As the end of the year approaches, the pressure to finalise company payrolls intensifies. From handling holiday pay adjustments to meeting submission deadlines, this period can be challenging for HR and payroll teams. Here are some common pitfalls and best practices to help you navigate year-end payroll smoothly. By partnering with us, you can avoid these pitfalls and ensure accurate, compliant and timely payroll processing.
- Late payroll submissions and approvals
- Challenge: The busy season often means payroll runs are pushed to the last minute, creating a risk of late submissions. Approval delays from managers or other stakeholders can compound this issue.
- Solution: Start planning payroll dates early for December and January and share these dates with your team in advance. Remind stakeholders of approval deadlines, emphasising the need for timely actions to avoid last-minute delays.
- How we can help: With HRTorQue’s support, you can schedule payroll well in advance and benefit from reminders that keeps everyone on track, ensuring smooth processing without the surprises.
- Miscalculations in holiday and leave pay
- Challenge: Misunderstanding or incorrectly calculating holiday pay, leave payouts and other year-end bonuses can lead to errors, affecting employee satisfaction and company compliance.
- Solution: Review leave policies and familiarise yourself with the latest BCEA requirements to ensure that holiday and leave pay calculations are accurate. Maintain open communication with employees about these calculations to manage expectations.
- How we can help: Our team stays up to date with labour law changes, ensuring your payroll setup is compliant and reflective of current standards. We provide guidance on leave pay and holiday calculations to prevent any costly errors.
- Overlooked deductions and adjustments
- Challenge: In the rush to finalise payroll, it is easy to overlook important deductions such as tax adjustments, pension contributions or loan repayments. This oversight can result in compliance issues or financial discrepancies.
- Solution: Implement a checklist for payroll that includes every standard deduction and adjustment to be reviewed during year-end processing. Double-check deductions for accuracy and comprehensiveness to prevent errors.
- How we can help: HRTorQue offers payroll review services to ensure no deductions are missed and payroll runs align with all statutory requirements.
- Managing employee and stakeholder availability
- Challenge: During the holiday season, key payroll stakeholders may be on leave, complicating the approval or review process.
- Solution: Secure backup contacts or authorised proxies for payroll approvals and ensure you have updated all contact details for essential communication over the break.
- How we can help: Our team remains available with skeleton staff during the holidays to support clients who are operational. We ensure your payroll runs smoothly, even if your team is unavailable.
- Failing to plan for year-end adjustments
- Challenge: Year-end payroll adjustments, such as bonuses, incentives and backdated changes, can require special handling, increasing the chance of error if rushed.
- Solution: Plan year-end adjustments early and set clear deadlines. Consider a phased approach to distribute these adjustments over multiple payroll runs, reducing the workload during peak periods.
- How we can help: Our team is experienced in handling complex payroll adjustments and can guide you through the process, ensuring all end-of-year changes are accurately implemented.
Avoiding these pitfalls not only improves payroll accuracy but also enhances employee satisfaction and compliance. Partnering with us provides the peace of mind that comes from knowing experienced professionals are supporting your payroll needs.
If you are ready to get a head start on your year-end payroll, contact us at [email protected]. Alternatively, reach out to your dedicated payroll administrator.