Changes in pay rates can be managed automatically with the feature Contract Changes, also known as Contract Amendments. It allows users to create pay changes for their employees that apply for a specific period. These can be in the past or scheduled to change in the future.
This guide details:
Where to manage changes in pay conditions
Navigate to an employee's individual profile page by going to Workforce > Staff and click the Contract Changes tab.
On this tab, you will see a table view listing out all of an employee's existing pay condition periods, including the past, current, and scheduled conditions.
The fields in the table include:
Change Name - name of the change being made
Status - status of each pay condition including Past, Active, and Scheduled
Start Date - the date a pay condition will take effect. The first start date aligns with the Employment Start Date configured under the Payroll tab. Ensure this date aligns with the start of the employee's timesheet pay period.
Finish Date - the date a pay condition will stop applying. The finish date must be either the day before the start date of a new condition, or 'Ongoing' if there are no scheduled changes after (this field can be edited inline) This date should also align with the end of a timesheet pay period.
Changes - pay condition fields that have been changed compared to the previous pay condition period. Click View/Edit to edit the current pay condition
Actions - click History to view the change history of a period item, View/Edit to view or edit the pay fields of a period item and Remove to delete a period item
How to manage past, current, and future pay conditions
Initial pay condition period
Under the Contract Changes tab, all users will have an initial pay condition period marked as 'Active', start date, and an 'Ongoing' finish date. The start date here will align with the Employment Start Date configured under the Payroll tab or show as "Start" with no specific date if there is no employment start date configured. This initial pay condition will be reflective of how their current 'Payroll' tab is set up.
If you wish to change an employee's initial pay conditions through the Contract Changes tab, click the View/Edit button next to the existing contract, and a window should then appear, select the applicable pay fields and save.
Schedule upcoming pay conditions changes
To schedule an upcoming pay condition period, populate a name, start date, and finish date (optional) to the bar above the table and click the + Add Conditions button on the right-hand side.
If the surrounding periods are affected by the new dated pay change, the affected dates will be adjusted automatically and be highlighted in orange. You'll be prompted to confirm these date changes with the Confirm Change button before proceeding to the next step.
Once you have clicked Confirm Change, a window will then pop up to assign the necessary pay fields. Select the pay fields to make changes and click the Save Changes button.
The Compare existing pay fields button on the top right corner helps indicate any fields that are different from the employee's current pay fields, with a 'Changing' notice appearing under headings to help keep track of changes.
Once the above process is completed, you'll see your new dated pay changes listed in the table.
You also have the option to notify the employee of the upcoming changes to their pay or working conditions. Learn how to send these contracts in the Send Contracts guide.
Manage past-dated pay conditions
The process of adding past-dated pay condition periods is the same as the process of scheduling upcoming changes. So follow the instructions described above to add and manage the past pay condition periods.
A few things worth noting when creating past-dated pay conditions
Creating a new past-dated pay change will not affect already locked timesheets for the period you are assigning the change. However, if the locked timesheets are unlocked and recalculated, it will consider the edited contract.
Making adjustments to scheduled changes
Adjusting the name or effective dates for a past, current, or future pay condition can be done online by clicking on the value you wish to change, and using the tick button to save.
If a change is being made that will affect another pay condition, you will again be prompted to confirm necessary automatic changes to surrounding periods, as highlighted in orange.
In the example below, the user is extending the finish date to have the initial pay condition apply longer. As a result, the start date and status of the upcoming change is updated.
Scheduled pay conditions taking affect
Once the start date attached to a pay condition passes, the pay conditions will be automatically updated and reflected in the ‘Payroll’ tab of the profile.
Under the Contract Changes tab, the new pay conditions will have the status changed to 'Active', while the previous will be set to ‘Past’.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the Payroll tab and the Contract Changes tab?
The Payroll tab reflects the current pay conditions only, while the Contract Changes tab includes all the pay conditions stored in Workforce.com including the past, current, and upcoming changes. The current pay conditions can be edited on both the Payroll tab and the Contract Changes tab. Changing the Payroll tab will automatically change the active pay condition period under the Contract Changes tab.
How can I manage pay changes in bulk?
If you have the technical capacity to utilize Workforce.com API, the relevant endpoints are available to bulk manage pay changes on the back end.