By Ayman Adly/Staff Reporter
Employees of different companies who handle salary payments should provide the necessary details properly in order to ensure the smooth transfer of salaries to bank accounts in line with the Wage Protection System (WPS) requirements.
This was stressed at a training seminar conducted by the Labour Inspection Department (LID) at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) yesterday.
The seminar was held for the benefit of officers in charge of salary payments in various companies, informing them about key aspects of the WPS.
The system, being implemented since November, makes it mandatory for companies to pay their employees only through their bank accounts. This is aimed at ensuring that all workers are paid on time and in accordance with the amount agreed upon in the employment contract, among other benefits.
The LID trainers explained to the seminar attendees how to use the MoLSA website to properly prepare the Salary Information File in order to save time and effort by avoiding any errors that may result in the rejection of a file and delay the process of salary transfer to a bank.
The trainers stressed that all fields in the document should be filled as required, including the number of days worked, basic salary as stated in the original approved employment contract or a higher amount (not lower) as well as deductions, the total amount to be paid and any related notes and comments.
For the process to be conducted successfully, payroll officers have to follow certain rules and formats as specified on the MoLSA website and send the file accordingly. The entire process is conducted electronically.
Besides the payment of salaries on time, workers also stand to benefit from the safe transfer of wages to their accounts, which they can withdraw from ATMs. This minimises the chances of theft or loss.
The trainers also stressed that the WPS enables the LID to verify any claims or complaints by workers regarding payment issues and accordingly minimise chances for dispute between them and employers.
The entire process is audited by the LID and checked against the approved copies of workers’ employment contracts.
Further, the trainers told the companies’ representatives to be reasonable and moderate when making due deductions from the salaries of employees based on valid reasons. It should be done in such a manner that the deductible amount is at the lowest possible level in a month.
During the seminar, the attendees got an opportunity to have their queries and concerns answered on several technical issues regarding the system.