RedWolf Payroll

Archive for the ‘Employee Administration’ Category

There are many advantages to conducting exit interviews when an employee is terminated – either voluntarily or involuntarily. The two main reasons people conduct exit interviews is to receive feedback from the departing employee and to notify the employee of administrative procedures from that point forward. Of course, no departing employee is required to grant you an exit interview; however, most of them will.

Exit interviews should be conducted in private – preferably a closed office or conference room. No unnecessary employees should be present or able to listen in to the exit interview.
The best person to conduct exit interviews will vary but should usually be an individual at least a level above this individuals boss (i.e. their bosses’ boss) or someone from Human Resources if you have a dedicated Human Resources department in your company. In the event that a termination is involuntary (i.e. the employee is being fired), it is best to have two individuals present to conduct the exit interview. If possible, you may wish to exclude the terminated employee’s boss from the exit interview. Employees may be more likely to open up about issues that may be occurring within the Company if they feel that they will not have to engage in a confrontation with their former boss.

As mentioned above, there are several key administrative procedures that you will need to cover during the exit interview. You need to may sure that the employee is aware of benefit continuation requirements such as COBRA benefits, retirement plan rights or obligations, and conversion privileges related to health, life, disability, dental or other insurance benefits that are currently maintained by the employer. You should also confirm the employees contact information to ensure that you can contact them via mail for such items as paychecks or W-2’s.
You should also have the employee sign an acknowledgement that these items were discussed with them in the exit interview. In the event that they refuse to sign the acknowledgement, send them a follow up letter restating the items that were discussed in the exit interview – remembering to save a copy for their employee file. The exit interviewer should make notes as to what was discussed during the exit interview, including notes as to why the individual is leaving (if voluntary). These notes should be maintained in the personnel file.

In Exit Interviews Part II, we will review some commons questions that you should ask employees during the exit interview. Then, in Exit Interviews Part III, we will discuss what you, the employer, should do after the exit interview.

Did this guy call in sick to work to go to a baseball game?

Do your employees really have jury duty? Did they really come down with Swamp Fever and need to miss a week of work? The normal procedure is to make them provide a doctors not or provide a jury duty notice. This may not be so easy now that an Oklahoma company has begun issuing excused absence notes that appear real.

For a mere $19.95, the Excused Absence Network will issue you up to 5 sick notes from Doctors, Dentists, Emergency Rooms, Jury Duty, Funerals, or Medical Evaluations. While their website states that the notes are for “entertainment purposes only,” how many people are actually using these notes to entertain their supervisors or friends?

MSNBC reported that a New Jersey woman was arrested after supplying one of these notes in order to provide explanation for why she missed traffic court. Unfortunately, court officials called the chiropractor who was listed on the note, and surprisingly, he had never heard of the woman.

A CCH nationwide survey found an absenteeism rate of about 2.3 percent in 2007. That’s down from 2.5 percent in 2006, the highest rate since 2.7 percent in 1999.

In my opinion, this practice is pretty unethical and could be considered fraud if your Company is paying you for your day off. Company founder, John Liddell was quoted as saying, “Millions of Americans work dead-end jobs, and sometimes they just need a day off. People are going to lie anyway. ”

My response to John Liddell and those “millions” of people in dead end jobs, do something to improve your situation and get a better job. The answer is not to lie, cheat and steal. You will never get out of your current situation doing that. The answer is to work on improving yourself and your abilities and move on to a better job with greater opportunities.

Payroll touches each and every employee of an organization who receives a regular wage or other compensation. Some employees may be paid a salary while others are based on the number of hours worked.  Many of these different payment methods are calculated by a payroll specialist and the appropriate paychecks are issued. Organizations often use objective measuring tools such as timecards or timesheets completed by supervisors to determine the total amount of payroll due each pay period.  All in all, there are a vast amount of records that can pile up related to employees.Many payroll records are based on objective criteria such as timecards and federal tax forms.  For many small business owners, this mountain of records can be a daunting task to keep organized.  This is a major reason that many business owners choose to hire outside accountants to perform all of the calculations; store all of the year-to-date records and issue paychecks in a timely fashion. Employers simply need to update their payroll firm with changes in employee pay rates or deductions.In payroll personal file is essential that information is easily accessible and accurate when it is needed. Business owners and managers will eventually encounter the need to produce documentation about employee performance and work history. When outside people ask the company to provide verification of certain employment information, make it a practice to confirm only the information your employees have authorized you to release.The following items constitute a list of what items should be retained related to your employees. Keep in mind that this list is not all inclusive, and may vary based on your company or industry.

1.  Offer and hiring records (including employment contracts and/or agreements)
2. Employment applications (include supporting documentation such as resume, transcripts, interviewer notes, recommendation letters and/or reference checks.
3.  Job Descriptions
4.  Receipt for Employee Handbook (if applicable)
5.  Testing and/or Training Records (if applicable)
6.  Performance Evaluations
7.  Awards or disciplinary actions
8.  Personal data (name, address, birth date, sex, etc.)
9.  Payroll records
10.  Employee pay and benefit plans records
11.  Records and logs of occupational injuries
12.  Employee terminations and exit interview notes
13.  Promotions, demotions, and transfers
14.  INS Form I9
15.  Tax Withholding Forms (W-4, W-5, and any required state forms)

The following records are considered confidential, and should be kept separate from the regular personnel file when others may access the information inappropriately. 

1. Supervisor’s administrative file
2. Medical records and medical history of employees regarding ADA, FMLA, Rehabilitation, or work-related injury and/or illness claims and reports, and referrals concerning employees’ participation in Employee Assistance Programs
3. Medical records and medical history of family members of employees
4. Assessments functional capacity
5. Fitness for duty examination results
6. Discrimination claims and/or reports, including investigative materials.