Wage Scales

What are Wage Scales?

Wage Scales effectively set the maximum pay rate that can be associated with a position. When attempting to set a rate for an employee assigned to a position with a Wage Scale, it will prevent any rates from being entered that are higher than the "Maximum Rate" established within the Wage Scale. By default, Wage Scales apply to new employees being added to Empeon Workforce when establishing their rate, however they can also be configured to apply toward rate changes for existing employees as well.

This article explains how to configure Wage Scales and how they are enforced for other Workforce Users when attempting to assign a rate to new and existing employees. Please note however that this feature is available as part of Empeon's HR Premium subscription.

Wage Scale Pre-Configuration

Prior to setting up Wage Scales within Empeon Workforce, there may be a few housekeeping items that need to be addressed.

• Confirm Role permissions for Custom Role Users who can make rate changes within Empeon Workforce.
• Confirm that Licenses/Certificates being tracked are linked to relevant Positions within Job Info.

Custom Role Permissions

When a Wage Scale is set up and a rate for an employee is entered that exceeds the Wage Scale limit, a notice will flash stating that the rate is out of range. For Organization Users and Company Admins, this notice appears as a warning with the option to still approve the rate.

For Users assigned to Custom Roles, the Allow Default Rate outside of Wage Scale permission must be toggled on within their role permissions to allow them to override a Wage Scale notice when attempting to make a rate change.

Otherwise, if this permission is off, the Wage Scale notice will offer no option to save the rate.

Therefore, prior to setting up Wage Scales, it is best to review Custom Roles and the Users assigned to them and make the appropriate determination as to whether this permission should be enabled.

Positions Linked to Licenses/Certificates

There are two types of Wage Scales that can configured:

1. Flat Rate - This is a fixed maximum hourly rate that is assigned to the position, meaning it sets the highest pay rate allowed for any employee working within that role. This is the simplest setup and works well for positions where experience level does not affect pay scale.
2. Months of Experience - This is a tiered set of fixed maximum hourly rates based on the length of service the employee has within the position. The system recognizes the years of experience an employee has by referencing the original issue date of the employee’s applicable license on file.

For Wage Scales configured using the Months of Experience method, pre-configuration may be required if Job Info Position codes are not already linked to the relevant Licenses & Certificates being tracked.

This can be confirmed within the Job Info Card, located within the HR section of the Company tab. In the Positions category, select a position that should be associated with a relevant license or certificate, and confirm whether there is one linked to the Position code.

If no license or certification is assigned, make sure to assign the applicable license. 

When a Job Info Position code is linked to a license or certificate, and that license or certificate is assigned to the employee, it will display the employee's Years of Experience within the Job Info Card on their Employee Profile. This value stems from the license’s issue date established within the record.

The Years of Experience value is also what the system references when a Wage Scale is configured using the Months of Experience method. This value determines the employee’s tier and, in turn, the maximum rate allowed for that tier.

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Adding New Wage Scales

To create a Wage Scale, navigate to the Wage Scales Card, located within the Payroll section of the Company tab.

Within the Wage Scales Card, existing Wage Scales will have the option to View, Edit, Delete and Copy to another company. To create a new Wage Scale, click the blue "+ New Wage Scale" button.

When adding a new Wage Scale, the configuration screen will first prompt for a Code and Description.

The next step is to establish which Position(s) should be linked to the Wage Scale.

If there are only a specific segment of employees within the assigned position(s) that should have the Wage Scale applied, Additional filters are available for further refinement.

Additional filters offer a great way to refine the Wage Scale toward specific Job Info criteria such as Locations or Departments. For example, organizations that have employees working in multiple regions may create multiple Wage Scales linked to the same position and filtered by location in order to apply varying rates. This allows the organization to accurately reflect cost of living differences associated with those locations.

Lastly, within this portion there is a checkbox for Use also for rate changes.

By default, all Wage Scales apply toward new hires when their rate is entered into the system, however check this box off if the Wage Scale should also be enforced when a rate change is made for an existing employee.

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The bottom portion of the configuration screen focuses on establishing the Wage Scale Type, which defines the maximum rate or rates associated with the Wage Scale. There are two types to choose from: Flat Rate and Months of Experience.

Flat Rate

Selecting Flat as the Wage Scale Type involves setting a single Maximum Rate for the Wage Scale. This is a fixed hourly rate that sets the highest pay rate allowed for any employee working within the Position(s) assigned to the Wage Scale. This is the simplest setup and works well for positions where experience level does not affect the pay scale.

When setting the Maximum Rate, keep in mind that the Effective Date auto-populates with the current date but can be adjusted to a past or future date if needed.

The blue "Change rate" button should be utilized when editing an existing Wage Scale that has already been setup. For more on how to maintain Wage Scales, refer to the next section: Maintaining Wage Scales.

Months of Experience

Selecting Months of Experience offers the ability to create tiers of maximum rates that correspond to an employee’s length of service within the position. An employee’s "months of experience" is calculated based on the original Issue Date listed on the license or certificate recorded in the Employee Profile. This process involves setting multiple Maximum Rates, with each rate tied to a specific range of months of experience. This setup works well for positions where pay increases are tied to the employee’s length of service in the role.

If licenses or certificates are being tracked within Empeon Workforce, please refer to the Positions Linked to Licenses/Certificates chapter within this article. This requirement is also noted on the configuration screen, along with a quick link labeled "Go to Positions" that allows for making any necessary adjustments.

When configuring a "Months of Experience" Wage Scale, the screen will display two default rows for the first two tiers of Maximum Rates. Use the "+ Add row" button to add additional tiers as needed. To remove a tier, select the red "X" icon to the right of the row.

Note that the value in the "From" column for the first tier is always "0 months" and cannot be changed. Once a second tier is added, the system automatically recognizes the range of months that applies to the first tier. In the example above, here is a breakdown of how the system calculates each tier and its associated rate.

When setting up the Wage Scale, the Effective Date auto-populates with the current date but can be adjusted to a past or future date if needed. There is also a blue "Change rate" button should be utilized when editing an existing Wage Scale that has already been setup. For more on how to maintain Wage Scales, refer to the next section: Maintaining Wage Scales.

Maintaining Wage Scales

As Wage Scales are added to Empeon Workforce, ongoing maintenance may be needed to update rates or make other adjustments. As noted, within the Wage Scales Card, existing Wage Scales have a three-dot menu that offers the options to View, Delete, or Copy to another company.

Next, to the three-dot menu is an "Edit" button. When it comes to changing Wage Scale rates, there are two approaches consider. The first is utilizing the "Change rate" button to update the rate(s) with a new effective date. This methods creates a historical record of past Wage Scale rates for reference.

The other approach to editing Wage Scale rates is to simply overwrite the existing rate(s) and then clicking "Save".

This will update the rate using the original effective date, and no historical record will be logged. This essentially makes it appear as though the new rate has been in place since the Wage Scale was first created. The right approach to updating Wage Scale rates depends on whether a record of the previous rate needs to be preserved.