Casual Employee Set up with Base Rate & Casual Loading

Andy_9860584

Is there an information sheet on how to set up a casual employee in payroll to show the base rate separately from the casual loading. I also need to include overtime payroll items.

Kris_Williams

I use this process every week for a pharmacy, and I have multiple pay rates

Normal hours

Saturday loading

Sunday loading

Overtime

I setup these pay items, allocating super where required and also leave accrual on the normal hours. I use the per hour method for holiday and sick pay

once they are setup you add them to the employee’s name and pay details. I’m sure others will do things differently but this has worked for me for many years

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Andy_9860584

Zappy yes employsure have told me that it must be seperated on payslips. I hadn't heard of it before and have processed a lot of wages without it showing this way.

Bruce

Andy

Have a look at https://www.fairwork.gov.au/tools-and-resources/fact-sheets/rights-and-obligations/record-keeping-pay-slips#What-are-the-pay-slip-obligations re what is required to be included on payslips.

Quoting from this, in terms of what MUST be on a payslip

• any loadings (including casual loading), monetary allowances, bonuses, incentive-based payments, penalty rates, or other separately identifiable entitlement paid. For example, a note could be included on a pay slip that the hourly rate incorporates the relevant casual loading.

This clearly suggests that casual loadings do NOT have to be separately identified. On behalf of most of my clients I use the combined rate as this is the employee's "base rate".

However one client has requested the loading be reported separately - rationale here being "to remind employee that they are casual and get a loading so don't complain because you have to take unpaid time off when they are sick". Not sure how effective the messaging is, but each to their own......

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Alex_10836088

Hi All - wondering if there was any closure on this? Looking for options for managing the displaying of casual loadings. I can't see any option to show base rate and loaded rate. Adding a note might be possible but we have a mis of casual and perm employees so the perms would see the note also and would be confusing for them

Kris_Williams

as I said before I have a different rate setup for normal, Saturday loading and Sunday loading. Would this not work for you?

Alex_10836088

Hi Kris

Sorry but I'm not following your setup - lets say i have casual with base $30per hour and casual rate $37.5 (25%) and they work 6 hours - how would this be seen /setup?

Kris_Williams

are you telling me it has to be shown separately? If so I would setup one rate as normal hours at $30 per hour and one rate as casual loading 7.50 per hour.

If holidays are relevant they would only accrue on the normal hours and I would enter the same number of hours per pay on each line.

This is how I setup and use pharmacy pay rates every week

Alex_10836088

Thanks again Kris.

I'm not specifically looking to say what's needed, but rather I'm looking to see how the payroll software and other users who pay casuals manage the application of the fair work payslip requirement noted below?

• any loadings (including casual loading), monetary allowances, bonuses, incentive-based payments, penalty rates, or other separately identifiable entitlement paid. For example, a note could be included on a pay slip that the hourly rate incorporates the relevant casual loading.

Splitting the rate as suggested could be a workaround but will likely get confusing with reporting of hours worked. For example, employee works 40 hours would see 40 hours at base rate and 40 hours at casual loading rate totalling 80 hours. We also have a large number casuals using timesheets so would need to somehow have system automate the splitting into 2 pay rate types. The casual loading varies by pay rate type (ie only 10% added to base rate when applying time and half) so without automation, payroll would have to know the rules and when to apply which loading rate.

I see that FWA permits having a note on the payslip as an allowed solution - but in that case, need to work out how to show the message only to casuals as showing to perms would be confusing

Some possible options i've considered

1. Add "inclusive of casual loading" to the pay item description. There's only 32 characters allowed so can't fit all required info in for this
2. Add a note to payslip. This appears for all employees so would confuse permanents
3. Add an asterix to pay item description and have a note explaining the asterix. This is prob what we'll need to do. It doesn't state how much the loading is but it does indicate that the rate is loaded

Acctd4

@Alex_10836088

It’s fine for the notation to be shortened in order to fit in the Payroll Item name field eg

“Hrly + 25%” or “Hrly-CAS25” ☺️

This is how I handle it. (Personally, I don’t like using a separate Payroll Item for the loading hours as it means the hours total is then incorrect 😬)