Pay groups group together payees whose pay is to be processed together in the same pay batch. For example, payees who have the same employment type and have the same pay frequency can be grouped into the same pay group and can therefore be payrolled together in a single pay batch for each pay period.
To create and process a pay batch in the Payroll Module, you must select the pay group that defines which group of payees are to be payrolled within the pay batch. Before payees can be assigned to a pay group and before a pay batch can be created for a pay group, the pay group must be created under Payroll > Maintenance > Pay Group.
A payee is assigned to a pay group by selecting the relevant pay group in the Pay Group field on the Payroll > Payee > Payee Details > Payslip Details screen. A payee can only belong to a single pay group at any given time. However, a payee can be assigned to different pay groups during different pay periods. For 🇬🇧 UK Payroll, the pay group would need to be of the same pay frequency for the same period of employment otherwise this would affect calculation of National Insurance.
When working with pay groups, you should be familiar with the following concepts:
pay frequencies
pay periods
pay period statuses.
These concepts are described in detail below.
Pay Frequencies
The pay frequencies of a pay group determine show often payees belonging to the pay group are paid. The following pay frequencies are supported in the system:
Value | Description |
Weekly | Each pay period is exactly 7 calendar days in duration. |
Fortnightly | Each pay period is exactly 14 calendar days in duration. |
Monthly | There is one pay period per calendar month. Alternatively, each pay period can be split across calendar months based on a split day. In such cases, each pay period starts on the calendar day after the split day and ends on the split day of the following month. |
Bi-monthly | There are two pay periods within each calendar month. The first pay period of each calendar month ends on a split day, which defines the boundary between the two pay periods for that month. |
Pay Periods
Each pay group must have one or more pay periods or pay cycles that define the date range of each pay cycle for the pay group.
The pay periods for a pay group are consistent with the pay frequency of the pay group (i.e. weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly) and each pay period is a complete period. For example, if a pay group has a weekly pay frequency, each pay period is exactly one week (7 days) in duration.
The first pay period for a pay group defaults to being the open or current pay period. Once the pay of payees in the pay group has been processed for the current pay period, the current pay period can be closed. On closing of the current pay period, the system automatically opens the next pay period in the cycle so that pay can be processed for the that period. This process continues until all pay periods for the current tax year have been closed. At that point, tax data for the next tax year can be imported and a rollover function can be used to generate pay periods for the pay group for the new tax year.
For 🇦🇺 AU and 🇳🇿 NZ Payroll pay periods cannot be created for a tax year until tax data has been imported into the system for the respective tax year. For more information, see Tax Period Maintenance.
For 🇬🇧 UK Payroll future pay periods can be generated for tax years so that the pay date can be determined for the calculation of child related payments. It is recommended that at least 2 tax years of pay periods are generated for this purpose.
Pay Period Statuses
Each pay period for a pay group has a status that indicates if the pay period is open and if pay batches can be created for that period. The table below describes the each possible pay period status.
Status | Description |
|---|---|
Inactive | Indicates that the pay period is a future period that has never been opened. |
Open | Indicate that the pay period is the current pay period. Pay batches can be created for such pay periods. Only one pay period can be open for each pay group at any given time. |
Closed | Indicates that the pay period is a past pay period that was previously open and has since been closed. Adjustment pay batches can be created for such pay periods. |