The ACT Government has been in the firing line lately over the “historical error” in the setup of a government entity’s payroll system. Now, this isn’t a new story. The $315,000 owed by the Cultural Facilities Corporation (CFC) is 0.07% of the amount that the Queensland Government is said to have overpaid the Queensland Health staff after the IBM payroll system fiasco. Australia Post identified an error with the calculation of annual leave entitlements on termination. We could go on, but let’s talk about the problem many businesses are facing.
Technology had once been viewed with high levels of scepticism, mistrust and suspicion but over the last 20 years we have seen a paradigm shift to blind trust in technology.
It’s enticing to think that waving the magic wand of technology will cure all our ills but this relies on three assumptions:
- Your payroll system has been correctly configured to your specific situation with the correct inputs;
- Your payroll system has the ability to handle the complexity presented by legislation, awards and enterprise agreements; and
- Awards, enterprise agreements and regulations are static.
These assumptions are on shaky ground as demonstrated by the experience of the CFC, Queensland Health and Australia Post.
What do you do?
How do you mitigate workforce compliance breaches? You need an automated solution that sits over the top of your existing payroll and time and attendance systems to ensure compliance with your specific view of the laws, awards and enterprise agreements. A purpose-built system that provides actionable insights to ensure you remain compliant, always.
* Yellow Canary content on this website is intended solely for the purpose of offering commentary and general knowledge. The content is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content.
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