Workers Compensation Process & Reporting

Setting up and managing Workers Compensation

There are different ways to configure, manage, and pay workers compensation. The appropriate method will be determined by how much your employee is working. 

• Employee is not working at all.
• Employee is working some hours and the rest are covered by workers compensation.
• Employee is working light duties at a reduced rate. Workers compensation is covering the difference between the reduced rate and their normal rate.

The first 2 options above will utilise a leave entitlement. 

The third option above will utilise a pay item. 

In this article we will cover:

1. Creating a Workers Compensation leave entitlement.
2. Creating a Workers Compensation pay item.
3. Assigning Workers Compensation entitlements to employees.
4. How to flag employees as On Workcover.
5. Managing Workers Compensation leave & payments.
6. Reporting on Workers Compensation.

You can read more about Workers Compensation here. 

Setting up and using Workers Compensation

Create a Workers Compensation entitlement

Leave entitlements can be created within your platform at any time. If your business operates across multiple states you may need to create multiple Workers Compensation entitlements to account for the different rules. 

1. From the main menu, navigate to Payroll Settings > Leave Rules.
2. Click Add New.
3. Fill in all the details relevant to the new entitlement you're creating. For a detailed explanation of all settings, please refer to the Leave Entitlements article. 
   
   Some specific fields worth noting for Workers Compensation:
   
   • Title - This is what the entitlement will be called and will be visible to the employees on their payslips. 
   • Reportable Leave Type - Set this to 'Workers Compensation'.
   • Can an employee apply for this leave type? - Set this to 'No'. This will ensure employees are unable to apply for the leave type through their app and an admin will do this on their behalf. 
4. Save the new entitlement.

Create a Workers Compensation pay item

Pay items can be created within your platform at any time. If your business operates across multiple states you may need to create multiple Workers Compensation pay items to account for the different rules.

To create a Workers Compensation pay item:

1. From the main menu, navigate to Awards & Agreements > Pay Items/Allowances.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Select Add & fill in all the details relevant to the new pay item you're creating. For a detailed explanation of all the fields, please refer to the Pay Items & Allowances article. 
   
   Some specific fields worth noting for Workers Compensation:
   • Select Type - Ensure you select 'Pay Item'.
   • STP Category - Ensure you select 'Gross'. Please refer to the ATO quick reference STP reporting guide for more information. 
   • Label - This is what the pay item will be called and will be visible to the employees on their payslips. 
   • Allowance per hour - Optionally leave this blank. The value can be entered if added to the profile or directly on the payslip.
3. Save the pay item.

Assign Workers Compensation entitlement to employees

The Workers Compensation entitlement can be added to employees as the need arises. There's no need to apply this entitlement in bulk.

To add a leave entitlement to an individual's profile:

1. Locate the relevant Employee Profile via Approved People or via the global search bar. 
2. Navigate to the Employee Card > Employment Type and select Add New Entitlement.
   
   
   
   
3. From the drop-down menu, select the Workers Compensation entitlement.
4. Update the accrued amount to set your starting balance for the employee.
5. If the employee is to be paid at a different rate to their primary position, enter the correct rate into the 'Pay rate override' field.
   
   
   
   
6.  Select Add & Review Entitlement. 
7. Select Save.
   
   
   

Mark employees on Workers Compensation

You are able to mark the relevant employees that are on Workers Compensation for easy viewing in different areas in the platform and by other people in your business.

To mark an employee as On Workcover you will need to do the following:

Flag the employee

1. Navigate to the Employee Profile > Overview.
2. Enable the toggle 'On Workcover'.
   
   
   

This toggle will mark the employee as 'On Workcover' which can be seen and used in several places on the platform. 

Approved People

• On the Approved People menu, employees on Workcover are denoted by an orange W badge next to their name. 
  
  
• You can search for employees on Workcover by opening Show Filter and selecting 'On Workcover' from the 'Additional Filters' field.

Rosters

• Employees on Workcover are denoted by an orange Workcover badge next to their name. 
  
  
  
  
• To view the Workcover status of an employee on the roster, a system setting must be enabled. 
  1. Navigate to Platform Settings > System Settings.
  2. Search for and enable the setting "Enable additional employee information about restrictions, Workcover and special conditions in the roster".
     
     

Payroll

• You can search for employees on Workcover by selecting it from the Conditions field.
• Employees on Workcover will also be noted with the below icon next to the Status column.
  
  

Manage Workers Compensation

Employee Not Working

If your employee is not working at all, a leave entitlement should be used for this. The simplest solution will be to submit a leave application for the Workers Compensation on their behalf. This can be done for as much time or as little time as required.

1. Navigate to Time & Attendance > Time Off.
2. Click the + Leave button and fill in the details.
   You can read more about submitting leave on behalf of an employee here. 
   
   
   
   
3. This process can be repeated each pay period or you can add Workers Compensation for a longer period and edit it down when the employee returns to work. 

Employee Working Reduced Hours

If your employee is working reduced hours, a leave entitlement should be used for this. The simplest solution will be to add the Workers Compensation leave in Approve Shifts. This method allows you to add leave to each day when approving shifts to make up for the time not worked.

1. Navigate to Time & Attendance > Approve Shifts.
2. Edit the shift and select Add Leave.
3. Add the Workers Compensation Leave to the shift so that the total hours approved are appropriate for the employee. 
   You can read more about applying leave in Approve Shifts here. 
   
   
   
   
4. Both the approved hours and the Workers Compensation leave will be processed with pay.

Employee Working at a Reduced Rate

If your employee is working but at a reduced rate, a pay item should be used to top-up the amount. The simplest solution will be to add a pay item directly to the payslip.

  Note: This method is only appropriate if the employee is working and you are topping up their wage. This is due to the fact that in this case, the Workers Compensation needs to be reported through STP as gross. Please refer to the ATO STP reporting guide for more information. 

1. Navigate to Payroll > Pay.
2. Locate the draft the payslip of your employee & select Actions > edit to the right.
3. Add the Workers Compensation pay item, filling in the hours & rate. 
4. At the bottom, select Update Payslip.
5. Add a comment (e.g. "Added Workers Comp pay item") and Save Changes.

You can read more about editing payslips & adding pay items here. 

Reporting

Reporting

There are several reports that can be used depending on what information you're wanting to obtain. 

We have outlined some of the ways to produce these reports below: 

Dates

You can report on the dates and length of employees' Workers Compensation from the Time Off menu. 

1. Navigate to Time & Attendance > Time Off.
2. Select Filters and choose the Workers Compensation Entitlement type.
3. Optionally select from other filters (Date range, Employment type, Operation, or Office code) to narrow down your results.
4. Click Apply filters.
   
   
   
   
5. Select Approved from the quick filters.
6. If looking to report on an individual employee, type their name into the search bar next to the quick filters.
7. Select the leave applications you want to export and click Export.
   
   
   

Workers Compensation paid

There are three reports you could use to report on this. These are:

Leave Paid Report

1. Navigate to Reports > Financial > Leave Paid Report.
2. Set your date range and specify the leave type to your Workers Compensation entitlement.
3. Add any filters to target specific employees or groups of employees.
4. Add groupings to include additional information in your report.
   
   In the below example, we reporting on Workers Compensation payments made this month. We're also grouping by Employee ID and period ending. This will mean that we can see who has been paid and in which pay periods. 
   
   
   
   
5. Click Submit.

Payroll export

1. Navigate to Payroll > Pay > Payslips.
2. Use the filters, search bar, and period end selection to find the records you're wanting to report on.
   • Use the search bar if you are wanting to report on an individual employee.
   • Remove the Period End Date if you want to report across more than 1 pay period.
   • Select Workcover from the Conditions drop-down to filter to employees with the On Workcover toggle currently enabled. 
     
     
     
     
3. Select Bulk Actions > Export All Filtered.
4. Select the fields you'd like included in your report.
   • At a minimum you would include Employee ID, Employee Name, Period End Date, Pay cycle ID, Workers Compensation Hours, Workers Compensation Paid, Total Amount Per Allowance, Total Quantity Per Allowance.
   • Once you've got the report the way you like it, select Additional Options at the top and save your selection. This will make it easier to run this report next time. 
5. Export to CSV

Advanced Payroll Activity Report

1. Navigate to Reports > Financial > Advanced Payroll Activity.
2. Set your duration.
3. Add your groupings. Employee ID & Workcover Code are a good place to start but you can add additional groupings for more information. 
   For example, if you're wanting to report on Workers Compensation pay items used, include the Line Item grouping. 
4. Use the filters to narrow down your search.
5. Check Cash Basis then Submit.
6. Export CSV.