Many employees like weekly payroll as they get paid more often, but this comes with additional challenges for employees and payroll bureaus.
Payroll payments on a weekly basis typically include regular pay, overtime pay, and any other applicable earnings, minus any deductions such as taxes or benefit contributions. Weekly payroll is commonly used by businesses that employ hourly workers or those who work irregular schedules, such as part-time or temporary employees.
You can learn more about different pay schedules – monthly, lunar and weekly- and their advantages and disadvantages in our blog.
As weekly pay requires more frequent payroll runs, there is greater risk of things going wrong.
This blog looks at five common challenges for businesses running a payroll weekly.
1.Weekly payroll time management
Weekly payroll leaves a shorter time frame to collect and process employee data, calculate hours worked, and prepare payments. This can be challenging for businesses that have many employees, as it requires more time and resources.
To overcome this issue, businesses should consider automating as many payroll processes as possible, using payroll software that can calculate and distribute payments quickly and accurately.
2.Accuracy and compliance with running payroll on a weekly basis:
Weekly payroll requires a high level of accuracy and compliance with regulations, such as tax laws and employment standards. Errors in calculations, missed deadlines, or non-compliance with regulations can lead to penalties and legal issues for the company.
Businesses can overcome this issue by working with a working with a payroll provider that can handle compliance. Automating payroll processes will prevent any inaccurate calculations.
3.Cost of weekly payroll
Processing payroll weekly can be more expensive than processing payroll bi-weekly or monthly, as it requires more frequent processing of payroll data and higher administrative costs.
Surprisingly, outsourcing your payroll can save money by reducing the need for extra staff and infrastructure.
4.More communication
With weekly payroll, employees expect to receive their payments on a regular schedule. If there are delays or errors in processing, it can create dissatisfaction among employees. Communication between the employer and employees is crucial to ensure that everyone is aware of the payroll schedule and any changes.
To overcome poor communication and prevent creating dissatisfaction amongst employees, businesses should notify employees promptly, explaining the issue clearly and provide regular updates regarding the issue. Businesses should also offer employees support and resources if needed – such as short-term loans as this shows the businesses is taking the issue seriously.
5.Sensitive data security:
Weekly pay generates a large amount of sensitive data more often than other payment options, including employee names, National Insurance numbers, and financial information.
Ensuring the security of this data is critical, as any data breaches or loss of data can lead to financial loss and reputational damage for the company. Companies must invest in robust security measures and training to prevent data breaches and ensure data protection.
If a company wants to overcome data security issues, then a security audit is a good idea – this can identify vulnerabilities in your system and develop a plan to address them. Access controls, regular updates, backing up data and outsourcing cyber security are some other ways that you can protect your data when it comes to payroll.
Earned Wage Access as an alternative
Earned Wage Access gives employees the chance to withdraw their wages before payday.
In essence, monthly paid workers can access they salary on a weekly basis. You can learn some more about EWA in our blog.
How IGsend can help with weekly payroll
IGsend can eliminate any payment issues and still provide a solution that suits your business.
Paying employees is no hassle – payment transactions complete in under 30 seconds.
IGsend is secure, safeguarded and reliable, meaning there are no delays and sensitive data will always be protected.
Contact us at IGsend@incomegroup.co.uk for a free software demo to improve your payday process today.
