PAY THE TEAM CORRECTLY OVER XMAS/ NEW YEAR – 2017/18

 This year Christmas and Boxing day both fall on a Monday and Tuesday as do New Years’ Day and the day after. All 4 of these days are public holidays.

Understanding the entitlements for various members of the team on these days is vital to accurately measure, record and pay your people.

Employment type scenarios:

 Salary (Full Time – 30 + hours per week)

  • Bill has 3x RDO’s ending on Xmas day and is back to work on Boxing day:  Bill takes Xmas day as his normal rostered day off and is not entitled to any additional pay for that day. For Bill it is unfortunate that his normal RDO falls on Xmas day.
  • Bill then works 10 hours on Boxing Day. His normal contracted hours of work are 9. Even though Bill is on a salary his salary will need to be topped up as follows: 10 hrs worked at time and a half = 15 hours – his normal contracted daily hours of 9 = 6 additional hours at his normal hourly rate (derived from his TPV, Roster and expected hours of work from his employment contract) that he will need to be paid in this pay period, i.e. he will be paid his normal salary plus a top up for a further 6 hours at his normal hourly rate. In addition Bill will also receive an Alternate day which he can take at a different time. For this alternate day Bill will be entitled to full pay when it is taken.
  • Bill would normally work (according to his roster) on New Years’ day and January 2nd but he has arranged to take these days off. Bill is entitled to take both days off on Full pay.

Wages (Full Time – 30 + hours per week)

  • Dami has a roster (normal days of work) just as he would on a salary. He has normal RDO’s days off and according to his roster his RDO’s include Xmas day. In this scenario Dami will not receive any additional payment on Xmas day as this would have been his normal day off work. For Dami it is unfortunate that his RDO fall on Xmas day.
  • Dami then works on Boxing day. Dami is entitled to Time and a half plus an Alternate day. This is the same scenario as Bill above however it is easier to work out the value of Damis’ day of work as his hourly rate of pay is obvious.
  • Dami would normally work (according to his roster) on New Years’ day and January 2nd but he has arranged to take these days off. Dami is entitled to take both days off on Full pay which will be equivalent to a normal daily rate of pay.

Salary (Part Time – Less than 30 hours per week)

  • If Jim works less than 30 hours per week and has regular work days and regular hours of work on those days then he is deemed to be Part Time. If Jim would normally work on a Public holiday….say Xmas Monday 2017 but has that day off then he is entitled to his normal daily pay.
  • If Jim works on a Public Holiday whether it is his normal work day or not then he is entitled to time and a half plus an alternate day.
  • If Jim normally works Mondays and Tuesdays and has arranged to take Jan1-2 off which fall on a Monday and Tuesday then he is entitled to full pay for both of those days.

Wages (Part Time – Less than 30 hours per week)

  • If Erica works less than 30 hours per week and has regular work days and regular hours of work on those days then she is deemed to be Part Time. If Erica would normally work on a Public holiday….say Xmas Monday 2017 but has that day off then she is entitled to her normal daily pay.
  • If Erica works on a Public Holiday whether it is her normal work day or not then she is entitled to time and a half plus an alternate day.
  • If Erica normally works Mondays and Tuesdays and has arranged to take Jan 1-2 off which fall on a Monday and Tuesday then she is entitled to her normal daily pay for both of those days.

Fixed Term Employee (Salary or Wages – Full time with a fixed employment termination date)

  • These employees are entitled to the same as the set of criteria as Full Time salaried or waged staff but only for the time frame of their employment .

Casual Employee (Called in when required – Intermittent days and hours of work)

  • Casual employees do not have regular hours of work or days of work that form a continuous pattern.
  • If a casual employee agrees to work on a Public holiday then they are entitled to be paid time and a half for the hours worked.
  • Because they are a casual worker they can legally refuse to work

Paying the team correctly is part of meeting your compliance obligations. However measuring team time without a purpose built solution can be tricky.   Agrismart makes this entire process a whole lot easier, so get in touch and let us help you out.

Agrismart comprises an entire suite of tailored modules from Farm Tasks and a Roster builder to Payroll and Health and Safety built for NZ Dairy Farmers.

Go to the Blog section of our website for Public Holiday Flow Charts