically ‘in the office’ to make decisions more effectively and efficiently, with nothing replacing daily ‘in-person’ interaction.

Fernanda Afonso, organisational development specialist for Freehills and national chair of the Australian Psychology Society, said that while a high proportion of employees would prefer more flexible working conditions, it is important to remember that we are social human beings and need to feel connected to a broader community in some kind way.

Interestingly the Cisco results suggest that the ability to work outside office hours, doesn't necessarly result in a shorter working week for employees, instead participants said that on avearge they worked an extra 2-3 hours per day, while 10 per cent said that they were always online and work through their waking hours.

Afonso said that the responsibility should lie with employees, who must set strict boundaries for a work/ life balance and communicate what is acceptable for them personally.

"Sometimes we do expect our managers to second guess what’s going on in our life, so I think it’s important for the individual to communicate that,” she advised.

To read the full article see the HR Leader: http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/E8/0C06F6E8.asp

To support today’s flexible working practices such as job-sharing, flex-time, and remote offices, Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance software (TMS) and HR systems are available as web-based applications, an iPhone App or can be deployed on other smart phones, WAP enabled mobiles, notebooks and laptops.

This enhanced functionality enables organisations to monitor the time and attendance of all employees, and automate time-intensive administrative tasks, in turn enhancing productivity, improving workforce compliance while also increasing customer and employee satisfaction. In addition, integration with GPS technology and Job Costing facilitates real-time project tracking and analysis of employee activity from any location.

To find out more contact Mitrefinch Sales on 1300 884 831 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Mitrefinch User Group Conference to showcase new Time and Attendance developments

2011-03-10T15:18:00.000-08:00

Mitrefinch's Australian clients will congregate at the Company’s Annual User Group Conferences in Melbourne and Sydney this April.

These free half day events will provide clients with an opportunity to experience the advanced data visualisation and mobile working features available in the latest release of Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance system, TMS Version 6.0, as well as new developments in biometric technology, data collection devices, and other employee management add on solutions.

Debbie Guppy, Mitrefinch Group CEO, from Mitrefinch’s UK head office will be on hand to provide the keynote speech, and announce the launch of a new Customer Referral Club, which aims to acknowledge and offer incentives for any new business that clients refer to Mitrefinch.

In addition, senior management and members from Mitrefinch Australia’s support and technical team will be sharing their expertise with attendees, and providing advice on how to gain the best possible return on investment from Mitrefinch’s employee management solutions.

Attendees will also have ample opportunity to exchange real world knowledge and experience with their peers and system users from other industry sectors over a networking lunch.

“Our clients have found direct access to senior management to be a key differentiator from other conferences”, advises Allan Murdoch, Mitrefinch Business Development Manager. “The insight we receive from our attendees is invaluable, I believe we learn more from our customers than any other source. Their feedback drives the direction of our development to meet their needs."

The Mitrefinch User Group Conferences will be held in Melbourne at the Punt Hill South Yarra Grand on Thursday April 14th and in Sydney at WatervieW Conference Centre, Olympic Park on Friday April 15th.

Further User Group Conferences are planned for Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth later this year.

The User Group Conferences are free for all Mitrefinch users to attend, however RSVP by March 25th is essential.

To reserve your spot you can register online or contact Mitrefinch directly on 1300 884 831 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au

For more information on Mitrefinch's User Group Conference please see the Event Page

Mitrefinch proud to support Australia's National Payroll Week

2011-03-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

As a leading provider of Time and Attendance Systems and Employee Management Solutions, Mitrefinch Australia are once again proud to support National Payroll Week, an initiative of The Association of Payroll Specialists (TAPS).

National Payroll Week focuses on raising the profile of payroll and acknowledging the hard work of all payroll professionals. This year the initiative will run from March 21st to 25th.

Payroll is one of the most highly regulated functions within a company. Compliance with complex federal and state legislation, workplace agreements and award structures is essential, yet despite these challenges, payroll personnel continue to calculate employee’s pay accurately and on time, every pay run.

As part of the Nationa l Payroll Week, TAPS will run their Poster Campaign and a Photo Competition. Now in it's 17th year, the Poster Campaign encourages TAPS members to celebrate their profession and spread the word about the important role payroll plays within the business.

“During National Payroll Week we are delighted to acknowledge the essential role that payroll personnel play in every business”, said Jamie Fitzsimons, Mitrefinch Marketing Manager.

“Payroll error rates can account for up to 1.2% of total payroll costs. This amounts to millions of dollars in overhead costs for many Australian businesses. Having qualified personnel as well as a user-friendly system to help automate payroll can significantly reduce payroll processing time, offering huge cost savings”.

Mitrefinch’s Time Management Solution, TMS, is used on a daily basis by many payroll professionals around Australia, helping their organisations to reduce labour costs and eliminate payroll errors, while improving workplace productivity and efficiency.

For more information on TAPS or National Payroll Week please visit: www.payroll.com.au

The true value of implementing an effective Time and Attendance System

2011-02-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

OK, so your organisation has identified a need for an automated Time and Attendance system.

You've started your search on Google, checked various websites, and maybe read some articles, whitepapers, or watched some online videos.

By now, you're probably an expert in naming the various Time and Attendance vendors and the features of their systems. But in reality when it comes to presenting your proposition to senior management, there will be one thing which will matter most to them - how much time, money, and effort can the organisation plan to save by implementing a Time and Attendance system?

Let’s have a closer look at the example below, to gain a better understanding of the return on investment (ROI) an organisation could expect to achieve by implementing a high quality Time and Attendance system.

Company XYZ Pty Ltd has 120 employees working on average 40 hours per week.

Average Pay Per Hour
80 Production Staff: $20 p/h
10 Senior Production Staff: $22 p/h
15 Admin Staff: $23 p/h
8 Senior Admin Staff: $25 p/h
6 Managers: $30 p/h
1 Director: $40 p/h
Total Average Pay: $26.66 p/h

Now, we will calculate the ROI that XYZ Pty Ltd could reasonably expect in the first 12 months after installing an automated Time and Attendance system.

This is based on the premise that the implementation of the Time and Attendance system will consequently reduce overpayment, human error, and administration costs.

OVERPAYMENT
A good Time and Attendance system will significantly reduce overpayment. Once employees know that their attendance, start/finish times, and breaks are being monitored, overall attendance and timekeeping will generally improve.

It is possible that employees may be overpaid by up to 30 minutes per day due to lateness, early leaving, long lunch breaks etc.

If we assume a conservative 1% increase in attendance, then the following savings could be made each week:

Number of Employees: 120
Total Hours Per Week: 4800
Total Weekly Pay: $127,968.00
Hours Gained Weekly: 48.00
SAVINGS PER WEEK: $1,279.68

While this is good and well for workers paid an hourly rate, what about salaried employees?

In our experience we have found that even organisations with salaried staff can benefit from tracking employee time and attendance. For example cost savings will still occur when employees stay at work over their standard hours, plus management can view detailed attendance and absence reports, enabling them to pin point potential problem areas before they get out of hand.

HUMAN ERROR
With a manual punch card or timesheet system, there is greater potential for human error at each stage of the payroll process. Companies using a manual system are likely to be experiencing an error rate between 1 and 5%.

If we assume a Time and Attendance system can reduce this by a conservative 0.5%, then the following savings could be made each week.

Number of Employees: 120
Total Hours Per Week: 4800
Total Weekly Pay: $127,968.00
Rate of Human Error Weekly: 0.5%
SAVINGS PER WEEK: $639.84

ADMINISTRATION COSTS
On average it is estimated to take up to 7 minutes for Managers to manually calculate and edit each timesheet/clock card, and a further 2 minutes to manually enter data from each timesheet/clock card into a payroll application.

An effective Time and Attendance system will eradicate these time consuming manual tasks.

If we assume that a conservative 5 minutes per timesheet/clock card for the calculation and data entry process could be saved, then the following cost savings could be made each week.

Number of Employees: 120
Calculation and Entry (hours): 10
SAVINGS PER WEEK: $266.66

CONCLUSION
Based on these figures, installing an automated Time and Attendance system could save XYZ Pty Ltd $2,186.18 each week.

This equates to an estimated capital recovery of $113,681.36 per year.

Now, what organisation wouldn’t like to achieve those figures!

Interested in finding out exactly how much your business could save? Why not, try the Mitrefinch Return on Investment Calculator for yourself!

For more information on Mitrefinch's Employee Management Solutions don't hesitate to contact us directly on 1300 884 831 or via email on sales@mitrefinch.com.au

Employers to run Paid Parental Leave Scheme through their Payroll or risk large fines

2011-02-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

Aussie businesses could face fines of up to $33,000 if they fail to run the government's new paid maternity scheme through their payroll.

Thousands of mothers have applied for the $570-a-week paid parental leave scheme since it was introduced on January 1, according to new figures released by Families Minister Jenny Macklin.

Faced with a choice between the paid parental leave scheme offering up to $10,000 to working mums and the $5000 baby bonus, available to stay-at-home mums, eligible parents are flocking to the new scheme, with over 15,500 families lodging applications to date.

But small business groups are fighting back over demands they administer the scheme after July 1, with a legislative showdown brewing as Parliament resumes. They advise that many employers’ simply are not aware of the scheme and the potential fines they could face for failing to comply.

MPs will vote on Coalition reforms to force the Gillard Government to instruct Centrelink to keep running the scheme.

Ms Macklin told Sunday Herald Sun she was determined to see the scheme administered by business rather than Centrelink. "Paid parental leave is a workplace entitlement, just like annual leave or sick leave," she said.

"Our scheme helps employers retain skilled and valuable staff...It's important for women to maintain a connection to the workplace.”

"Employers will pass on Government-funded parental leave pay to their long-term employees through the employee's usual pay cycle and will receive the funds from the Government in advance," she added.

But the Opposition’s Small Business Spokesman Bruce Billson said: "It's an unnecessary burden on small business and exposes employers to big fines."

The Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBA) Executive Director, Peter Strong, said there was little explanation for the red tape other than a philosophical view that the maternity payment should be a workplace entitlement rather than a welfare payment.

"It's about time the Government funded paid maternity leave and that's great, but we don't want to be the paymaster," he said.

Parents can apply for the taxpayer-funded scheme up to 3 months before the birth of their child and can take it in conjunction with, before or after any employer-funded leave. It is taxed but can also be transferred to fathers if mothers return to work early.

(Sources: Sunday Herald Sun and Payroll News)