Standard Paid Time Off

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The digital world we live in today makes it nearly impossible for us to truly “shut down” when we leave the office. 24/7 access to email, social media and work create an environment of constant contact and can often leave employees and management alike burned out. The Fair Labor and Standards Act does not set a requirement for paid time off (PTO) for employees.

The PTO model generally combines sick and vacation time under a single umbrella. This model differs from the traditional segmented sick/vacation days. While this offers more flexibility in some situations, if you use all of your PTO at the beginning of the year and end up getting sick later on, you may be required to take unpaid time off.

So what is the average PTO for employees in the United States? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for full-time employees in the private sector they receive an average of 10-15 days of paid time off after one year of employment. In most instances, as you spend more time with a company you accrue PTO at a higher rate, resulting in more days on a year over year basis.

In addition to vacation and sick PTO, there is also holiday PTO which is not factored into the above statistics. Once again, there is no requirement set forth for employers to provide PTO for holidays, including federal, to their employees. Most companies in the private sector follow the federal holiday calendar, which gives 10 paid holidays to their employees.

With so many options and so little regulation around PTO for employees it can be quite overwhelming to develop your company’s policy. We recommend reaching out to a team like Employer Solutions Plus, which can provide you with guidance surrounding the types of PTO that would work best for your company. Our experience in employee management and benefits allows us to design a plan that is a best fit for your organization and company culture.

If you work with a PEO, your PEO may already have PTO templates and resources for you to take full advantage of – just ask! Contact us today for additional information.

Employee Theft – How to Handle it

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As an employer, you want to foster an environment of trust, collaboration and respect. Workplaces that empower and trust employees to make decisions with reduced hierarchy have proven to be extraordinarily successful and also receive positive employee reviews. However sometimes, this positive environment is breached by a single individual who chooses to break the trust by stealing.

Employee theft is an extremely sensitive subject for a few key reasons:

  • Emotions run high…on both sides of the spectrum. As the employer, you will likely experience feelings of frustration, anger and disrespect. The employees will often be extremely defensive, emotional and angry as well.
  • The repercussions of stealing are life-long. If you steal, are caught and are prosecuted and found guilty, even the smallest amount will permanently be on your record. This means no more passing background checks – whether it is to rent a home or get a job. In more serious cases of theft, steep fines and possibly even jail time are potential punishments.
  • Reputation. Both the company’s reputation and the employee’s reputations are compromised. If the employee stole from a client, not only does it reflect poorly on them, but as an employer your reputation is also on the line.

So, how do you mitigate employee theft?

  • Know your employees. The first step to ensuring you have trustworthy employees is to run a background check. Not only must you run the background check but you absolutely cannot ignore what the background check tells you. Once they are hired, develop a professional relationship with them – connect, be aware of any circumstances that might affect their work and help them address those things.
  • Open lines of communication. Employees should feel that they are able to safely let you know if something fishy is going on. Develop an anonymous tip line or another way to privately and discretely alert management of improper behavior.
  • Run quarterly audits. A lot of theft in the workplace is buried in invoices – over-ordering, over-charging, etc. Audit your financials, your work orders, etc. on a quarterly or bi-annual basis to ensure that there is nothing going on.

If you do come into a situation where you believe an employee is stealing, do not act on it without obtaining some sort of outside council. Seeking a third party, such as Employer Solutions Plus who can provide you with guidance is important. We are here to answer any questions you may have!

 

The Added Benefits of Working With a PEO: Performance Appraisals

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If you’re exploring a co-employment relationship you’re probably already aware of the main benefits a PEO offers:

  • The ability to attract and retain top employees
  • Compliance expertise and reduced risk
  • Better benefits packages for your employees
  • Streamlined processes for payroll, benefits and managing personnel data
  • More time to focus on growth

But were you aware of performance appraisals? A performance appraisal (also called a performance review or evaluation) is a method used by employers to measure an employee’s job performance. Appraisals are often used as part of the career development process to determine if a certain candidate is ready for a promotion, salary increase, or other type of workplace advancement. It’s also the official way of recording the areas in which a certain employee may not be performing well, so that if they are fired in the future all compliance bases are covered and the termination is not a complete surprise.

Many businesses understand the importance of conducting performance appraisals, but don’t know where to begin and don’t have a defined process or schedule for employee reviews. A defined process and schedule is important because it limits the variations among the workforce and ensures everyone is given equal opportunity.

Many PEOs offer access to great technology that permits employers to customize their company’s review process and improve employee performance by setting and tracking measurable goals. They may also have templates or recommendations for conducting a performance appraisal so that you can be clear and consistent with your employees each and every time … and that’s an added benefit of the PEO relationship that many business owners simply do not know!

Turnover is expensive and a PEO can help you do a better job at hiring, and most importantly retaining great employees. When you’re analyzing PEO proposals it’s important to look for the “added benefits” offered by each. Many have a variety of products and services for both you and your employees that will instantly improve the workplace.

To learn more about PEOs and other forms of outsourced HR solutions, contact us directly at Employer Solutions Plus!

The Benefits of Hiring Veterans

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Do you want to hire a veteran to play your part in honoring their service? That’s awesome for so many reasons! But were you even aware of all of the business benefits? Here are just 3 of them…

  1. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) offers a Work Opportunity Tax Credit to those that have already employed a targeted group member (hired after Dec.31, 2011, and before Jan.1, 2014). For specific information surrounding this tax credit and the steps necessary to file, visit IRS.gov. As of February 2014 there is no new information available surrounding the extension of tax credits, but we will work to keep our clients and site visitors informed as new information is released. Contact Employer Solutions Plus at 727-698-6207 with any specific questions.
  2. The majority of veterans in the U.S. have unbelievable work ethic. As an employer, one of the most difficult challenges to overcome in hiring is determining what the worker will be like once they are hired and have already started the job. Referrals and references are only accurate if the previous employer or contact provides honest answers as you conduct your background check. Veterans know the importance of adhering to a strict schedule and performing the very best they can all of the time; the military wouldn’t have it any other way!
  3. Research and employer feedback has shown that loyalty and teamwork are among the top qualities exhibited by veterans. Veterans understand diversity more than most and understand that good communication is critical to success. Many have traveled all over the world and can speak more than one language. They easily work alongside people of all backgrounds and in addition to great communication skills, most veterans are extremely committed to the organizations they work for. This can translate into longer tenure and less turnover at your company.

Have you hired a veteran? What were the benefits your workplace experienced? To learn more about hiring, visit our “Hiring & Firing” section of the Employer Solutions Plus blog or call our team at 727-698-6207.

 

What is the Average Cost of a Payroll Company?

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So, you’ve realized that in-house payroll processing requires you to hire an onsite payroll staff, buy and maintain payroll software, oversee the payroll department and ensure your business stays up to date with the ever-changing details surrounding payroll compliance. Ouch! How much is it to “hand that headache off to someone else?”

If you’re wondering what the average cost of a payroll company is, unfortunately there is no easy answer. It’s going to depend on a lot of details specific to your company. To give you an idea, here is how that number is often determined by a service provider:

Basic Costs

Basic services of payroll usually include calculating payroll and tax obligations for each employee, printing checks, depositing into employees’ accounts, project management and reporting.

The frequency of payroll each month and the number of employees is the largest factor in determining the basic cost of services.  Paychecks can be issued on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis and weekly payroll distribution will often cost more than monthly (because the payroll tasks outlined above need to be performed 4-5 times per month versus 1). You can pay as little as $25/month for basic costs if you have a small number of employees and as much as $150.00/month if you have a larger company, depending on your basic needs and frequency.

Tax filing assistance is usually offered at little to no charge at the year’s end, too.

Delivery Method & Additional Costs

The delivery method each pay cycle also plays a significant role in cost, especially if you have a lot of employees. Will paychecks be mailed to you at the end of each pay cycle, to distribute on site? Or will you need each check mailed to each individual employee? If your service provider has a special program that permits you to print and distribute checks internally, you can eliminate postage and handling costs all together.

Also, adding new employees may come with administrative fees per employee, or put your business into a new bracket for basic services. Basic services usually cover a certain number of employees, as there is a big difference between processing payroll for 5 employees each month and processing 25 employees each month.

Keep in mind that a payroll service provider will be an expert in payroll and will likely get the job done a lot more effectively and efficiently than you can each pay period. If you only have one employee, outsourcing could still be the better option. Getting fined for a missed payment or reporting error could end up costing more than the fees incurred by hiring someone else to handle it – and in most instances the payroll company will take full responsibility for errors!

Employer Solutions Plus represents a number of payroll companies in order to find the perfect fit for each of our clients. Call us at 727-698-6207 to learn more.

Payroll Software or Payroll Company – Which One Does My Business Need?

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Do you remember the days of only having to cut one check per month to yourself as the business owner? As your business grows, so does the number of employees which makes payroll (and other employee management tasks) difficult to stay on top of.

It’s at this time you begin to consider your options for operating more effectively and efficiently. Do I need payroll software or a payroll company?

Here are some things to consider with each:

Payroll Software

  • Payroll software helps ensure your employees are paid accurately and on time through automating the payroll process.
  • Reputable software is continually in the development/upgrade phase with new functionality and enhancements being added periodically; they’ll also keep up with compliance surrounding payroll legislation. This means that you won’t have to buy new software each time a new law is passed or a certain method is required for reporting.
  • You can stop writing paper checks with payroll software; payroll can be deposited directly into each employee’s personal account.
  • Each business has specific needs, which is why there are so many different types of payroll products available. There’s no “one size fits all” software.
  • Payroll software is often an affordable solution for limiting the amount of administration and operating more efficiently in the workplace. Some software has a onetime cost, whereas others are provided on annual or monthly subscriptions. Some charge per employee.
  • Software doesn’t “do it all.” You will still need an administrator to enter information and oversee payroll. Depending on the complexity of the software, extensive training may be required to use it.
  • Smaller firms with a stable and salaried staff and minimal tax obligations may be better off processing payroll on their own with the help of software (vs. the option of hiring a payroll service provider). But, keep in mind that a payroll error and IRS penalty can grossly affect your bottom line. How likely are you to make an error or overlook something?

Payroll Company

  • For large companies especially, outsourcing payroll to a payroll service provider is anattractive and valuable alternative to in-house processing.
    • A payroll company’s basic services include calculating payroll and tax obligations for each employee, printing and delivering checks, and providing management reports. Paychecks can be issued on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or even yearly payroll basis.
    • Using a payroll service provider can be especially helpful if you have to pay payroll taxes for multiple states – let someone else handle it!
    • Added benefits of utilizing a payroll company can include services such as automatic check signatures, issuing W-2s, and the direct deposit of checks. Not everything is included in the “basic costs.”
    • Filing state and federal payroll taxes for your business is typically offered at little or no cost. However, they likely will not calculate your local or city taxes – inquire about this before beginning any new relationship so that nothing falls through the cracks.
    • Each pay period, payroll data has to be “called in” to the service provider. This can be done over the telephone or internet through online payroll reporting.

Do you know which one is right for your company yet? As we said earlier, there truly is no “one size fits all” approach, which is why Employer Solutions Plus represents vendors in multiple categories.

When comparing the cost of each, you need to look beyond the initial price tag and ask yourself how much time you will spend managing the payroll process each month. As you know, time is money and if payroll is pulling you away from your revenue generating activities week after week it may cost you a lot more than you think to manage in-house!

Contact our team to discover which option is best for your particular business.