Payroll in the Post Covid Workplace

It’s been a good two years now that remote and hybrid modes to work are becoming more and more commonplace. While the shift has been absolutely inevitable for business continuity, most businesses have not been able to crack the optimal ways to function. Even the simplest of tasks like payroll management demands a lot of rework on the execution front. 

When it comes to payroll, not only is it an important business function for employers to know their spending but also for employees to get the right salary amount every month in time. The same helps companies in strengthening the trust of employees and keeping them motivated to work.

Online payroll software is the answer but adapting tech, shifting to cloud-based payroll management, staying in sync with evolving legislation, and collecting attendance are the immediate set of challenges that companies face. In such a dilemma, how can companies work towards bettering their payroll management, getting ready for the post covid workplace? Let’s find out in the blog ahead. 

Evolve with evolving laws and regulations

Companies need to know that nothing is set in stone, not especially during current times. The legislation expects businesses to integrate and update the changes they announce into the payroll management systems they are using. This is relatively harder for Multinational companies to adhere to. Not only are they ought to abide by different policies in different nations but also work as per the state laws and guidelines. 

Doing this manually or with an on-premise solution is tough. With the dawn of remote work, it makes all the sense to use online payroll software. On-cloud versions are updated by your payroll partners in your place. You do not need to remember and make the changes making it the best choice for times of uncertainty and even otherwise. Apart from that, over time, shifts, leave, and pay—- every payroll component gets automated as well.

Payroll Evolvement Parameters

More and more companies have been a contributor to great firing time where employees have been laid off massively and wage cuts were also announced. Then there were some companies who announced no payment for leaves. While all of this was to make the post-pandemic outlook quite negative, there came the ‘The Great Resignation’ phase where most employees stated something of their own, started a side hustle, decided to have multiple avenues of income, or switch to a company that’s more secure to work with. 

The governments of some countries did announce job support schemes to address the cash flow concern in the sectors like retail, F&B, hospitality, and more. The government also gave unemployment benefits. For instance, employers in different sectors received different co-funding from the Singapore government precisely, 50% for food, 75% for tourism, and 25% for firms and all other sectors. Likewise, in Hong Kong, more than $710 million was issued in the name of an Anti-epidemic fund for the construction industry. Apparently, the fund helped the industry in ensuring protection from the virus and its spread for the on-site workers. Otherwise, the outbreak could have led to a mass closing of operations.

Besides, governments all over the world have provided funds to various industries for relief, economic stimulation, and safeguarding jobs. It was left to the discretion of employers to use the fund in payroll, expansion, or anything else.

Payroll Taxes 

In order to help businesses during and post-Covid, the government is also announcing changes in laws. For instance, in Australia, the government gave payroll tax waivers in some regions. The specifics might be different for each region in terms of deferral time and payroll amounts but it did help the businesses survive to a great extent.

New workplace trends

Because of the unpredictable nature of the virus, the leaves requirement can surge anytime and even get canceled if not required later. The travel is also quite restricted, So there are many last-minute changes in plans that the companies must take into account and ensure their online payroll software has the Employee self-service (ESS) provision.

For the businesses that continue to face losses, they would try a combination of tactics to reduce the headcount and wage. They might announce no pay leave, short work weeks, and more. The overtime policy might also get updated in the online payroll software to make the new normal work for employees and employers both. All of this will have further implications on payroll taxes as well. 

On dealing with change…

It is evident that payroll management has been becoming increasingly complicated, especially for small in-house office teams, who are using on-premise payroll software or doing it all manually. While it was easier to get the attendance details of the employees at work from the office.

Using an online payroll software that comes with mobile apps and ESS will uncomplicate the process to a great deal. Not only would you be able to get the attendance marked by employees in time but also help you in processing payroll from the comfort of your home without any to and fro calls. The companies who rely on the third party and outsource payroll would also find the whole process a lot more complicated in the current and future work models because if not remote, then hybrid is here to stay.

Clearly, only the businesses who are ready to embrace and adapt to the change, will be able to thrive and keep their employees loyal and high performing for the ultimate good of the company. Pivoting towards digitization, automation is the way to navigate through the pandemic. The priority now should be to mitigate payroll-related concerns so that there are fewer roadblocks in the post-pandemic workplace.

You can begin by spotting and addressing the gaps in your payroll workflow. Find ways on how they can be optimized. Another issue is having adequate and quality resources. Make sure you hire people who do not resist technology and are tech-savvy. Infact, that should be treated as a prerequisite with enough knowledge about payroll as that’s the future. And most importantly, keep things transparent with the employees.