HR Business Systems

Employees accessing corporate Human Resources applications must ensure confidential handling of accessible employee data.

Employees must sign the Conditions of Access (Application for Access to Human Resources Systems, page 2) before access to corporate Human Resources applications will be granted.

All HR Business Systems account creations are managed and maintained by the HR Systems and Employee Benefits Team.

Applications for access to HR Systems Accounts must be signed by the approved delegate (Head of School or equivalent).

Following commencement, individual Employee Self Service (ESS) accounts are automatically created for all employees by the HR Systems and Benefits Team and do not require formal application.

Procedures

• Download Application for Access to Human Resources Systems form
• Complete all sections
• Pass form to Approved Delegate for approval
• Send form to Human Resources, M350, once approved

Employees’ HR Business Systems accounts are terminated on their final date of employment with the University.

Employees’ ESS accounts will remain active until October of the financial year following termination for the purposes of accessing previous payslip information or for accessing their Payment Summary.

Ensuring an employee’s HR Business Systems access and level of permissions are in accordance with the employee’s current role is the responsibility of the approved delegate.

The HR Systems and Benefits Team will verify all HR Business Systems accounts (and permission levels) biannually. This information will be distributed to relevant business units for analysis.

Employees must ensure that all passwords remain secure and confidential. Passwords must not, under any circumstances, be shared within work environments.

Requirements for Alesco password security –

ALESCO (HRIS) Application

Employee Self Service

HR Departmental Reports and HR Web Processing

HR Departmental Reports and HR Web Processing passwords are controlled centrally within the ITS admin network. Password requirements are as per ITS guidelines.

Certification of Payroll (Salary Sign-Off)

Background

The University operates within a devolved financial management and responsibility structure. All Business Units are fully responsible for all financial matters in accordance with the University Finance Manual.

What is Certification of Payroll?

Certification of payroll is the process that ensures the accuracy of fortnightly salary charges. A ‘Salary Variance’ report is generated each fortnight for each Business Unit and is the basis for certifying the salary charges for staff members.

Why is Certification of Payroll important?

Salary charges constitute an average of 60% of total expenditure for all Business Units. Fortnightly certification of the payroll is therefore an important control for Business Units to prevent or detect any errors or inappropriate payments within each payrun. Regular verification of salary charges through this process will enable any errors to be identified and corrected in a timely and efficient manner.

What is Financial Management Responsibility?

It is the responsibility of each Business Unit to regularly certify payroll charges by reviewing salary data through the Salary Variance reports. As part of this process Business Units are required to notify HR Services of any variances that need to be addressed by detailing the variance and the correction that needs to be made. HR Services will endeavour to undertake any required adjustment in the following pay period.

Who is Authorised to ‘Approve’ (Certify) Salary Variance Reports?

The official University delegation level for the certification of payroll is 5b. Internal controls are in place within each Business Unit in relation to the various staffing processes with authorisations for appointments and remuneration being undertaken by staff with appropriate HR delegations. Whilst a School Manger/Equivalent may elect for another employee (such as your dedicated Finance Officer or the staff member who would normally undertake the majority of staffing matters) to undertake the analysis and reviewing aspects of checking the salary variance reports, the School Manager/Equivalent level 5b should review this analysis and conclusions and subsequently ‘Approve’ (sign off) each report.

Will there be any Monitoring & Reporting of this process?

The certification should be undertaken in a timely manner by all Business Units and to ensure compliance with this procedure HR Services are required to report on a quarterly basis on the sign-off process being completed. Each quarter HR Services will communicate with any Business Unit that has outstanding certifications more than one month old and ascertain why they have not fulfilled their sign-off responsibilities.

As part of this process, HR are required to ensure that Business Units are meeting their responsibilities in complying with this policy. If a Business Unit is on the report for two consecutive months and HR Services has not be able to establish a valid reason for the non-compliance then the reporting will be elevated through the appropriate line management of that Business Unit.

What paperwork should the Business Unit maintain?

For each certification, the Business Unit should file a copy of the Salary Variance report and detail any reviews undertaken. This process will assist Business Units should they need to review the investigation undertaken in previous reports or should internal or external audit require evidence that such reviews are being undertaken.

Procedures for performing Certification of Payroll

1. Ensure you have access to the Business Units you're required to signoff. If you try logging into the Web Reports (using your PHEME password) and don't see the required Business Unit Description, contact the HR Helpdesk on hrshelp@admin.uwa.edu.au.

2. Navigate to the Salary Variance Reports and then click on the link to the various reports.

3. With the report open, you now need to analyse each variance where they exist. These variances can be created from numerous employment changes - be that centrally changed (pay rise) or locally changed (paperwork from the Business Unit).

4. You need to make a comment next to each variance that describes why the variance exists and whether that variance (for the reasons you've explained) is 'valid'.

5. Where the variance is not 'valid' it is your responsibility to contact the HR Services (Employment or Recruitment) Teams to determine the next course of action.

Recruitment - http://www.hr.uwa.edu.au/hr/hr_contacts#Recruit
Employment - http://www.hr.uwa.edu.au/hr/hr_contacts#Employment

6. With all variances commented on, and where relevant, notified to HR Services for action, you need to save the 'commented' Salary Variance Report locally, as a requirement by Internal & External Auditors. These documents can be kept electronically or in a manual form.