FOR

This course is for intermediate—to senior-level payroll practitioners who have practical payroll experience and want to consolidate that knowledge with a wide-ranging course on all aspects of payroll law, practice, and process.

PURPOSE

The workshop is also aligned with the NZPPA Certification framework (levels 2-7) and will prepare participants to undertake the certification’s online assessment requirement. To find out more about NZPPA Certification, click here.

COURSE ACCESS

All learning activities are available through the eLearning environment. Upon starting this course, the NZPPA Payroll Practice Guide (in a study folder) will be couriered to the student.

Students can also access information that can be downloaded and can use a wide range of external links to websites and other resources.

The eLearning environment offers access to over 80 video clips, Skills checks, Activities, and Module assessments. There is also an end-of-course assessment (to be awarded the course certificate).

If you wish to start before the physical course material arrives, you will also have access to the course material in the form of an online flipping book.

DURATION

As an online course once the course start date is booked the course will be available for eight weeks only. Additional extensions can be requested based on work or other events if needed.

ENTRY PREREQUISITE

At least 2 years in a full-time payroll position (must have completed: Payroll Foundation Skills, Payroll Law, and Payroll Calculations or can show extensive practical payroll experience)

COURSE GUIDE

Attendees will receive a physical copy of the NZPPA Payroll Practice Guide 500+ reference guide.

COURSE CONTENT

Masterclass eLearning version focuses on the first 10 chapters of the NZPPA Payroll Practice Guide, covering the following topics:

1. Managing Payroll

• The myths of payroll
• The payroll process
• The different ways an employee can be paid
• Fundamental principles that make payroll effective
• Checks, monitoring and security to make payroll secure
• Using basic payroll measures
• Measuring Absenteeism, Turnover, Leave Liability and the Costs Involved
• Involving payroll in decisions that impact on payroll, and why this is important
• What is an effective structure for payroll in your business?
• Training, support and developing payroll practitioners.

2. Taxation Law

• Overview of Employer Responsibilities
• Tax residence
• Income tax & PAYE
• IR330 tax code declaration and tax codes
• Non-notified rate
• Tailored tax code certificate
• Student loan deductions
• Calculating ESCT for superannuation and KiwiSaver
• Understanding bonuses
• Extra pay
• Regular bonuses
• Payroll giving
• Child support
• Employee allowances
• Employee accident compensation
• KiwiSaver
• IRD reporting and payment requirements.

3. Employment Law Part 1: Employment Terms

• Employment Relations Act 2000 and employment agreements
• What needs to be included in employment agreements to assist payroll
• Minimum Wage Act 1983
• Equal Pay Act 1972
• Wages Protection Act 1983.
• Human Rights Act 1993

4. Employment Law Part 2: Holidays and Parental Leave

• Holidays Act 2003
• Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987

5. Other Types of Employee Leave

• Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002
• Discretionary leave
• Domestic leave and special leave
• Education leave (training for union members, provided under the Employment Relations Act 2000)
• Jury service
• Long service leave
• Stress leave
• Study leave
• Time off in lieu
• Shift leave
• Birthday leave
• Volunteers Employment Protection Act 1973
• Unpaid leave

6. Payroll Records and Privacy

• Payroll record keeping
• Emailing payroll data
• Summary of employee information retention and request timeframes for when information is to be provided
• Standard setup of an employee personnel file
• Naming employee files
• Wages and time record
• Electronic files.

7. Other Laws Related to Payroll

• Daylight saving and the effect of hours worked
• Protected Disclosures Act
• Immigration Act
• Requests for business statistics
• Ministry of Social Development (MSD) deductions
• Attachment order against an employee.
• Administration Act
• Shop Trading Hours and Easter Sunday
• Fair Pay Agreements Act

8. Calculating a Final Pay

• Resignation
• Retirement
• Death
• Redundancy
• Termination from disciplinary action
• Incapacity
• Personal grievance payments
• Exit Inducements/Settlements
• Final pay regarding leave entitlements
• Annual holiday entitlement and accrual paid out on termination
• How holidays paid out on termination are taxed
• Extending annual holiday entitlement on termination
• Annual holiday in advance deducted on termination
• Alternative holidays paid out on termination
• Other leave entitlements (by agreement)
• How leave is taxed on termination.

9. Payroll Remediation (Holidays Act 2003)

• Identifying your payroll issues with the Holidays Act:
• Payment types (how payments have been assigned or not to gross earnings and the different calculations required under the act).
• Issues with how calculations were run in the payroll system and differences between what was done and what was required under the act.
• Issues with defining a week (for different work patterns).
• Identifying what employee types have been affected by Holidays Act issues.
• Are the issues from configuration or base system issues?
• Deciding to do remediation in-house or using an external party.
• When to talk to your payroll system provider or outsourced payroll service provider.
• Accessing and formatting data for assessment.
• Creating an assessment model for different employee types.
• When to inform employees and other parties.
• Managing employee, Union and MBIE action.
• What obligations do you have to notify past employees?
• Managing payment of underpayments and how taxed.

10. New Payroll Selection

• Selecting a payroll system for your work environment
• How to identify the right payroll for your work environment
• In-house versus outsourced payroll
• Implementing a payroll system
• What risks involve moving or not moving payroll (system or services)?
• Who should be involved and how involved should they be?
• Clearly, defining what is wrong and why with the present payroll system or service?
• Defining your business requirements to find the right payroll
• In-house or outsourced payroll what works best for your business?
• Asking the right questions and getting evidence to justify the new payroll purchase
• Making the payroll provider accountable (software or service)
• Controlling implementation and configuration to reduce risk and meet legislative requirements

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the basic steps in processing payroll
• Identify the key tax and employment law requirements that impact payroll
• Identify risk areas in the calculation of an employee’s pay.
• Conduct basic checks of payroll data to ensure it complies with legislation.

On completion of the course, attendees will receive a Certificate of Achievement.

NZPPA CERTIFICATION:

• This course, in part, will help in completing the online assessment requirements for NZPPA Certification