With inflation in 2021 at its highest in many years, several key payroll-related numbers for 2022 increased and there are a lot of other issues that will be the focus of payroll this year. PayrollTimes.com’s exclusive “out and in” for 2022 provides a glimpse at what no longer should be considered as the new year starts, and what will come into play as 2022 progresses. There were some figures, set by tax law, that remain the same and they include the flat tax rate on supplemental wage payments (22%; 37% once $1 million in supplemental wage payments is reached). The general tax rates for indiv ..read more

What to look for in a UKG-On Demand Pay Partnership UKG is helping employees access their earned wages through its various partnerships with ODP Vendors "Teaming up with UKG has empowered many top employers to offer the powerful, and often life-changing, benefit of on-demand pay that helps employees pay bills and take control of their finances on their own schedule." “By partnering with an established leader in Payactiv, UKG Wallet is already among the most comprehensive financial wellness platforms in the HCM market, ready to help our customers and their people find success right aw ..read more

It takes a payroll department an average of two days to resolve a payroll irregularity. Payroll errors often start with other operations and processing, and payroll departments have to catch and fix them. The many moving parts of payroll means more areas of exposure to mistakes. Most errors start with mistakes and problems entering time and timekeeping. Recent payroll technology, when applied, has a side-effect of reducing timekeeping errors.     Making fixes and adjustments to pay, tax amounts or for other deductions or rewards after payday signifies something failed in t ..read more

Scenarios for payroll playing out across the country reflect the need to hire new workers. Employers now must pay more attention to employee needs and wants. Payroll’s influence on how well employees are treated cannot be underestimated. Value-added processes, including new technology, can help improve retention. “I put 10 new hires into the system this morning,” said the HR manager to the payroll director. “They are attending orientation tomorrow.” This is the largest number of new hires at one time the company has ever experienced.  Payroll Paula paused and looked at the HR manager ..read more

For payroll, there is “year-end” and then there is mid-May, when the biggest payroll conference of the year commences. Approved educational recertification credits are available for Certified Payroll Professionals. Thousands stream as well to vendor booths at the American Payroll Association’s premier event. For payroll professionals in the United States, there is “year-end” that starts each November and ends in mid-February. In this short time period, in addition to continuing to process employee pay, payroll is required to do two more major things at once.  First, it must consolidate ..read more

Payroll pivots the last few years have centered on technological changes to processes. Has the ability to secure employee and payroll data kept up with the changes? Payroll fraud vulnerabilities can be found in the ability to access and in the routines performed. Locking down the privacy and security of payroll data means changing protocols. Payroll operations in the last several years have dramatically changed how employee data is collected, shared and secured, and not just because of the pandemic and the need to process payroll from remote locations. And payroll fraud-related data brea ..read more

A prime outlet for airing complaints in general, social media is becoming a forum for calling out the shortcomings of payroll service providers. It appears no particular service provider is immune to the brickbats. Payroll pros help each other to navigate selecting service providers. As challenges for payroll pile up due to major, complex legislative changes, payroll service provider solutions are struggling to keep up and deliver at crucial times, according to user reports on social media. For all that third-party providers do to ensure their clients’ payroll processes are efficient, ac ..read more

Payroll taxes, otherwise known as Social Security taxes, were allowed to be deferred in 2020, to be paid later. The 12.4% Social Security tax rate on wages is split evenly between the employer and the employee, up to a maximum wage base ($137,700 in 2020). Employers were allowed to defer their share of the tax for much of the year; the deferral for employees was only effective from Sept. 1,  2020, through Dec. 31, 2020. There are no payroll tax deferral options in play for 2021. In March 2020, a provision of the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) allowed em ..read more

Understanding on-demand pay/earned wage access for payroll purposes  Why are employers and employees seeking this payment option? New guidance distinguishes on-demand pay from loans What does this have to do with payroll compliance? Have you, in your role in payroll, been involved in some way in earned wage access (EWA) or on-demand pay?  These are not advances in pay in the sense that we are used to, say, when an employee asks for and gets an advance on next week’s pay but has not worked the week yet. That’s an advance.  I’m talking about access, on demand, to amounts alr ..read more

The American Payroll Association (APA) has two general payroll certification programs A Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation can be earned by those working in payroll for several years The Fundamental Payroll Certification (FCP) generally is available for those who are new to payroll To retain certified status, both designations require approved continuing education Shortly after the American Payroll Association was formed In the early 1980s, an effort began to educate and elevate those working in payroll through a certification program. The purpose behind this push was to le ..read more