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Health and Safety
Jul 11, 2024
Keeping you and your staff pain-free at work
Health and Safety often focuses on the more obvious – machinery that’s likely to cause accidents or working conditions with factors that are hard to minimise. But what if your business is primarily office or store based or your employees are out visiting clients? There are health and safety risks here that are often overlooked.
Optimise your office work space
In the office you’re often sitting for large chunks of time, so the health and safety risk is that you’re NOT moving or taking breaks. Long term this can create discomfort, pain and if left untreated - long-term injury to your neck, arm or hand. Here are some things to consider when optimising your work space:
- Incorrect chairs. Whether they’re at the wrong height, old, broken, or sloping, seat position is an easy fix and makes a huge difference. If you’re buying work chairs, check their seating tolerance. You need one that can withstand 6-8 hours of use. And choose one that is able to be adjusted in multiple ways.
- Screen height. Our bodies like to be neutral, not straining to look up, down, or on an angle for eight hours a day. Adjust your screen height so that your eye level is at the top of the toolbar. You can buy screen adjusters or prop your screen up (old telephone books are a favourite).
- Mouse overuse. The mouse is more problematic than the keyboard. By having your hand and finger poised to press the button, the muscles in your forearm are always activated. To avoid tendinitis, move the mouse closer to you and only use it when you need it.
- Posture. Make sure you work with a neutral posture. This means head and shoulders are lined up, and hips, knees and elbows are at 90-degrees.
- Lack of movement. Make sure you and your team are moving regularly, even if it’s just getting up for a cup of tea, chatting with workmates, or going outside for fresh air. Regular movements prevent injury and pain.
- Laptop users. Ideally, you have a laptop stand, separate keyboard, and foot stand to create an optimal sitting position.
If you’re out-and-about/driving, some things to consider are:
- Seat position. Getting this right is really important. Check lumbar support is adequate because if you’re sitting with arms and legs extended, it puts pressure on your nervous system and can cause back problems and sciatica.
- Steering wheel height. Some people get a sore neck after driving because they’ve had their hands on the steering wheel and their neck and arms are rigid.
- Stay neutral to avoid sore lower back and shoulders.
- Fatigue. If you’re slow to respond, have difficulty making decisions quickly, drifting off, or don’t notice you’re speeding (or getting somewhere and not remembering driving there), you need a break. Remember, it’s not the same as being tired, it’s when your brain isn’t processing things as it should be, and without awareness, you could make mistakes on the road.
Hospitality/warehouse/retail
If you’re on your feet a lot at work and walking around, you won’t have too much of an issue. However, it’s the static standing that can cause sore feet, knees, hip and back. Long-term effects can be debilitating, including inflammation to the arch of your foot (Plantar Fasciitis), which can cause so much pain it becomes impossible to stand, and it’s tricky to fix. The chance of discomfort, pain and injury is underestimated in workplaces where people are on their feet a lot, like in a warehouse.
If you stand a lot at work, some tips are:
- Footwear. Make sure everyone has appropriate, well-fitted footwear. Consider orthotics, heel cups, or gel inserts to take off some of the pressure.
- Movement. Make sure staff are moving and walking, not just standing.
- Rubber mats. Anti-pressure mats create a softer surface to stand on, which can make a huge difference. Or offer a seat so they can sit down and take a load off.
Health and Safety isn’t just about avoiding accidents, but about creating a work environment where your employees are prevented from long-term injuries is just as important. It also makes your employees feel valued and that you care about their wellbeing. Even implementing some of this suggestions in stages can have a positive effect in your workplace.
Running payroll can be tedious and is often a thankless task. So if you’re not already using Payroll software, now might be the time to start! Payroll software simplifies payroll to just a few clicks which saves you time, admin and hassle by calculating gross wages, deductions and entitlements for you. Benefits of payroll software Some of the benefits of using payroll software include: 1. Time tracking To accurately calculate wages, employers must be able to record the working hours and any overtime. Payroll software that allows you (or your employees) to record their working hours and overtime means that wage calculations will be accurate. 2. Calculates employee deductions Employers must process payroll deductions, including: KiwiSaver PAYE student loan repayments insurance premiums mandatory deductions, like child support payments. Payroll software can manage all these deductions and calculate the employees’ correct net or “take home” pay. 3. Complies with payroll regulations The IRD requires employers to keep payroll records for every employee and contractor. As an employer, you need to keep comprehensive records of wages, time worked, leave and other details. Payroll software generates and stores these records for you. 4. Provides employees with pay slips and keeps employee data secure. With payroll software you can send your employees their payslips and then also send this information onto the IRD at the same time you run your payroll. The best payroll management systems use state-of-the-art security to protect sensitive employee data. They can run updates for you, automate your account security and remediation activities, and inform you immediately about any suspicious or fraudulent activity they detect. 5. Provides anywhere access The best online payroll management systems provide 24/7 access so that you can manage payroll queries on the go. If you’re not already using a payroll system, it can be a bit of a daunting task to know which payroll software to use and what to look for. When you’re comparing payroll software systems, here are some additional things to consider: 1. Enables employee self-service Some cloud-based payroll systems come with an extra benefit: employee self-service. For instance, employees can submit their bank, tax and KiwiSaver fund details through a secure self-service portal. Employee self-service takes a heap of work off your shoulders and empowers employees to manage their details. 2. Integrates with your existing accounting software Look for payroll management software that can integrate with your existing accounting software as well as any other software you use such as onboarding, rostering, leave requests and time tracking, so you can operate more efficiently, reduce repetitive data entry and prevent errors. 3. Provides analytics and reporting Payroll software drives better decision-making with comprehensive analytics and accurate reporting that you can control and customise. You can access key information online, including leave, personal info, payslips and timesheets, whenever and wherever you want. If you need help deciding on the right payroll software for you, get in touch, we’re happy to help you find one that works for you.
The season of giving is nearly upon us. If you're thinking about giving a gift to your clients, here's a reminder of the tax rules when giving these gifts. When giving gifts to clients, remember that depending on the gift, some will be fully tax deductible while others will be only 50% deductible. The rule of thumb is that if they consist of food or drink, you can only claim 50% of the expense as a tax deduction. If you are giving out gift baskets or hampers and some of the contents are food or drink, but not all, the food or drink items are 50% deductible, but the other gift items are 100% deductible. When you come to claim the tax deduction, you will need to apportion the expense between the 100% deductible items and the 50% deductible items. And you will need to make a GST adjustment for expenses which are 50% deductible. Examples of gifts which are 50% deductible include: · Bottle of wine or six pack of beer · Meal voucher · Basket of gourmet food · Box of chocolates/biscuits · Christmas ham Examples of gifts which are 100% deductible include: · Calendars · Book or gift vouchers · Tickets to a rugby game (but not corporate box entertaining) · Movie tickets · Presents (but not food or drink) If you’re unsure whether a planned gift is 50% or 100% tax deductible, gives us a call and we can advise you.
On average, according to recent research by OnePoll, business owners needs an additional four hours in their working day to complete their admin. If your people are spending 20 hours per week wading through tedious and unproductive admin, that’s bad for the business and for your efficiency. Fortunately, technology and software automation can go a long way towards automating these low-level admin tasks. Better productivity through automation Automation is an important way to ease your business workload, with a host of different business apps and cloud solutions offering ways to automate your admin. With ‘smart business tools’ increasing in number and choice, software is utilising automation algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and cognitive solutions to help remove the mundane admin tasks from your workflows. Core processes that will benefit from automation include: 1. Automated bookkeeping Simply take a photo of your receipts, expenses and invoices and ‘optical character recognition’ (OCR) technology will digitise the output and pull it through to your accounts software. No data entry, no human error and no lost receipts! We can do the rest to ensure your records are accurate. 2. Automated credit control Cha sing up debts and late-paying customers takes time. Automated credit control apps track your debtor numbers and automatically sends out customised chaser emails as soon as an invoice is late. This reduces your credit control time, speeds up cash collection and cuts your aged debtor figure. 3. Automated payment collection The easier it is to pay you, the faster your customers will pay. Automated card payments and cloud-based Direct Debit solutions allow you to automatically take payment from a customer as soon as an invoice is due. Some solutions will even automate the invoice matching and bank reconciliation process. 4. Automated reporting and forecasting The better your reporting and business intelligence, the easier it is to make informed decisions about your company strategy. Accounting platforms and fintech tools now offer automatic, real-time reporting and forecasting, giving you access to the important numbers and metrics, fast. 5. Automated digital marketing Digital marketing is key to raising your brand’s profile. Marketing platforms offer important time-saving ways to create, schedule and post social media content, or email automations to send a pre-programmed cadence of emails to specific target audiences within your wider customer base. Talk to us about how you could use automation in your business If your admin is holding you back, come and talk to us about how automation can pick up some of the heavy lifting as well as giving you the metrics you need for decision making. We can review your business processes and identify the automation opportunities, helping you choose the best apps to drive your business efficiently.
To discuss all your account matters please call us on 09 438 1001
