Legislative Council, Thursday 26 May 2022

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

I understand the underpayment/incorrect payment of staff has been occurring for approximately six months at the West Coast District Hospital.

1 How many staff have been impacted?

2 What is the reason behind these errors?

3 Have the payment errors been corrected in all cases?

4 Have the underlying factors contributing to these errors been identified and corrected; and
   a. If not, when is it expected these matters will be fully addressed?

Answers:

We recognise that some errors can occur during payroll processes. I am advised that once an error is identified, either by the employee or employer, it is addressed. Unfortunately, it is not possible to identify the number of staff who may have experienced payment issues from a specific site over a six-month period.

The current payroll system is over 20 years old and predominantly based on manual paper processes. This relies on staff and managers providing all required information prior to the deadline each fortnight.

The Government is currently progressing a project for a new Human Resource Information System. This will contemporise practices and any pay adjustments can be entered ‘live’ in the system to support accurate payments.