New research: close to half of small business employees have experienced pay-day problems

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New research by Xero has revealed that payday problems are widespread across Australia with 43 percent of workers experiencing issues with their pay, rising to 49 percent for those employed by small businesses.

The survey of more than 1,000 Australian workers, found that 22 percent of all respondents had been paid late. This increased to 29 percent for those employed by small businesses.

Of those who were paid late, 68 percent reported feeling stressed as a result, and 45 percent had missed payments for financial commitments such as household bills and mortgage repayments. While slightly more than two in five (43 per cent) felt less engaged and productive at work, and one in three (34 percent) considered leaving their job as a result of being paid late.

Key findings:

46 percent of all workers, and 54 percent of small business employees believe improvements could be made to payment processes
The number one improvement sought is to be paid on time (25 percent)
The most common payment errors are incorrect salary payments (24 percent), late salary payments (22 percent), underpayment of salary (22 percent), and overpayment of salary (10 percent).

Head of Industry, Matthew Prouse at Xero Australia says there are a number of reasons why employees might be experiencing anomalies with their pay.

“The majority of employers try to do the right thing when paying staff. Small businesses can sometimes have issues due to manual payroll processes, where the likelihood of error is much higher.”

STP deadline fast approaching

Xero’s latest research findings coincide with the looming Single Touch Payroll (STP) deadline. From 1 October 2019, small business employers of all sizes will need to have complied with STP and commence digitally reporting employees’ payroll information to the Australian Taxation Office each time they pay their staff.

Matthew Prouse says by embracing Single Touch Payroll, small businesses can simplify their payroll processes.

“Single Touch Payroll is a new way of working that will help small business owners to streamline their operations. It makes it easier for employers to do the right thing and will be a catalyst for greater accuracy, security and efficiency when paying employees.”

Businesses across Australia need to comply with Single Touch Payroll by September 30. Xero lets you file your pay runs with the ATO and getting set up is a lot easier than you might think – so get STP compliant today in just a matter of clicks.

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