Office of Human Resources

Transcription

1 Spring 2012 UCM Office of Human Resources Timesheets A Necessary Nuisance Whether you are an employee reporting time or a supervisor approving time sheets, it is important for you to understand what is really riding on your actions. We realize it can be annoying when you receive a note from the payroll office twice a month reminding you to drop everything and get time sheets for the department in, but both employees and supervisors need to be aware of the many critical operational factors associated with university time sheets. As a non-exempt employee, your pay depends on the accurate and timely submission of the time sheet. Bottom line, a non-exempt employee cannot be paid unless the hours are reported and approved by the supervisor... period! The most common problem is for employees to wait until the end of the pay period to initially open the time sheet and enter hours. Emergencies are never planned but they do arise. Unless you have opened the time sheet during the pay period, your supervisor and even the payroll office, will not be able to move the time sheet forward after the deadline. To prevent such a time sheet occurrence from happening, and to comply with the FLSA regs, open your time sheet and enter the hours worked or the leave taken on a daily basis. If a crisis occurs at the end of the pay period and your time sheet is In-Progress, the payroll office can push the time sheet through to your supervisor for completion and approval. Supervisors need to be diligent in approving their employee time sheets prior to the deadline. An unapproved employee time sheet can not move forward in the payroll process. As a courtesy, payroll sends individual notes to supervisors when they fail to meet the deadline. When supervisors do not act promptly after receiving the s, the pending time sheets in that department will delay the time sheets for the entire campus. Supervisors, your employees are depending on you for their pay. Please don t let them down. Employee time sheets are not only essential for determining an employee s pay, they are also an important tool for employers to analyze and project expenses. Reports for overtime, holiday pay, weather related closings, etc. can be gathered by the department or the university to determine future organizational, funding and/or staffing needs. Unless the time sheets are completed correctly, the information is not useful. Recently, over 20 nonexempt employees erroneously reported regular (REG) hours on the Martin Luther King holiday in January rather than holiday (HOL) hours. The supervisors did not appropriately review the time sheets and approved them with the errors. In This Issue: Timesheets Performance Appraisals Educational Assistance FAQ s for Benefit s Summer Hires Reminders Employee Assistance Prog. Upcoming Training

2 Office of Human Resources Timesheets A Necessary Nuisance continued The payroll department spent hours contacting each employee to verify they did not actually work during the holiday which would have entitled them to additional compensation. Vacation and sick leave hours create a liability for the university as well. These hours have to be reported accurately to reduce the university s potential liability at employee termination and/or retirement. Employees must be conscientious in reporting their time each and every pay period and supervisors should diligently review time sheets before approving. To error is human and occasionally circumstances present themselves where an employee has been left off the payroll due to either their oversight or the supervisors. When it is justified, the payroll department will issue an adjustment to ensure the employee receives their earnings in a timely manner. Situations handled outside the regular payroll cycle involve a multitude of offices with adjustments to vendor/benefit reports, to the financial systems, to accounting check reconciliations, and also require additional documentation efforts from the departments. It is estimated each manual employee adjustment collectively cost the institution between $25 - $75 per transaction. In a time where funding is crucial, these operational errors can and should be minimized. Granted time sheets are a nuisance, but they are also a critical tool used by the university to pay employees accurately, to comply with federal and state guidelines for payments, withholdings, audit and record retention, as well as a valuable tool for management to budget and project future staffing needs. Keep this information in mind the next time you think you are too busy to complete your time sheet or get around to approving your employee time sheets. It s not just another useless form, it s someone s pay! Time Sheet Reminders: Non-Exempt Employees: Time sheet deadline is always reported at the top of the time sheet Report leave in fifteen (15) minute increments Account for the entire day s shift (Example: If you report only 6 hours worked of an 8 hour shift, you must report 2 hours leave). Enter actual hours worked Include holiday hours (HOL) to be paid Do not enter dock pay (DOC) to save or bank sick and/or vacation. All leave must be exhausted before an employee goes to unpaid status. Leave will cascade automatically to dock pay when leave balance is zero. Always submit and certify your time/leave for managers approval Verify managers final approval before the deadline Exempt Employees: Time sheet deadline is always reported at the top of the time sheet Do not report leave in less than four (4) hour increments Not necessary to report holidays on time sheets Do not enter dock pay (DOC) to save or bank sick and/or vacation. All leave must be exhausted before an employee goes to unpaid status. Leave will cascade automatically to dock pay when leave balance is zero. Always submit and certify your leave for managers approval Page 2

3 Performance Appraisals UCM requires a written performance appraisal on each employee during the month of April each year. Completed appraisals need to be submitted to the Office of HR by May 1 each year. Appraisers should use the UCM Performance Appraisal form located on the web at ucmo.edu/hr Newly hired exempt employees with more than 4 months of service will receive their first performance appraisal b y the annual April 30 deadline. Those with less than 4 months of service (hired after Jan 1) will receive their first annual performance appraisal by May 1 of the following calendar year. If you have any questions please call Every employee has the right to know how he or she is doing in their job through a one-on-one conversation with their supervisor. Performance appraisals are a way to make sure that happens. Educational Assistance Do you want to learn a foreign language? Or maybe advance your skills in drawing or photography? Have you thought about starting college or working on your masters? The University of Central Missouri provides full-time employees up to 15 credit hours and part-time employees up to 6 credit hours of complimentary tuition for course work at UCM each academic year. The tuition rates are provided at either in-state or out-of-state tuition rates, whichever is applicable. To get started you must get admitted to a program of your choice and enroll. When you decide which class or classes you plan to take, you will need to complete the Educational Development Program Application. Approval for tuition assistance does not guarantee admission. You must be admitted to UCM in order to take classes by the time the semester for which you are applying begins. For more information about registration, contact the Admissions Office for undergraduate admission or the Graduate Office for graduate degrees. Did you know that spouses and qualified dependents are eligible to have 50% of applicable tuition fees paid by UCM. There is no limit on the number of credit hours which may be taken by spouses or dependents each semester. Qualified dependents are those stated as dependents for federal income tax purposes as filed with the Internal Revenue service. A legally dependent child taking a dual credit class in high school is also eligible for this benefit. The course must be offered by UCM through one of the local high schools. The dual credit course schedule varies from the university, but forms are still due within the first week after the class begins. For more information about the Educational Development Program contact Human Resources at x 4255 or visit the FAQ page found in the Human Resource's Employee Benefits section. Page 3

4 Office of Human Resources FAQ s Benefit s My son/daughter is no longer a full-time student, when will his/her medical, dental, vision, and dependent life insurance coverage end? This is a frequently asked question and because the answer is different for each type of coverage, the answers are listed below. Health insurance dependent age limit is age 26 and is good through the end of the calendar year the child turns 26. The child DOES NOT need to be a full-time student to be eligible for health coverage. Dental insurance dependent age limit is end of the month your child turns 19 if not a student, or end of the month your child becomes 25 if a full-time student and proof of student status required each semester. You can prove student status by faxing a copy of your child s class schedule, grade card or letter from the registrar to Delta Dental at Make sure to include your name and date of birth on the fax as you are the policy holder. Vision insurance dependent age limit is age 26 through the end of the calendar year. The child DOES NOT need to be a full-time student. For dependent life insurance the dependent age limit is 20 if not a student, 24 if a full-time student. Proof of student status would be required if a claim is filed. All the insurance policies above carry a provision for continuation of coverage for a disabled or handicapped child. Please make sure you contact HR so you can complete the required paperwork and get vendor approval for the continuation PRIOR to your child exceeding the age limit requirement. If your child should become ineligible due to age or loss of student status, or if your child has a qualifying event such as getting a full-time job with their own benefits, you must come to the HR office within 31 days of the event to drop coverage for him/her. Or you can make a change to your insurance coverage's during open enrollment which has an effective date of January 1 st. Payroll Corner Good News: The Tax Relief Act of 2012 extends the reduction in the social security (FICA) tax rate paid by employees from 6.2% to 4.2% through December 31, Exempt Forms W-4 for 2011 have expired. If you wish to claim exemption from withholdings for 2012 federal and/or state taxes, you must complete a new form. Employee s Withholding Allowance Certificate, federal W-4 forms are available in MyCentral through Employee Self Service. Changes in Missouri withholdings are only available in Payroll Services, ADM 100. Page 4

5 Office of Human Resources It s Time to Start Thinking About Summer. Summer is coming! If your office will be hiring temporary employees for the summer be sure to complete the Staff Vacancy Form on HR s website. The form should be completed with appropriate signatures/approvals and in Human Resources prior to the employee beginning work. Temporary employees should come to Human Resources on their first day to complete the required new hire paperwork. Please remember the minimum age for employment at UCM is 16. If you have any questions about hiring temporary employees for the summer please contact your HR Generalist. If you know of someone looking for summer employment have them visit our website at jobs.ucmo.edu. The last week in March we will begin accepting online applications for multiple full -time summer custodial positions. Reminders!! Annuity Limits The annual maximum limits for contributions to a 403(b) and/or 457 annuity accounts have been increased for If you are under the age of 50, you can contribute up to $17, 000 for the year. If you are 50 or older, you can contribute an additional $5,500 or a total of $22,500. If you would like to make a contribution change to your annuity, please drop by Human Resources and complete the necessary form. Should you be interested in starting an annuity through payroll deduction, a list of vendors can be found at: benefits/vtsa.cfm and click on TSA Authorized Vendors. Please check out UCM Daily for messages on the dates/times that those vendors are visiting campus. Points to Blue For employees and any of your dependents that are on the Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plan don t forget to go online and register for Points to Blue. Points to Blue is an easy was for you to earn points towards gift cards by logging wellness activities. Activities included walking, gardening and household chores, many of the things you do on a daily or weekly basis. You can earn up to $250 worth of gift cards each calendar year. Gift cards include popular stores such as: Kohl s and Bass Pro, as well as generic Visa Gift Cards. Be sure to check out this website for more information: pointstoblue.cfm Page 5

6 UCM EAP Bringing Balance to Your Life Do you ever find that you or your family members need help with...? Marital Issues Parenting Concerns Stress at home or on the job Depression and Anxiety Finances and Budgeting Finding a Lawyer Aging and Retirement Elder Care Child Care Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle Support in Tough Situations Personal Growth Drugs and Alcohol When one part of your life is out of balance, it affects your whole life. Employee Assistant Program professionals can provide you with information, short-term counseling, and referrals to help guide you. Services are confidential and the first six visits are free. Q: What is an EAP professional? A: All EAP professionals have a minimum of a Master s degree in counseling, social work, psychology, or marriage and family therapy. EAP professionals hold a license in the state in which they practice and extensive experience helping people through the EAP. Q: Can I get help in an emergency? A: The EAP is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A licensed clinician is available to talk with you and help decide on next steps in an emergency. Q: What number do I call? A: The EAP is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling (800) or (913) Q: Can someone in my family see an EAP professional? A: Yes, your immediate family, including children, may use the Upcoming Training Online: Preventing Sexual Harassment Training and Diversity Training at April 23 Dealing With Difficult People April 24 Ethics for Everyone April 27 We Are All On The Same Team, Remember? April 30 Would I Work For Me? May 2 Enjoy the Ride May 3 Talk I$n t Cheap EAP. If you have any questions about eligibility, please call EAP. Q: Where are they located? A: The EAP has affiliate offices located throughout the Kansas City Metropolitan area. They also have a network of affiliates in all 50 states. Please call for the most convenient location. Q: Is there a website I can access? A: The EAP website is: Click on Employee Assistance for Members. It will then ask you for a code type in UCM. For further information, contact The Office of Human Resources at Page 6