Employment Solicitors

Employment solicitors can be of greathelp in employment related issues, such as:

  • Employer-employee conflict

  • Recruitment policy formulation

Employmentlawcovers all areas of an employer-employee relationship,with the exception of the negotiation process mentioned in the labourlaw. Therefore, employment lawyers can assist both the opposingparties in conflicts relating to:

  • Employee discrimination

  • Unfair termination of employment

  • Workers compensation

  • Harassment

  • Wages and work condition claims

  • Redundancy

  • Workplace injury

EmploymentSolicitors: Services Offered

The following are some essentialservices performed by good employment solicitors before providingemployment law advice:

Check the employmentpractices of the organization The solicitor willfirst look through the personnel records and review the recruitmentprocedure. S/he will then weed out weaknesses, if any, and suggestways of resolving problem areas.

Offer regular meetings Regular employment meetings are a part of the employment lawadvisory scheme offered by law firms. Solicitors will meet the HRdepartment, managerial team and other important members of theorganization on a regular basis. The purpose behind the meetings isto judge the terms of employment, disciplinary procedures,absenteeism, equal opportunities and similar employment requisites.

Provide an employmentmanual An employment manual is a source of referencefor maintaining good employment practices. The manual should includeinformation on fair recruitment procedures, guidelines on draftingemployment contracts and aspects of effective HR practices.

Provide a risk managementreport Employment solicitors will provide acomprehensive risk management report, after reviewing your companyscurrent policies, practices and adherence to legislation. This reportshould include plans for improvement that would reduce the risk ofdisputes between the organizational head/s and staff members.

Provide insurance cover An insurance cover proves useful in case an employee files a caseagainst your company. It will cover the legal expenses of defendingemployment disputes up to a limit of 100,000 per claim. Sometimesit also covers compensation awards and out-of-court settlements.

While looking for employmentsolicitors, ensure that you receive employment advice that is worththe money you spend. You must look for reasonably priced lawyers,rather than looking for the cheapest option. Lower rates might entailinexperienced solicitors who would lack the practical knowledge andabilities of an experienced lawyer.

For employment solicitors who providecomprehensive and accurate advice on employment-related issues atreasonable rates, visit www.rosendorff.com.au.Rosendorff Lawyers have some of the best solicitors in the nation.

Employee Embezzlement: Detect And Deter

Employee Embezzlement: Detect and Deter

by

i-Sight Software

Kickbacks, payroll fraud, false reimbursement claims and the use of company credit cards and accounts for personal expenses are all issues of employee embezzlement. Employers are faced with these issues on an all-too-frequent basis. As employees try to become more creative with their embezzlement schemes, employers can fight back and put up internal “road blocks” to help deter employees from getting their hands on money that isn’t theirs.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr5CSdO6KMA[/youtube]

One of the harshest realities regarding employee embezzlement is that it’s usually conducted by employees who have gained significant levels of trust from their superiors. Embezzlers usually begin by taking small sums of money, and if they realize they have yet to be caught, can continue taking money for many years, equating to significant losses to your company. Signs of Embezzlement There are many different signs that signal the presence of embezzlement. Sometimes it’s can even be company policies and the roles and responsibilities outlined in employee job descriptions that make it easier for embezzlement to take place. According to the article ‘Embezzlement: Everything You Need to Know ‘ by Stephen Linker, organizational conditions that create an open door for embezzlement to occur include the inadequate segregation of duties, lack of employee training and understanding regarding company policies and the consequences for violating them, high turnover rates, failure to consistently enforce standards and policies or punish violators and operating in an environment that frequently acts in ‘crisis’ mode. Aside from the organizational conditions that increase the opportunity for embezzlement, you can also observe changes in employee habits and discrepancies in financial reporting and accounting statements to identify embezzlement. In the FindLaw.com article “Embezzlement Warning Signs”, they state that other key signs that point to the occurrence of embezzlement within the workplace include: – Untimely and unorganized financial statements and reports. – Unbalanced accounts, altered check amounts and the occurrence of duplicate payments. – Creation and payments made into false accounts that have matching addresses to that of an employee. – Unexplained losses of company funds. – Missing documents related to account, payments, etc. – Unexplained or unauthorized charges to company accounts. – An employee refuses to take vacation, works long hours. – Alterations in an employee’s lifestyle- high medical bills, divorce, gambling problems, living beyond means for salary level, etc. – Bank deposits delayed or made on an inconsistent schedule. Embezzlement Prevention There are a number of measures that employers can take to reduce the number of opportunities within the workplace that allow embezzlement to occur- the chance that you can prevent embezzlement altogether is a bit of a stretch. 1. The separation of duties and task rotation are some of the best measures an employer can use to reduce the opportunity for employee embezzlement. When rotating tasks, if an employee is guilty of embezzlement, chances are, they will protest and try to remain in control of any process that involves access to or the handling of money, so that another employee cannot uncover their scheme. 2. When creating job descriptions, outlining employee responsibilities, company codes of conduct and ethics, as well as any other workplace policies, conduct a risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities that may expose the company to embezzlement. Also identify pressures or tasks that could motivate an employee to turn to embezzlement, money handling procedures that do not require enough checks throughout the process, compliance with legal guidelines and any other weaknesses that increase the risk of embezzlement. 3. Another way to help detect and prevent embezzlement is through the use of internal reporting systems. Internal reporting systems allow employees to report any issues of observed misconduct or awareness of financial fraud that is occurring within the organization. Sarbanes-Oxley requires financial firms to have an anonymous reporting system in place, making employees more comfortable when reporting misconduct, since their name isn’t attached to the allegations. Internal hotlines and reporting systems are the number one tool for identifying misconduct within the workplace, as it is usually an employee’s peers who are aware of any forms of misconduct before they make their way up to top level executives to deal with. Solutions such as i-Sight Investigation Software make it easy for new cases to be documented and reported through a variety of intake channels. i-Sight is a customizable solution, designed to meet the unique needs of each individual company and has built in rules to maintain compliance with legal regulations throughout the investigation process. i-Sight uses alerts and centralized case information, making it easier to manage the investigation process from the time a new misconduct tip is received, through to the reporting stages and conclusion of the investigation. The article “Embezzlement Prevention and Detection” by Vincent Ruocco, LLC, CPA, advises management to conduct the following three steps when establishing policies to make embezzlement difficult for employees to conduct: – Adopt a policy of mandatory vacations and mandatory duty rotations. It is not uncommon for the embezzler to interfere with the customary workflow to effect the embezzlement. However, if your policies require the embezzler to give up control of his/her work, he/she will recognize that the fraudulent scheme might be more easily detected, and thus be detoured from committing the illegal act. – Don’t hire thieves. This means that if you intend to place an individual in a position of trust, you should conduct a background check. The typical background check involves employment and education verifications, reference checks, criminal conviction checks, drug screenings and a credit check. You may need the candidate’s consent prior to conducting some components of your background check, so you should seek the advice of a qualified attorney. – Conduct periodic surprise internal audits. These are most effective after identifying high risk areas and designing procedures to achieve the desired objectives. It is not uncommon for management to engage a qualified CPA to help them plan the audits and perform the procedures. It is important to note that simply knowing that the organization has a policy of conducting surprise internal audits can act as a deterrent to the would-be embezzler.

http://www.artcpas.com/Embezzlement%20Prevention%20and%20Detection.htm

http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/business-operations/accounting/accounting-embezzlement-signs.html http://www.envoynews.com/rwcpas/e_article000990340.cfm

Article Source:

Employee Embezzlement: Detect and Deter

Importance Of Hrms Advanced Security Features

Today as automation has taken over almost every department of business operations, the HR department is not far behind. The new age advanced HRMS software available in the market today are designed to automate every HR task to save the time and efforts of the HR personnel and at the same time, boost efficiency and productivity of HR department. Digital HRMS, Pocket HRMS, Keka and Beehive HRMS are good examples. Having said that, HRMS is perhaps the most data intensive software in organisations today. In such a scenario, it becomes extremely important for organisations to ensure optimum protection of data from breaches, external threats and vulnerabilities of all sorts. HRMS advanced security features are thus, extremely essential for ensuring protection of employee data within the organisation.

There are several threats to human resource data in today’s world. To begin with, more and more HRMS software are now hosted on the Cloud, to make way for applications and on-the-go access. The rise in the popularity of enterprise mobility has taken things a step further, as now employees access HRMS software on the mobile devices of all kinds, including smartphones, tablets and laptops. Even as more and more employees access HRMS software on their very own devices, there is the risk of malware and other threats creeping into the application. After all, the more number of devices on the network, the higher the chances of threats creeping in. This is the reason enterprise mobility has resulted in stricter security measures in enterprises across the globe.

The fact that not many people are aware of the consequences of compromise in data security, means the stakes are high. Surprisingly, a significant amount of data breaches happening in organisations across the globe, are directly or indirectly a result of employee activity. This calls for the need for an initiative to raise awareness about information security in organisations today. Also, controlled access and role based access to information is a good measure to prevent misuse of sensitive information.

Talking about HRMS advanced security features, here is a quick look at what can be expected from the new age HR software that the organisations are investing in today.

Key Features of New Age HRMS Software

  • Encryption of user data
  • GDPR Compliance
  • SSL certification
  • Physical data security
  • Role based access to data
  • Measures against unauthorised access
  • Controlled access
  • Internal security controls
  • Strict password policy
  • Data purging policy
  • IP based access restrictions
  • Antivirus and firewall

As cybercrimes continue to rise, there is an ever increasing need to step up when it comes to information security in organisations. As data is being gathered from different sources, there is a very high possibility of threats and malware linked to this data, being transferred into the system of the organisation. This can prove to be highly damaging and the consequences can be disastrous.

Hence, it’s high time the enterprises woke up to the seriousness of the situation. There is the urgent need to take concrete steps for complete security of HR and employee information. Advanced HRMS security features are a must-have if organisations want complete protection of information that they have stored and maintained in the database.

The good news is that the new age HRMS software that one finds in the market today, have these HRMS advanced security features built in, so all that the enterprises need to do is get one such software and use it to the maximum potential.

Georgia Workers’ Compensation Benefits Can I Settle My Claim For A Lump Sum Cash Payment?

Submitted by: Aaron Walter

This article is made available for educational purposes only, to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. This should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

Often, injured workers choose to settle their cases with their employer’s insurance company in return for one-time cash payments (although for large sums of money some insurers favor paying out a portion of any settlement over a period of years).

These settlements often take into consideration:

Unpaid total temporary disability or partial disability benefits (TTD or TPD)

Temporary Total or Temporary Partial Disability benefits likely to be owed in the future

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxk1Z9YT5Y8[/youtube]

Future medical expenses

Permanent disability benefits owed or likely to be owed

Any penalties for late payment of benefits

And in some circumstances, attorneys fees

Whether you SHOULD settle your claim depends on what you are offered, what you would otherwise be entitled to if you did not settle, and whether the settlement reasonably meets your needs.

Why would I ever want to settle my workers’ compensation claim?

While you are technically entitled to lifetime medical treatment, on-time disability checks (TTD or TPD), and then checks for any Permanent injuries (PPD), things do not always go so smoothly. Your employer’s insurance company is a business. It is in their financial interests to limit both cash payments to you as well as the overall cost of your medical care. Often this leads to resistance or delays in receiving cash benefits, in changing doctors, authorizing physician referrals, and in getting medical procedures approved. Also, if your employer has not accepted your claim and has paid you no benefits they may feel they have a defense to paying you benefits. By settling a claim an insurer would waive this potential defense to your claim. In another example, if you are entitled to Social Security benefits, Social Security might be able to take credit against the value of your workers’ compensation benefits. Settling your claim may allow you to get the most benefit from both.

Insurance companies often favor settlements over keeping your claim open for months or years. If they settle at a set amount, they can more accurately pass this expense onto their customers (employers) who purchase insurance from them. Major considerations regarding settling your claim for a lump sum payment include your ability to get another job, your eligibility for Social Security benefits, and your eligibility for Medicare or group insurance at another job or through your spouse.

If you have injuries that will require future medical treatment it is highly unlikely that any settlement will provide you will the ability to pay for any significant medical treatments on your own. You might be able to pay for doctor’s appointments, prescriptions, or physical therapy, but it is unlikely you could pay out of pocket for any surgery as expensive as hospital stays can be. You need to take that into account and only settle your claim if you have no immediate surgeries planned and have some idea of how your future medical bills could be paid.

About the Author: Aaron Walter is an attorney in Marietta, Georgia. He specializes in

Georgia Workers Compensation Law

and cases involving injured Iraq contractors under the

Defense Base Act

. Mr. Walter is an author of The Defense Base Act Blog. View his firm’s website at http://www.chestnutlegal.com

Source:

isnare.com

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