Joles: In our previous system, our payroll team had to go into the system each week to manually update an employee’s pay rate based on the information that was provided in the timesheet. To add to this challenge, they had to process Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) premium rates for bonus payments and retroactive calculations for time missed or paid incorrectly using Excel spreadsheets, and then enter them into the system. Our payroll team also had to manually enter all garnishments that were received by mail, calculate disposable income, and determine the garnishment priorities and applicable regulations.
With Workday, we were able to automate our complex pay rate tables. We have a look-up table that assigns the pay rate by evaluating the employee’s base rate, location, and position at the time of work. This also ensures that the employee pays the appropriate taxes associated with the location of the work and the employee’s resident state. Additionally, Workday supports automatic FLSA premium rate calculations, which includes recalculating overtime rates for a bonus paid over a period of time and automatic retroactive calculations for time missed or paid incorrectly. When the payroll team adds a line into the current payroll for the number of hours missed and the date worked, the system will look back to the prior period and recalculate it to determine the amount owed to the employee.
The cherry on top is that HR can continue to process changes during payroll calculations. Whenever payroll recalculates, the changes are included in the current processing cycle, which reduces the need for manual checks and incorrect payments due to last minute changes or approvals.