Add an Employee Benefit

Payees in Australia who work in certain industries, or are subject to certain industrial awards, can be entitled to additional benefits paid on their behalf by their employer to a Scheme Administrator. These Scheme Administrators allow employees to carry their benefits from employer to employer so they can still enjoy the benefits they’re entitled to no matter how many employers they’ve worked for.

Employee Benefits include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Portable long service leave
• Redundancy
• Income protection
• Training levy
• Portable sick leave

Step-by-step guide

There are 4 parts to Employee Benefits:

1. Pay Code Group
2. Employee Benefits Maintenance – Benefit Types, Contribution Payment Periods, Scheme Administrators, Benefit Type Rate Rules, Link to Agreement
3. Job Order
4. Payee Record (optional for accruals)

PART ONE - Pay Code Groups

A Pay Code Group must be created before adding a Rate Rule.

1. Go to Payroll > Maintenance > Pay Code Groups
2. Click the + symbol to add a new Pay Code Group. Enter the following:
   • Name – must be unique
   • Description
3. Click the + symbol to add a Validity Period
   • Enter a Start Date
4. Click the Pencil symbol to open the Select Pay Codes screen. 
   • Tick the Pay Codes to include in the group
5. Click OK > Click Save

PART TWO - Employee Benefits Maintenance

Benefit Types

A benefit type defines the name of the benefit that can apply to payees. A separate benefit type record should be created for each type of employee benefit payees are entitled to receive under an industrial award or agreement.

Benefit types must be created before adding scheme administrators.

1. Go to Payroll > Maintenance > Employee Benefits > Benefit Types
2. Click the + symbol to add a new Benefit Type. Enter the following:
   • Name – must be unique
   • Description
   • If you do not want the benefit type to be available for use immediately, click Active to clear the tick.
3. Click Save

Contribution Payment Periods

Employment benefits accrued on behalf of payees are required to be paid to the relevant benefit scheme administrator at regular intervals.

Contribution payment periods must be created before adding scheme administrators.

1. Go to Payroll > Maintenance > Employee Benefits > Contribution Payment Period
2. Click the + symbol to add a new Contribution Payment Period. Enter the following:
   • Name – must be unique
   • Description
   • Contribution Frequency – Options are:
     • Calendar Month - if period is a calendar month
     • Monthly - if period is split across calendar months
     • Quarterly - if period is a three month period
     • Every 2 Months - if period is a 2 month period, can be split across calendar months
3. Click the + symbol to open Create Payment Periods screen. Enter the following:
   • Start Date - if the contribution frequency is Calendar Month or Quarterly, the start date must be the first day of a calendar month.
   • End Date - if you select a date that would result in an incomplete period, the system automatically defaults the end date to the nearest valid date.
   • Click Create Payment Periods
4. For each payment period, enter a Payment Cut Off Date – the latest date by which contributions can be paid to the scheme administrators
5. Click Save

Scheme Administrators

Each organisation that administers employee benefit schemes must be added.

1. Go to Payroll > Maintenance > Employee Benefits > Scheme Administrator
2. Click the + symbol to add a new Scheme Administrator. Enter the following:
   • Name – must be unique
   • Description
   • Contact Details and Banking Details – these are optional fields and are for information purposes only.
3. On the Employee Benefits Tab, click the + symbol
   • Select an Employee Benefit Type
   • Select a Contribution Payment Period
   • Repeat this for each benefit administered by the scheme administrator
4. Click Save

Benefit Type Rate Rules

Benefit type rate rules determine what earnings are subject to employee benefit accruals and the rate of the accruals.

Benefit type rate rules must be configured before links can be created to pay agreements.

1. Go to Payroll > Maintenance > Employee Benefits > Benefit Type Rate Rules
2. Click the + symbol to add a new Rate Rule. Enter the following:
   • Name – must be unique
   • Administrator
   • Employee Benefit Type – available options depend on the Administrator selected
   • Apply To - select Bothif the Rate Rule is to apply to job orders regardless of whether they are subject to agreement or standard rates.
   • Week Ending Day
   • Select Released in Status - will not be available for use until marked as released
   • Import Code, Export Code, P/L Export Account& B/S Export Account - these are only used for finance integration
   • Click the + symbol to add a Validity Period
   • Enter a Validity Start Date
3. Click the Pencil symbol to open the Employee Benefit Rate Rule screen. Enter the following:
   • Contribution Basis
   • Percentage Value & Pay Code Group for % Calculation - doesn't apply if Contribution Basis is set to Fixed
   • Fixed Value, Fixed Per & Pay Code Group to Define Period (for fixed) - doesn't apply if Contribution Basis is set to Percentage
   • Cap Fixed at & Cap Per - doesn't apply if Fixed Per is set to Pay Period
4. Click OK > Click Save

Links to Agreements

Pay agreements must be linked to benefit rate type rules in order for benefits to accrue when the pay agreement has been applied to a job order. 

1. Go to Payroll > Maintenance > Employee Benefits > Link To Agreements
2. Click the + symbol to add a new one
   • Select an Agreement
3. Click the + symbol to add a Validity Period
   • Enter a Validity Start Date
4. Click the Pencil symbol to open the Select Employee Benefit Type Rate Rule screen
   • Tick the Rate Rules to apply to the Agreement
5. Click OK > Click Save

PART THREE - Job Order

For a Payee to receive Employee Benefits, the benefit needs to be selected on the Job Order.

1. In Recruitment Manager, add a new Job Order or open an existing job
   • Make sure Rates have been applied - this will determine which benefits can be added to the job
2. In the Pay/Bill section, click Employee Benefits
   • Select the relevant benefit(s)
   • Click Save

PART FOUR -  Payee Record

Adding Employee Benefits to the Payee record allows their Member Number to be recorded and adjustments to be done in a Pay Batch. 

This is not required for benefits to accrue.

1. Go to Payroll > Payee
2. Search for the relevant Payee and open the record
3. Click Employee Benefits Details tab
   • Click the + symbol to add a new benefit
   • Administrator - select the name of the scheme administrator to which the payee's benefit scheme contributions are to be paid
   • Benefit Type - select the name of the applicable benefit
   • Member No. - enter the payee's membership number
4. Click Save

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