Category Archives: Uncategorized

Did you know…

that you could be paying for unemployment chargebacks two years from now?  Even if your ex-employee moves onto another job, if their reason for leaving you qualifies, you pay.

Texas Workforce looks at the “base period” for determining which employer pays.  That often covers a span of two years.  This is why you may receive a “chargeback” notice long after a person has left your employ.

Pay attention to these notices.  And, pay attention to how your employees leave.  The most costly unemployment claims occur down the road.

Weird Reasons for Sick Days!

A CareerBuilder online survey, conducted in August and September 2011 with 2,696 U.S. HR professionals and hiring managers and 4,384 full-time U.S. workers, unearthed the following unusual reasons for taking a sick day:

  • Bats got into the employee’s hair.
  • A refrigerator fell on the employee.
  • A bucket filled with water crashed through the ceiling of a bowling alley and hit the employee on the head.
  • A deer bit the employee while he was hunting.
  • The employee fell out of bed and broke his nose.
  • The employee hurt his back chasing a beaver.
  • The employee had to go to the hospital after accidentally drinking anti-freeze.
  • The employee got his toe caught in a vent cover.
  • The employee caught a cold from a puppy.
  • The employee got sick from eating too much at a party.
  • The employee developed a headache from attending too many garage sales.

“Why Did We Hire That Guy?”

On Tuesday, February 14th, the San Antonio Human Resource Management Association will host its General Meeting.  Don’t miss this opportunity to network with leaders in the HR community, learn a new topic from an exciting speaker, and get connected to leaders in your community.  Location: NW Marriott, 3233 NW Loop 410 San Antonio, TX 78213.  Time: 11:15am – 1:30pm

Speaker:  Rodney Klein, Dallas District’s Outreach and Training Manager, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Program Description:  Ever wonder why you hire certain applicants? In this session you will learn how and why employers make hiring decisions.  You will discover that not all the reasons are known or understood by the hiring officials, and this can lead, at times, to illegal discrimination.  You will learn what factors may influence the decisions of hiring managers, how poorly considered qualifications lead to poor hires, and why our hiring processes are not near as objective as we pretend they are.  You will also discover ways to counter the assumptions that lead to discrimination and bad hires, and you will learn techniques you can use to help your hiring managers stay in compliance with the law.

HR managers say labor costs soaring under Fair Work Act: Survey

The people charged with administering the Fair Work Act have mixed feelings about the legislation, although sentiment is souring, with human resources professionals reporting that labour costs have increased and the needs of small business are not being adequately addressed.

An annual survey of HR managers compiled by the Australian Human Resources Institute found that just under half (47%) believe the Fair Work Act would decrease an organisation’s willingness to take on new employees over the next three years.

The survey of 691 HR people across private and government bodies also found that 58% said their labour costs had risen. One third of the respondents had between 100 and 499 employees. Ten percent had between 50 and 99 employees, 5% had been 20 and 49, and 8% had fewer than 20.

The percentage of practitioners saying the unfair dismissal threshold has made it harder to make jobs redundant has also risen nine percentage points to 35%.

Australian Human Resources Institute national president Peter Wilson told SmartCompany this morning that the “net movement is negative as more people get to grips with the Act.”

Wilson says this is because HR professionals are finding the legislation “costly, bureaucratic and not easy to deal with”.

The problems arise from the heavy involvement of third parties such as trade unions and the tribunal, high administrative costs and long processes, he says.

Wilson says HR managers are “in-house” experts on the Act, and therefore best placed to state how it is working in practice.

The report found that complaints with the Act centred on:

  • It is not considering the needs of small business.
  • Reduced employer flexibility to hire casuals or vary the schedule of part-time hours.
  • Overtime provisions, particularly in the health sector.
  • The increased costs associated with complying with provisions.
  • The increased prerogatives conferred on trade unions.
  • An increase in vexatious unfair dismissal claims and adverse action claims.

Conversely, some respondents noted that the Act:

  • Improved conditions within the workplace.
  • Is a good compromise between the extremities of the Conciliation and Arbitration days and the WorkChoices days.
  • Is a positive piece of legislation that needs some tinkering to reduce the right to take protection action, the effects of adverse action [and] take-away money in unfair dismissal claims.

Friday, 03 February 2012 10:59
Madeleine Heffernan

Unemployment Insurance Taxes Decrease in the State of Texas

Texas employers will see an across-the-board drop in their Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxes in 2012, with the standard minimum tax falling from $70.20 per employee to $54.90, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced. According to TWC, 63.8 percent of experience-rated employers, some 246,374 businesses, currently pay the state minimum tax. The minimum tax rate is set at 0.61 percent for 2012, down from 0.78 percent in 2011.

The average rate for all employers is set at 1.96 percent for 2012, down from 2.03 percent in 2011, while the average rate for experience-rated employers is 1.87 percent, down from 1.96 percent. The maximum UI tax rate, paid by 6.2 percent of Texas employers, is 7.58 percent, down from 8.25 percent in 2011.

In setting 2012 tax rates, TWC said that it “sought to minimize the effects of any increases and exercise all the authority given to it by state law to hold the tax rates to the lowest and most predictable rates possible.” To keep taxes low, TWC suspended the deficit tax in 2011, a strategy supported by employer groups across the state. TWC has also recently increased work-search verifications and improved data sharing between agencies to prevent fraud and control costs. Texas’s minimum tax rate remains lower than that of other states, TWC said.

Texas SHRM | http://www.texasshrm.org

 

Sanera Camp Week 3

Learn a lot at Camp today!  Anticipating a pivotal and tough week ahead.  Valuable insights!!