Question: Most of our employees are paid monthly, however we do have several who have been paid weekly over many years, and we want to bring them into line with the monthly paid staff. How do we do this?
Answer: The first thing you need to do is to write to your staff advising them of your intention to change the frequency of their pay and the reasons for the proposed change, explaining when you intend to implement the change. This is known as a “consultation period”. The letter should explain to the employees that the change will not affect their pay or benefits, but will bring in efficiencies to the business.
The letter should seek feedback from your employees about how they feel the changes will affect them, offering assistance if it will cause financial hardship during the transition, and should consult on the best date to introduce the new monthly payroll system. You could suggest a phased change by offering fortnightly pay for the first month and thereafter change to monthly.
The consultation letter then ought to be followed up to explain that the decision has been made to implement the change. The change cannot take place for at least 30 days from the date of the letter that confirms the change. In the final letter you should ensure that the company offers assistance to anyone who needs help during the transition period.
If you require any assistance with a change in pay frequency, or any other change to your employees’ terms and conditions of employment, please do not hesitate to contact the team at Sekoya.
