New report reveals work is the primary cause of stress

Work is the biggest cause of stress in the UK, a study commissioned by mental health organisation Mind has revealed. 

The research showed that 34 per cent of those surveyed felt their job was either "very" or "quite" stressful and this was a bigger concern than financial or and health worries. 

One in five of the 2,000 people who took part in the survey said they had taken a day off sick because they could not cope with the pressure of going into work. However, 90 per cent made up a different excuse for their absence. 

Most cite excessive workload and/or long hours as the most significant causes of stress in the workplace. While the emergence of new mobile technology and the "alway-on" employee, as well as a lack of work-life balance are also common contributing factors. 

Employers can use the data collected by their workforce time management system to effectively monitor their employee’s time and attendance – analysing unpaid overtime, those who work from home, as well as absence statistics. 

Armed with this information they may be able to justify hiring additional manpower or bringing in contractors at times of increased activity, or at the very least acknowledge the effort being put in by their team - perhaps introducing some incentive or a Time in Lieu scheme for salaried staff who work overtime.

In the long run, this ultimately benefits the entire organisation as a motivated and happy workforce will lead to increased productivity, as well as reduced absence and staff turnover.

Chief executive of Mind Paul Farmer agrees, "Improving mental wellbeing in the workplace doesn't have to cost a lot. Our research shows that people whose organisations offered flexible working hours and generous annual leave said such measures supported their mental wellbeing."
 

Overtime and Absence costs Queensland Corrective Services $35m - what about your business?

Queensland Corrective Services Minister Joe Francis has raised concerns over “unacceptable” levels of sick leave, overtime and workers compensation amongst prison officers - with overtime and personal leave costing the state close to $35m last year*. 

Organisations need to establish an effective means of measuring and monitoring employee attendance and overtime, particularly across the Public Sector where they are under constant pressure to manage their wage bill more effectively.

Mitrefinch are currently assisting a number of Government and state agencies with their absence and attendance reporting needs, arming them with the information they need to optimise their workforce and eliminate costly overtime and contract labour.

With this information on hand, department heads and managers can quickly identify; how often a worker is absent, how much working time has been lost, if there is a particular pattern forming, and where absenteeism occurs the most (i.e. within a particular department, team). 

An automated Time and Attendance System is a powerful Workforce Management tool designed to accurately analyse employee attendance information and the associated costs. 

By recording unplanned absences and leave, a Time and Attendance System can generate a complete Absence Profile for an individual employee, group of employees, or department, for further analysis. As well as identifying how absence impacts the organisation's overall productivity. 

To help alleviate the problems associated with unplanned absence, in-built employee scheduling and rostering capabilities can help management to plan work schedules and shift cover according to available resources, skill sets, and pre-defined budgets. 

For more information on absence management, attendance recording and time tracking solutions contact the Mitrefinch team today.

* Source: HC Online

Safeguarding your business from an underpayment law suit with better workforce management

Yet another company is in the Fair Work Ombudsman’s sights for underpayment with SmartCompany reporting that an Adelaide windscreen company is set to appear in court over allegedly underpaying seven employees more than $100,000 over a period of four years.

In this case, the FWO argues the employees were paid flat hourly rates ranging from $12.50 to $21.62, "resulting in the employees variously being underpaid their minimum hourly rates, casual loadings and penalty rates”.

Employees were also allegedly instructed to work through lunch periods without a break, and then weren't paid for that time. One employee has also accused the company of underpaying annual and personal leave entitlements.

The FWO has been eagerly chasing businesses accused of underpaying workers, especially workers from other countries. However, business groups have complained the wage system is too hard to understand, with businesses likely to make mistakes because of the complexity of different awards and rates.

Safeguard your business from a potential Fair Work Ombudsman investigation

An automated time and attendance system can assist organisations with better workforce management by accurately capturing and recording employees’ work time and attendance information.

With this information a time and attendance system can easily calculate base and overtime pay, weekend and public holiday penalties, as well as leave loading and shift penalties and modern awards. This ensures consistent application of your business rules and compliance with federal and state workplace legislation.

A direct interface to your external payroll application further reduces payroll administration and the potential for costly payroll errors.

For more information download our White Paper "Howto choose the right Time and Attendance System for your Business".

Employees crying sick after Anzac Day to cost Aussie Business at least $36 million

The NSW Business Chamber predicts that about 173,000 Australians will pull a "well-known and obvious scam" by taking this Friday off after the Anzac Day holiday. 

Australia celebrates Anzac Day on Thursday April 25th

"It's amazing how many people get 'sick' on a Friday after a public holiday so they can create a long weekend," CEO Stephen Cartwright said in a statement on Friday. His advice to employees who want some extra time off is to plan ahead and talk to their supervisor or manager about booking annual leave*.


In dealing with unplanned absence, it is important for organisations to establish an absenteeism policy and make all employees aware of its content. A company can also gain significant insight into their operation by examining their workforce’s attendance and absenteeism information. 

If the business is small in size they may be able to track employee absenteeism manually. For larger companies this may not be an option, therefore they need to ensure that they implement a time and attendance tracking system that can: 

• Keep an accurate count of individual employee absences 
• Tabulate all employee absenteeism totals 
• Calculate the financial impact that these absences have on the business 
• Detect patterns where absences are particularly high 
• Differentiate between various types of absences 

The Mitrefinch Time and Attendance system can report on an unlimited number of absence codes. Each code represents a type of absence such as annual leave, personal day, sick certified, sick uncertified and bereavement, amongst others.

In addition, managers can keep a check on the percentage of absenteeism by employee, site, location, department and company on a whole, and then determine if an employee is above or below a plant or department average of absenteeism – and take appropriate action. 

The Mitrefinch Time and Attendance system includes a host of other features to assist with absence management and holiday planning including Leave Slots and Self Service tools. 

Leave Slots enable you to limit the number of staff that can book leave on a particular day, ensuring you have the right staffing levels to meet customer or production demands. Web-based Self Service tools make it easy for employees to view their leave balances and book time off, while supervisors can quickly approve or deny requests. 

Continue to our website to find out more information about automated time and attendance systems and absence management. 

*Read the full article on news.com.au

Effective Easter Holiday Planning with an automated Workforce Management System

Each year, the Easter holiday period raises a number of different workforce and payroll issues for organisations, representing a demanding time for HR and Payroll professionals across the country. 

Happy Easter from the team at Mitrefinch!

Common issues range from an increase in levels of absenteeism, a rise in the number of annual leave applications, and questions regarding the day or days that have been declared a public holiday by the respective state or territory government. 

As an employee or employer, you need to know your entitlements and obligations for public holidays during the Easter holidays. 

This year the following days are public holidays under the National Employment Standards: 

Friday 29 March 2013 (Good Friday) and Monday 1 April 2013 (Easter Monday) 
*Note: Saturday 30 March and Sunday 31 March are also public holidays in some states and territories in Australia. 

In relation to pay rates, casual employees aren’t entitled to be paid for a day off for a public holiday. Part-time and full-time employees who get the public holiday off are generally entitled to be paid their base rate of pay for the hours they would have ordinarily worked. 

Some employees are entitled to be paid a higher rate (penalty rates) when they work on a public holiday. Whether or not an employee is entitled to penalty rates depends on a number of things, including the industry and the job. 

Visit Fair Work Australia online for more detailed information. 

For Mitrefinch Time and Attendance System users we help reduce the extra pressure normally suffered by HR and Payroll professionals around the Easter holiday period with the following functionality: 

Award Interpretation: Automate all your payroll calculations, manage different pay and penalty rates associated with the holiday period, and import this information direct to payroll – reducing data entry, saving you time and reducing the potential for payroll error. 

Self Service Tools: Employees can check their Annual Leave Balances and Request Annual Leave, while Supervisors can check off anomalies and approve/reject Leave Requests via the web or a web-enabled mobile device. 

Leave Slots: Supervisors can limit the number of employees that can be off on a given 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. 

Group Absentee Profile: Allows employees to view Leave Slots and whether the allocated limit has already been reached, preventing them from generating requests for leave. Managers can also enforce minimum notice periods for absence, and set minimum or maximum length for leave. 

With all your workforce management needs automatically taken care of, all you need to do is sit back, relax and enjoy all those Hot Cross Buns and chocolate treats!