Policy and Procedures for Gold Service Dry Cleaning Research Assessment

Part 1: Research Tasks

Case Study Scenario

Policy and Procedures for Gold Service Dry Cleaning

Gold Service Dry Cleaning has a payroll of 20 employees and uses a registered BAS agent/bookkeeper (you) for processing its payroll using their accounting system.

Payroll Procedures

• All employees are paid fortnightly on Thursday by direct credit to their bank accounts based on the timesheets completed or a standard fortnightly salary.
• Employee timesheets to be submitted by 12 pm Monday for the previous fortnight
• Timesheets are forwarded to the factory shift supervisor for authorisation
• The factory shift supervisor authorises the timesheets by 4 pm Monday before forwarding them to you.
• You process the payroll by 1.00 pm on Wednesday.
• You prepare an employee summary report after the payroll is processed for review by the business owner, prior to payment.
• Electronic payment is approved by the owner for payment on Thursday.
• Any errors, concerns and discrepancies are referred to the business owner for resolution.
• Any changes in pay, annual leave, sick leave and other leave entitlements are authorised by the business owner for processing by the bookkeeper and copies retained in the employee files.
• All new employees are required to complete TFN declaration and provide details such as bank accounts, deductions and superannuation funds to the bookkeeper for recording purposes.
• All employee information is retained by the business owner in the office in a locked filing cabinet.

Bookkeepers Duties

The owner expects you to take care of any regular payroll activities such as the provision of payslips and Single Touch Payroll, pay enquiries, preparing payments to ATO, any other payroll obligations and forwarding any required information to ATO.

Additional Duties

The owner of the business has asked you to conduct a short in-house session for staff about allowable tax deductions to assist employees when preparing their income tax returns. Also, you are requested to answer any questions regarding salary packaging & salary sacrifice, particularly how it affects superannuation contributions and income tax.

Task 1

Read the Case Study Scenario: Policy and Procedures for Gold Service Dry Cleaning.

Referring to the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), Tax Practitioners Board, and allowable services you can provide as a registered BAS agent, answer the following:

1. You are employed as a registered BAS agent by Gold Service Dry Cleaning. Identify any services (if any) that are outside the scope of payroll services you can provide as a registered BAS agent. (As a guide your answer should be between 20-40 words).
2. If there are any services you cannot provide what would be your course of action? (As a guide your answer should be between 40-60 words).

Task 2

When setting out the minimum employment conditions for individual contracts and enterprise agreements, the conditions cant be less than the base pay rate in the relevant award and the National Employment Standards still apply.

In the table below, indicate if the proposed employment conditions for Lee, Ray and Sue, new employees of Gold Service Dry Cleaning meet these two requirements. Staff employed in the dry cleaning factory are employed under the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Industry Award 2020, office staff are covered by the Clerks Award. If the condition does not meet either of the requirements, indicate what the minimum requirement should be. You will need to access the National Employment Standards and the relevant award for the organisation to assist in answering this question.

1. Lee is 25 years old and is employed in the office as a full time Office Administrative Assistant, Level 1.

5. Ray is employed full time in the dry cleaning factory as a supervisor Dry Cleaning employee level 5. Ray holds a 1st aid qualification and will perform 1st aid duty at the factory.

• Sue is 16 years old and is a casual employee classified as Laundry employee level 1 in the factory. Her work roster changes weekly, she normally works 15 hours per week. Sue was not provided with any information or documents when she started work. She was only requested to provide her TFN and bank account details.

Task 3

Review the organisational policy and procedure of Gold Star Dry Cleaning Service and identify essential control procedures that affect payroll? In your response, identify the level of authority and procedures that affect payroll.

(As a guide your answer should be between 50 and 80 words).

Task 4

The business owner of Gold Star Dry Cleaning Service is considering implementing a computerised payroll system such as MYOB and has asked your advice. Identify key features of manual and computerised payroll systems, including the advantages and disadvantages of each for the owner to consider.

(As a guide your answer should be between 100 and 150 words).

Task 5

An Industrial Instrument is a term that encompasses any legally enforceable document that applies to employees, including awards, enterprise agreements and employment contracts.

1. Refer to the New Fair Work Information Statement and identify two key principles applicable to each of the following in maintaining a payroll system.
   (As a guide your answer should be between 40 and 50 words).

1. Explain how the above industrial instruments affect the National Employment Standards within an organisation.
   (As a guide your answer should be between 40 and 60 words).

Task 6

Research legislative and record-keeping requirements from all levels of government (Federal and State, including ATO) and briefly identify the impact on business operations and reporting requirements in the provision of payroll service. Refer to Appendix 3 for websites

Fair Work Australia requires all employers to provide a Statement to new employees either before employment has commenced or as soon as possible after they start their new job.

1. What is the name of this statement?

1. Referring to the Statement in Task 6(i) and the 12 National Employment Standards, identify which standards are applicable for each employment category in the table below (tick or cross).

• Briefly explain the requirements the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) places on employers in relation to the following. (Maximum 30 words each).

1. Record-keeping requirements of governments and legislation will affect the business operations of employers and varies depending on the legislation.

Briefly describe the record-keeping requirements in regard to the following. (Maximum 40 words each).

1. The Fair Work Ombudsman website contains information about workplace entitlements and obligations. It also provides information with regard to the records employers are required to keep for employees.

Referring to the record keeping obligations, briefly state (in dot point) the information required to be kept for the following:

1. Key requirements of taxation law relating to payroll systems, include:

• PAYG income tax instalment
• PAYG Withholding.
• Fringe benefits tax (FBT) as it relates to salary packaging.

Complete the table below:

Task 7

Employee information is protected by the Privacy Act and Fair Work Act. (As a guide each answer should be between 10 and 20 words).

1. Identify two security procedures you could use to protect all employee information in a computerised payroll system.2.
2. Identify two security procedures you could use to protect all employee information in a paper-based manual system.

Task 8

You would like to commence a bookkeeping business, undertaking payroll services for a fee. Under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009, individuals providing payroll services for a fee must register with the Tax Practitioner Board (TPB). List the four TPB requirements you need to obtain to register as a BAS Agent. (As a guide your answer should be between 40 and 50 words).

Task 9

When registering as a BAS Agent, you must submit a Statement of relevant experience-BAS agent form. You have regularly performed the following payroll tasks under the supervision of a tax agent. Indicate if the task is within the scope of services for BAS agents and can be used on the Statement of relevant experience-BAS agent form, by completing the table.

Task 10

As a registered BAS Agent, you must comply with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009(TASA), including the Code of Professional Conduct (Code). The Code of Professional Conduct (Code) is a legislated code that sets out the professional and ethical standards required of Registered Tax Agents and BAS Agents. It outlines the duties that agents owe to their clients, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and other agents. The Code includes a number of Core Principles organised into categories.

1. List the first four
   Your answer should be between 6 and 10 words.

Task 11

Identify key aspects of the following routine and non-routine requirements for payroll operation: (As a guide your answer should be between 20 and 80 words for each requirement).

Part 2: Practical Non-Routine Tasks

Task 1 Termination Pay

1. Identify the legislation and the number of weeks notice that must be given to an employee when terminating an employee under the age of 45 who has been employed with the business for 4 years? (As a guide your answer should be up to 20 words).

2. Identify the legislation and the number of weeks redundancy pay payable to a permanent employee who is made redundant due to a reduction of sales and has been employed with the business for 6 years and 3 months? (As a guide your answer should be up to 20 words).

3. On 22 November 2020, Christine retired after joining her employer in 1999. Details:

• Pay rate is $35 per hour and normal hours are 38 per week.
• On retirement, she had 20 hours of annual leave, 275 hours of long service leave and 86 hours of personal leave accrued.
• Christine is entitled to leave loading.
• Christine qualified for an early retirement scheme incentive payment of $10,000. The accountant advises that this amount is taxed at 17% which includes Medicare Levy.
• The TFN has been supplied, she claims the tax-free threshold and has no offsets.
• Christines retirement is classified as a normal termination.

Required:

Determine Christines final termination pay in accordance with organisational requirements relevant to employment termination processes and payments.

Refer to Appendix 1 for organisational procedures.

Include your completed template/answer below.

Termination Pay Work papers (Pay Advice)

Employee name: Christine

Wages to: 22 November 2020

4. Seek advice about the accuracy of employment termination payment calculations from an expert. Request advice from an appropriate expert about the accuracy of the calculation as per legislative requirements. Refer to (Appendix 1) Organisational policy and procedures. (As a guide your answer should be between 20 and 50 words).

Provide a copy of your email here, or attach it as an appendix.

Task 2 Reportable Fringe Benefits

You are required to complete the following two questions in the table provided.

1. Determine if each fringe benefit is Reportable.
2. Based on your answer to Part 2 Task 2 Q1, calculate the Reportable grossed-up amount to be reported using the correct 2021 FBT gross rate.

Task 3 Superannuation Guarantee Charge

April Hollands employer missed paying the June 2021 Quarter Superannuation Guarantee Contribution for her. The Superannuation Guarantee Charge will be paid on 7 November 2021. Wages paid to April for the June quarter were as follows:

Normal Wages $14,000.00

Overtime $2,860.00

Personal Leave $1,580.00

Annual Leave $3,410.00

Required:

Calculate the Superannuation Guarantee Charge.

Task 4 - Establishing systems for backup and disaster recovery of payroll data

Explain two systems you could implement to address the following situations in your business. Describe the advantages of each system.

Part 3: Payroll Enquiries

Scenario

You are contracted as a BAS agent providing payroll services for Frasers Electrical and you have received three payroll enquiries via email.

You are required to:

• Refer to Appendix 2 for organisational policy and procedure for Fraser Electrical.
• Respond to each email according to organisational policies and procedures (see Appendix 2).
• Write your answer in the Response Template provided. See Tasks 1 to 3 for each email and each Response Template. Answer any additional short answer questions in the Tasks.
• If you are unable to answer the enquiry directly, ensure that it is referred to a designated person for resolution and follow up within the required timeframe.
• When responding to each enquiry, consider:
  • Date the correspondence was received.
  • Business information, provided below.
  • Payroll enquiries procedure, provided below.
  • If unable to answer the enquiry as a BAS Agent, include who the enquiry should be referred to in your response.
  • The tone of your reply. Ensure it is professional and clear with correct spelling, grammar and information.
  • Scope of payroll services you can provide as a BAS Agent.
  • Legislative requirements
  • Organisational requirements
  • Tax Practitioner Boards industry code of practice, particularly confidentiality and competence.

Business Information:

• The business owner is, Marcus Fraser.
• All employees are full time and work 38 hours per week.
• All employees are employed under the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020.