Category: blog

The need of becoming professional and knowledgeable HR is growing more and more important as businesses attempt to become more efficient and productive. Any organization that wants to be successful in the long run should engage its faculty and try to resolve any concerns. Not to add, they should endeavor to remedy the problem as quickly as possible; else it will hurt the business. As a corollary, HR compliance is an important factor. Before we read about the HR compliance issues, its importance and role of HR compliance specialist, let us first know what HR compliance signifies.

What exactly does HR Compliance imply?

HR compliance refers to a company’s commitment to comply with the employment law’s operating requirements. This has an impact on the systems, policies, and documentation. It also means that employees are entitled to all benefits stipulated in their employment contracts.

Regardless of where they are located, all institutions must adhere to employment legislation, norms, and regulations. To do this, HR must take a proactive approach to ensure that the system complies with all regulatory requirements. This entails overseeing all health and safety laws daily.

HR compliance ensures that employees receive their contractual and statutory employment benefits. This also involves fair recruitment rules, anticipating and addressing workplace prejudice, and ensuring that employees are paid what they are due. HR compliance requires keeping up with any changes in employment laws, gender pay reporting, and requirements for hiring international personnel.

Importance of HR in Compliance

What is the significance of HR compliance? HR compliance is critical since ignoring legal requirements is either illegal or unethical. Not to mention, this can lead to labor disputes or tribunal claims. Allowing a worker to work during the first week following childbirth is deemed a criminal law violation in some situations.

However, ensuring that all of an organization’s legal obligations are met can be difficult. To achieve compliance, HR must be properly resourced to fully comprehend the organization’s duties and be able to identify areas where additional action and/or skills are needed.

Furthermore, in the highly regulated world of human resources, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the numerous compliance reports and laws. It is critical to follow all HR regulations, as failure to do so could result in severe penalties and repercussions for an organization. As a result, HR compliance is more crucial than ever.

The following are a few of the perks of HR compliance:

• First and foremost, it ensures that the company complies with the Labor Standards Act’s standards, which govern overtime compensation and the minimum salary for most professions.
• Second, this ensures that the company or its employment practices aren’t the subjects of pending litigation.
• As a result, it ensures that the company administers benefit programs and compensation effectively, even though compensation laws are continually changing.
• Finally, through an interactive model, this assists employers in understanding and meeting compliance duties. Execution on time; audit trails; and automated notification

HR compliance issues

Every day, employers face issues, some of which, if not managed effectively, might have a substantial impact on their organization. These issues are frequently lumped within the compliance category for HR and benefits professionals.

At MKT Software, we catch pace with compliance and regulatory developments so that our clientele and business professionals are aware, equipped, and able to deal with any challenges that occur as a result of changes in laws and regulations. Here are some of the most important HR compliance issues to keep in mind.

1. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that protects workers from (FLSA). This law requires employers and employees to pay a minimum salary, work beyond, and are over the age of 18. Employers, HR professionals, and benefits professionals must all comprehend the complexities of this regulation.

Creating a payroll or record-keeping error has consequences for the employee, but it can also impact you, the company, in lawsuit penalties.

2. Laws Governing Maternity Leave

The FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) is a federal law that permits eligible employees to undertake up to 12 weeks of leave without pay each year without fear of the consequences. While the FMLA is most often linked with maternity leave, it also extends to employees who have serious medical issues.

3. Workplace Bullying

Workplace discrimination can be tough to manage even for the most experienced HR and benefits professionals. HR directors must traverse the arena not only for their employee’s safety and well-being, but also to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory norms. Several states are working to increase workplace compliance and awareness.

A lot of jurisdictions now require harassment prevention training at work to promote compliance and knowledge within the workforce.

4. Workplace health and safety

There is still a lot of discussion about health and wellness programs in the workplace. It’s particularly evident in contemporary multi-generational employment, where salary and compensation expectations are progressive including health and wellness perks.

List of HR Compliance

The existing legal environment is characterized by uncertainty. In most circumstances, a law is only discovered after it has been broken, resulting in harsh penalties. Compliance Management is necessary if you want to stay out of trouble with the law.

Here’s an overview of the most important HR legal obligations;

• The 1923 Workmen’s Compensation Act,
• The 1926 Trade Unions Act,
• The 1936 Payment Of Wages Act,
• The 1946 Industrial Disputes Act,
• The 1946 Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act,
• The 1948 Minimum Wages Act,
• The 1948 Factories Act,
• The 1948 Employees’ State Insurance Act,
• The 1952 Employees Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act,
• The 1959 Employment Exchanges(Compulsory Notification Of Vacancies) Act,
• The 1961 Apprentices Act,
• The 1965 Payment Of Bonus Act,
• The 1970 Contract Labor (Regulation & Abolition) Act,
• The 1972 Payment Of Gratuity Act,
• The 1976 Equal Remuneration Act,
• 1979 Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment & conditions of service) Act,
• The 1986 Child Labor (Prohibition & Regulation Act),

Each of these must be submitted at different times during the year and in diverse types.

Who is now in charge of maintaining HR compliance?

An HR Compliance Specialist’s job is to guide, strategize, and implement policies and schemes to meet compliance requirements. He or she is responsible for monitoring and running the organization’s wellness programs, as well as supervising and managing safety and health programs in compliance with existing corporate policies and any regulatory restrictions.

An HR compliance specialist’s job includes developing and implementing methods and strategies (training, policy memorandums, etc.) for informing employees about the Company’s health and safety programs, expectations, and obligations that relate to their responsive employment. It also comprises giving employees with compliance training and advice on topics including accidents, injuries, illness, leaves of absence, and return to work after a leave of absence.

Employee leave notices and requests are also handled by HR compliance professionals, who also interact with them as needed. They also ensure that proper leave of absence documentation is generated, obtained, and kept under legal standards.

Prior to actually authorizing a return to work following medical leaves of absence, they conduct an assessment based on the data received from health care providers, the department’s ability to supply special adjustments and/or comply with productivity constraints, understanding of associated physical and mental specifications for performing essential job responsibilities, and relevant law constraints.

Before employing an employee, an HR compliance specialist must conduct a background check (including checks of motor vehicle records and criminal history) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

They also aid in the investigation of work-related accidents, injuries, illnesses, and “near misses” to determine the core causes and patterns, as well as to offer remedial actions or policy and procedure modifications to avoid recurrence.  Anti-discrimination regulations, wage and hour legislation, family and medical leave, and Child Labor Regulations (CLR) are all things that an HR Compliance Officer should be aware of.

Conclusion

It is not an option, but rather an obligation, to follow the numerous HR regulations. Nonetheless, how you handle compliance issues will determine your company’s fate. Even when you take the correct procedures, avoiding compliance concerns that drain your HR department’s productivity can be difficult. As a result, collaborating with a payroll software supplier such as People Choice HRMS is one of the greatest ways to eliminate distractions and streamline HR compliance procedures.

Are you wondering what is CTC meaning in salary and how is basic pay calculated? Don’t worry, understanding CTC isn’t rocket science. We have simplied the explanation so that you can have a clear understanding of CTC.

Organizations today don’t just pay salaries; they have created a new notion known as CTC which consists of various components. Employers’ services to their employees have become rather amazing and motivating as a result of this approach. Moreover, understanding all of the components of employees is a little difficult, but organizations are required to invest in all of them.

So what is the meaning of CTC in salary?

CTC full form is Cost-to-Company and in its most basic form, Cost-To-Company can be described as a word for a company’s entire wage package supplied to an employee. CTC is a total of an employee’s monetary and non-monetary expenses. India and South Africa are two examples of countries that adopt it.

It should be noted that an employee’s CTC is never equal to his or her take-home pay. There are several components of the CTC that are not included in the take-home pay.

CTC is simply calculated as follows;

Gross Salary + PF + Gratuity = CTC

Or 

CTC = Direct Benefits (Gross Salary) + Savings Contributions (PF) +Indirect Benefits (Gratuity)

Where Gross Salary = Basic Salary/Basic Pay + HRA + Other Allowances.

CTC per month means the total amount of money a business spends on an employee over the course of a month and its components include Basic Pay, Provident Fund, various allowances like Dearness Allowance/DA (which is usually given for government employees and not given by private companies), Conveyance Allowance, House Rent Allowance/HRA, Medical Allowance, Vehicle Allowance, Telephone / Mobile Phone Allowance, Special Allowance and reimbursements, Incentives or Bonuses.

Annual CTC meaning refers to the total amount of money a business spends on an employee over the course of a year. Annual CTC components include gratuity, annual bonus, annual variable pay, etc.

Expected CTC meaning implies a term used to describe what a candidate wants from the company in terms of compensation whereas Current CTC meaning refers to an employee’s entire cost to the organization, which includes things like salary, taxes, bonuses, and other benefits.

Then what is Basic Pay or Basic Salary and how is it calculated?

The amount of money earned regularly is referred to as a person’s basic pay or basic salary. It is a portion of one’s compensation package that cannot be changed. This is the most important portion of the remuneration system, accounting for 40-45 percent of the total compensation or CTC. So it is calculated as;

Basic Pay or Basic Salary= 40 % or 45% of CTC

For example, if an employee has a CTC of 4 lakh rupees per annum or 33, 300 rupees per month, then his basic salary will be 13, 320 rupees per month or 1, 60, 000 rupees per annum (these numbers are calculated by considering 40% of CTC).

The numbers would change slightly if the basic salary is calculated as 45 percent of CTC, as it varies from company to company.

The employee’s position, as well as the industry in which they work, affects the basic salary. It is vital to highlight that the amount of money earned by an employee working overtime has no bearing on his or her basic salary.

An employee’s basic salary will not be increased if he or she obtains an incentive bonus during the year. As a result, unless an employee negotiates with her or his employer, the basic salary does not alter.

Because basic salary is always taxed, it should not exceed 50% of the total cost to the organization. It should not, however, be maintained too low (below 40%) as this will result in a reduction in the other components of the compensation.

According to experts, personnel at the junior level often get a larger basic salary than those at the senior level. In such as case, those at the seniority level can ask for more CTC incentives.

However, most of the employees do not know how to make the most of the CTC incentives available. It is important to make an effort to raise the direct benefits component as much as feasible when bargaining. Here are a few suggestions:

• Instead of a pick-up or drop-off service, request tax-free transportation allowances.
• Inquire about a food allowance and the possibility of converting your subsidized food expenditures to it.
• If the organization provides ESI benefits, inquire if the health insurance can be converted to medical reimbursements.
• Inquire about health insurance for family members.

Furthermore, as an employee, you should also know what an in-hand salary or take-home salary means. The net amount of income received by an employee after taxes, benefits, and other voluntary contributions have been deducted from their paycheck is known as in-hand salary or take-home salary.

Moving on, as an employee you should also know about Employee Provident Fund and how to withdraw PF offline.

Employee Provident Fund

EPF is a retirement savings plan that allows you to build wealth while working for a private or government firm. This money pays interest and can be used to fund a portion of your post-retirement life or other objectives. Contribution to your EPF needs to be made by both you and your employer, under this scheme. The total is put into the Employee Provident Fund Organization’s account (EPFO). And on this sum placed with EPFO; you continue to earn a certain rate of interest each year.

According to the law, the EPF deduction must be 12 percent of your basic pay. For the first three years, if you are a woman, you just have to contribute 8% of your basic pay. You can claim the entire sum at the time of retirement or two months after changing your job.

How to withdraw PF balance offline or how to claim PF offline:

The processes to withdrawing your PF balance offline are as follows:

1. To withdraw the PF balance offline or from a bank account, an individual must fill out Form 19. It can be obtained from the regional office or the EPF website.
2. Then, in the application, fill in the required fields with the needed data.
3. Also, any gazette officer, postmaster, notary public, or magistrate officer’s signature must be attested.
4. Along with the application, a letter stating the cause for withdrawing the PF balance must be attested.
5. Submit the withdrawal application to the office’s regional officer later.
6. Within three months after applying, you will be able to get the funds.
7. Every year, you will receive the full amount deducted from your account, plus a high interest rate of approximately 8.75 percent.

So, what’s the deal with EPF? In addition to providing excellent interest rates, the EPF is one of the best retirement planning tools available. In terms of taxation, it is exempt. It’s also a low-risk instrument because it’s backed by the government, has a pension, and is a highly handy way to save. After all, you won’t be doing much. You complete out some paperwork, and your HR or payroll department handles the rest.

You may think of EPF as a debt mutual fund Systematic Investment Plan, but with a lot less risk and no capital gains tax. Overall, the EPF may go a long way toward ensuring that you have a comfortable retirement fund provided it is well managed.

Conclusion

With so many critical elements included in a CTC, calculating the exact amount and processing the salaries for each of the employees can create a burden on the organization’s HR payroll team. Automating the payroll process with best-in-class software solutions not only takes off the burden from the HR team but also gives them the time to utilize in creating productive strategies for the company.

MKT software leverages state-of-the-art technologies to automate advanced payroll processes. It also ensures that the salaries are disbursed per the compliance laws, saving the company from the embarrassment of unwanted penalties.

If you want to embrace the new age payroll solutions from MKT Software’s People-Choice HRMS, get in touch with us, NOW!

Businesses spend a lot of time hiring, educating, and retaining enough employees to run their operations. This shows how valuable employees are to any kind of business. The payroll process is hence one of the most important operations. Employees need to understand that they would be paid regularly and on time. Payroll, regardless of the size of the organization, is vital to maintaining employee morale and ensuring financial stability. So what does payroll mean? Payroll is the sum of all benefits that a company must pay to its staff for a certain period or on a specific date. From the viewpoint of an accounting system, both payroll and payroll taxes are governed by certain laws.

Then what does payroll management mean or what is payroll management meaning? In a phrase, payroll management is a process or a method that refers to the handling of the financial statements of a company’s employee. Information on the employee’s wages, incentives, promotions, deductions, and net compensation will be included in this method, i.e. payroll management process.

Payroll management or payroll processing is usually a time-consuming and difficult operation. This is particularly true for small companies without a payroll manager on staff.  Payroll management can be handled by an entire department in larger businesses. On the other side, medium-sized enterprises may discover that outsourcing their payroll needs is more efficient and cost-effective. The entire process involves three stages; Pre-payroll, Actual payroll, and Post-payroll operations and are taken care of either by the:

1. HR manager or
2. By a payroll management system or
3. By an outsourced payroll agency.  

In the first case, a payroll manager or HR manager must prepare payroll for every employee meticulously apart from also being responsible for the wellbeing of every employee and for making facilities more convenient. There are still activities that need to be completed by an HR manager, as well as the need to keep track of shifts in withholdings, contributions to social security funds, and so on.

As a result, a payroll manager or the Human Resources department is under a lot of strain. But with the help of a payroll management system, it is no longer necessary for a payroll manager to measure an employee’s attendance and salary. Any of the HR manager’s duties will be relieved as a result of this.

So what is a payroll management system?

A payroll management system is software that allows you to easily and automatically monitor all of your employees’ financial records. Employee wages, deductions, other conveyance, net compensation, bonuses, and pay-slip generation are all managed by software.

A Payroll Management System can rescue your HR and your business!

Yes, it does! Here’s how; payroll errors (caused manually) are no longer a problem when a Payroll management system is used. Manually performed complicated computations can be automated with payroll software. Payroll Management Software can handle the entire payroll system with maximum efficiency and accuracy. Your employees would benefit from the payroll management system because it provides them with structure and continuity. It also provides them with a dedicated grievance redress mechanism.  Moreover, a payroll management system is a great option if you have trust issues with an external agency for outsourcing payroll.

How Can I Tell if a Payroll Management System Is Good?

It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack when it comes to finding a good Payroll Management system. A strong or a good Payroll Management system should assist a company in the following areas:

1. Enhances Compliance

2. Deductions and Net Income are calculated

3. Creates tax forms

3. Effortlessly maintains records

4. Employee Self-Service is possible

Apart from all the above benefits, a good Payroll Management system should ideally be able to;

• Assist in the development of correct and timely invoices and quotes,
• Send notifications or report about any discrepancies,
• Allow timely payments,
• Be able to run on the cloud, if needed,
• Can communicate in multiple languages,
• Should be accessible on the internet 24/7 from any part of the world,
• Have single-sign-on features and a simple-to-use dashboard,
• Enable data protection and access permission control to the highest standards and also
• Prevent misclassifications. 

Things to consider before choosing a Payroll system

The budget of your company

First, assess the company’s size and determine how much you can spend on payroll processing. Knowing your budget and your company’s size classification will help you narrow down the list of payroll software providers. Small businesses that do not expect rapid growth may want to consider investing in less costly payroll software that handles simple payroll functions.

Reputations and capabilities of Vendor

Second, evaluate the products of potential vendors and read some of their existing customer feedback. Payroll software systems that are combined with other elements of planning and human resources management can be beneficial to large or rapidly growing businesses. Consider how many workers the payroll program will accommodate, as well as the possibility of expansion. Request samples if they are available and see for yourself how simple the program is to use and how well it suits your company. Make sure the program is produced by a well-known company rather than a new or insecure one.

Check for security features when selecting a payroll system

Password-protected security protects the business from messing with data and possible data breaches. The system should, in theory, have positive security feedback and ratings. Any security-related questions you have should be answered by vendor representatives.

Compatibility and flexibility offered by the Payroll Management Software

The next factor to consider is whether the software is stable and versatile. Payroll Management software that integrates with your other business systems and scales with your company is essential. Examine the system’s integration features to make sure it’ll work with any HR or financial applications you are currently using.

Visibility of reports and history

Finally, you will want a payroll management system that allows you to maintain power while still allowing you to access reports and historical data. Although payroll processing software is less prone to errors than manual systems, malfunctions and glitches are still possible. It can be useful to be able to manually check and correct details at times.

Conclusion

You might find plenty of payroll management software’s when your search the internet for Payroll management software in India. A few of the good, standard Payroll management software’s in India include ADP, Keka, HR-one, WalletHR, greytHR, Zoho Payroll, etc. Our payroll management software from MKT, People Choice HRMS is all-in-one enterprise management software with excellent solutions for every aspect of enterprise management. So it’s not just Payroll management software, it is more than Payroll management software, making it very budget-friendly. Enquire about our software soon!

Companies use a variety of methods to track employee work hours, including classic punch card systems, keeping an attendance register or book, timesheets (using excel), a punch in-punch out Biometric system, and now the current demand, driven by the covid epidemic is for a touchless, facial recognition Biometric system. However, since a majority of employees are working from home or are refraining to work from the office to ensure safety or due to the periodic lockdown, a web or mobile attendance management system is the need of the hour, urgently. Here in comes an employee attendance management system such as People Choice Attendance Management System to save your business productivity!

Attendance tracking is critical to your company’s profitability, dependability, and reputation. Managing every employee’s attendance is fine art, especially when it comes to limiting your company’s productivity loss due to an employee’s absence. Incentives and recognition, effective employee involvement, and open communication are all important components of a successful attendance management approach.

People Choice Attendance Management System is one of the inbuilt functionality of People Choice HRMS. It has many benefits that shall be explained further but first let us know about its features and here are all of them:

1. Attendance Regularity:  Our unified attendance solution allows them to easily control their employees’ attendance. This is capable of automating all of their attendance-taking tasks.

• Attendance Report:  Get daily, weekly, and monthly attendance reports, including short hours, late hours, attendance summary, employee clock-ins, and more.

• Employee Swipes: Employees can punch in and out daily using a biometric machine, a web portal, or a mobile app

• Overtime: With a single click, you can track overtime hours, generate a report, and compensate for overtime using a fully integrated payroll system.

• Bio-metric and Mobile App Integration: Integrate with a mobile app and several biometric machines to automatically collect real-time attendance data.

• Multi-Location: To create a centralized report, gather attendance data from many locations, and sync it automatically on a single server.

• Attendance Policy: Organize an attendance policy for your company to enforce timeliness with auto attendance rules for late arrivals, short shifts, and no-shows.

• Shift & week off: Create varied hours, punch rules, and weekly offs for distinct staff groups, as well as holiday calendars.

Now that you know about the eight features of the People Choice Attendance Management System, it is time to know about its many benefits such as;

1. Precision

Humans are prone to making mistakeseven when offered computational tools. Manual data entry errors are unavoidable and costly, therefore automated attendance management solutions provide accurate time records. As a result of this reliable data, accurate performance and payroll statistics can be provided. People Choice Attendance Management System is 100% precise. Trust our many happy clients!

2. Monetary Policy

Have you ever considered how attendance management solutions could help you save money? It helps businesses save money by eliminating inaccuracies in time reporting, buddy punching, absenteeism, tardiness or lateness, time misuse, and overpayment. In fact, according to research conducted by the Axsium Group, major businesses can save up 1, 18, 400 Rupees per employee by employing automated attendance management systems. People Choice Attendance Management System can just do this for your business because we believe money is very precious.

3. Value for Time, Efficiency, and Productivity

Manually tracking and controlling attendance can be time-consuming, difficult, and costly. Processing paper sheets and time cards, creating schedules, authorizing leave and overtime, and manually payroll creation takes a lot of time. People Choice Attendance Management System gives the HR manager additional time in the office since it keeps track of employee hours and automatically integrates data into your payroll system. The time and effort saved, together with the excellent quality of the data, helps with resource optimization, resulting in increased production and profitability.

4. Insights / Transparency

Would you like a rapid snapshot of all employee or group absences, both planned and unplanned? Well, People Choice Attendance Management System can help you with this. You may generate precise reports on hours worked, absence, overtime, and a monthly summary report for any data/groups within the organization with only a few clicks. With the centralized data, any customized report may be generated, increasing visibility and transparency inside the organization. A manager can also use the graphical versions of the report to rapidly and readily comprehend attendance data. Employers can proactively examine and adjust rules on leave, hours, workplace culture, performance, compensation, and more with a single, reliable attendance data hub, allowing them to evolve in their operations.

5. Adaptability

Employees work from the office, from home, or in remote places in today’s global, well-connected world. Organizations may simply measure employee time utilizing a range of clocking solutions, such as cellphones, internet networks, swiping technologies, biometric terminals, or desktop readers, with our People Choice Attendance Management System.

6. Workflow Management That Isn’t a Pain

An integrated attendance management system such as People Choice HRMS can improve data visibility and streamline payroll, leave, and performance assessment processes. Notifications/alerts are automatic, and the manager can approve requests for early departures, overtime, and other requests without having to communicate with anyone. Manual scheduling is no longer a daunting task. An automatic attendance management system can help manage calendars, assign tasks, and keep track of shift swaps with just a few clicks. It can also help with the workload, resource, and budget forecasting.

7. Setup/ Integration

Based on the nature of your business and policies, you can select attendance management solutions that best suit your needs. Some solutions can interact with any third-party attendance gear (swipe, biometric) and gather GPS-based attendance using mobile applications. With time tracking and attendance monitoring solutions, you may develop personalized attendance regulations based on your organization’s needs. Each attendance shift can have its configuration, with options to establish attendance cycles, mark-in/out regulations, leave deductions, and optional holidays.

8. Safety and Security

The majority of attendance management systems are designed with high-security systems and architecture in mind. Biometric solutions, in particular, are extremely dependable and secure and can help prevent time theft, buddy punching, and administrative costs associated with forgotten PINs and stolen ID cards. These solutions are especially useful in firms where security is a top priority.

9. Adherence to the Law and Regulations

Erroneous records can cost your company a lot of money in overtime payments, as well as breaking labour rules, resulting in costly legal defense and fines. In the spirit of fairness, regulations oblige companies to track attendance and offer adequate remuneration to their employees for any additional hours worked. People Choice Attendance Management System complies with all the laws and regulations.

10. Tracking in real-time

Real-time attendance tracking and automated payroll inputs are both possible with cloud-based attendance management. This aids in the management of alternate payment plans and ensures that all data is available in real-time. Managers can use “planned vs. actual” reports to make real-time adjustments to work schedules and direct staff activities.

People Choice Attendance Management System is the ideal tool because it possesses all of the desirable characteristics that employers want when acquiring an attendance tracker for their businesses. Empower your employees and improve your company’s productivity with our software, People Choice Attendance Management System!