One of the most critical aspects of an employment relationship is the agreement to pay compensation for your workers’ time. In your employment contracts, you outline to your staff the hourly wage they can expect to earn. There are also expectations outlined regarding their performance of the job and other matters.
Mistakes with payroll do sometimes happen. After all, simple mistakes can happen in any aspect of business. However, payroll and timekeeping mistakes are more likely than any other kind of mistake to squander the goodwill of your employees and damage your relationship with them. Employees may be skeptical that what happened was an accident if their payment is short or miscalculated.
A significant number of employee lawsuits against the companies that they work for relate to a failure to pay wages. Companies can take a number of different steps toward avoiding these conflicts. One of the easiest to institute is having thorough compensation policies and accurate timekeeping software for employee payment.
Outdated timekeeping methods can lead to allegations of wage theft
If your company is small or perhaps has been around since well before digital timekeeping, you may still use older methods. Some companies even have employees manually write down the times when they come in and leave. Often, such practices require that employees round their time, which could mean that they miss out on payment for some of the minutes that they work.
Using digital software for timekeeping ensures that there is a highly accurate record of when employees login and logout. Your company will have the option of backing up those records on the cloud or by using an external hard drive.
The more accurate and thorough your records, the easier it is to reconcile issues when employees believe they have been underpaid. Many times, it is simply an oversight on the part of one party that leads to such confusion. If you can demonstrate both proof of adequate timekeeping and an internal policy that focuses on fair pay for staff, that can do a lot to protect your business against wage theft claims.
Make sure company policies comply with Texas and federal law
Nothing you put in an employment contract or business plan can supersede state or federal law. That includes policies regarding things like overtime compensation or how you calculate pay periods. The best thing any company can do is to verify that their policies comply with all applicable employment laws.
Working with an experienced attorney who understands employment in business law is a good way to protect your company from unnecessary employment law claims. From implementing appropriate timekeeping policies to ensuring compliance with overtime regulations, there are many wage and hourly pay issues that can affect your business’ daily operations and bottom line.