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BREAK ROSTERING

Breaks

Breaks have become a key compliance issue for businesses Australia-wide. Multi-million dollar law suits have put pressure on businesses to ensure they have rosters with compliant breaks.

Tanda has developed a bespoke breaks feature that is intuitive to use and customisable to meet your business needs.

Sorted in a simple click

Tanda’s one-click break compliance allows you to design a roster with compliant breaks in seconds. Simply select your Award, enable the break rules, and create a schedule automatically populated with the correct breaks. Tanda will make employees record their breaks in the timeclock and store all the details, giving you piece of mind that you’re compliant, everytime.

Getting the details right

Every business has different needs. Change the structure of your breaks to suit your business with Tanda’s automatic breaks feature. If you like to give your employees a bit of leeway, have an agreement which requires modified times, or just prefer to set things up yourself, this feature is for you. Automatic breaks is easy to set up and allows you to account for paid and unpaid breaks. It is compliance with flexibility in mind.

Focused on compliance

In compliance, accuracy matters. Make sure employees take their full break by blocking them from clocking back in until their time has expired.

Advanced configuration

Modify your break configuration to suit your compliance preferences at the touch of a button. 

  • Specify when a break needs to be taken, including before and after certain times. 
  • Get certainty by specifying which break has been taken on the roster. 
  • Block rosters from being published if they don’t have compliant breaks.
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Frequently asked questions

A roster, sometimes called a schedule, is used by workplaces to plan their staffing needs and organise when people work. Rosters can be drawn up on pen and paper or, as is becoming more common, digitally. Tanda’s rostering and scheduling software is specifically designed to run an online rostering system. Our employee scheduling software Australia runs staff rostering software (employee rostering software) that can easily organise your employees. Rosters, in particular running an online rostering system, is important because rosters are the basis for correctly paying your employees. Tanda’s rostering and scheduling software builds compliant schedules using our staff rostering software before exporting them straight to payroll.

Yes, Tanda has a comprehensive suite of features within its staff rostering app. The staff rostering app is sometimes called online rostering software, or a roster schedule app, rostering software programs, or automated rostering software. Tanda’s staff rostering app (online rostering software) can be used on any mobile device to create a roster and instantly communicate with staff.

Tanda’s rostering software programs (online rostering software) can automatically validate every roster made using our online rostering system to check if there are valid qualifications, breaks, and other important compliance requirements. If our online rostering software (staff roster software) detects any issues, it can be configured to provide a warning, or not allow the roster to be published through the staff roster software altogether.

Tanda’s Employee Time Clock App is mainly used to record staff time and attendance, whereas the Tanda employee rostering app is used for managing shifts, communicating with workers and other organisational activities, as well as clocking in and out. For example, an employee might normally clock into work on the Employee Time Clock App, but if they’re sick and can’t make it, they’ll use Tanda’s employee rostering software (staff rostering software) to let their manager know. To summarise, the employee clock in and out app is strictly used to digitally record employee time and attendance on the employee time clock, whereas Tanda’s employee roster app is used for employee scheduling software Australia as staff rostering software and roster software programs.

Yes, Tanda’s employee roster app can automatically roster staff for compliant meal and rest breaks. Our online staff roster contains an automatic breaks feature which allows users to specify what breaks their staff have to take and when. This is based on how long their shifts on the online staff roster are and whether they are paid or unpaid shifts on the employee roster app. Instead of manually adding breaks to each shift on the online staff roster, for each employee, for each week, Tanda will add them automatically to your staff roster app and timesheets.

Building upon automatic breaks, you can also use the online staff roster to specify when a break must be taken in each shift to remain compliant with your award’s specifications. For example, clause 16.2 of the Hospitality Industry General Award specifies that unpaid meal breaks must be taken after the first 2 hours of a shift on the roster schedule app, but within the first 6 hours – both of which are configurable in Tanda’s rostering software programs app.

Our employee rostering software also allows you to name the breaks you’ve configured in the online staff roster (roster schedule app), and allow staff to select which break they’re taking to ensure the correct breaks are being recorded in the online staff roster (roster schedule app). Many hospitality or quick service restaurants distinguish between meal breaks and drinks breaks – apply these names to reduce the risk of staff clocking the wrong break.

At the same time, you can also use our online staff roster (roster schedule app) to set minimum break durations to prevent staff from clocking back into their shifts too early on the online rostering system. Many industry awards specify the minimum length of a break on the staff roster app, and staff clocking back in on the staff roster app even one minute early can lead to non-compliance. Tanda’s employee rostering software solution prevents staff from clocking off their break on our online staff roster until the minimum length has surpassed.

Tanda’s rostering and scheduling software system (employee roster app) allows you to use our online staff roster with ease. You can use the rostering software programs to create shifts from scratch, use templates for specific days or events that match demand, or use Tanda’s predictive rostering features, which builds rosters based on historical data, straight from your point of sale system. Once you have used the staff roster app (employee roster app) to build the initial roster, it’s easy to make changes to suit your business. Shifts in the employee roster app (staff roster app) can be copied and pasted or dragged and dropped to where they need to be.

You can customise employee roster app (staff roster app) shifts by name, title or team for easier use. It’s easier to organise your employee roster app (staff roster app) with Tanda’s visual, heads up view. With Tanda’s online rostering software, you can see exactly who’s working, for how long, and how much it will cost. Once you’ve finished designing your roster on the employee roster app (rostering software programs), you can use Tanda’s employee roster app to send it to staff instantly. Workers will receive a notification on their phone via Tanda’s employee rostering software. Tanda’s staff rostering software is intuitive and simple to use.

Tanda’s rostering and scheduling software / employee scheduling software Australia uses an industry leading award interpreter to analyse staff working hours and pay employees their correct pay and entitlements. Our industry leading award interpretation engine can automate your wage calculations, whether you’re on one of our built-in award templates or have a custom EBA. From here, our employee scheduling software Australia (staff rostering software) exports data from the online rostering software to a payroll provider of your choice, which pays your staff.

The best way for staff to receive their shifts on Tanda’s online staff roster (staff rostering app) is digitally. Staff that are not given their shifts through a rostering schedule program (staff rostering app) and are instead told over the phone, or given their roster on paper have a higher tendency to forget when their shift on the staff roster software is. Using rostering and scheduling software (rostering software programs) like Tanda allows staff to receive their shifts on the roster schedule app on their smartphone, as well as receive notification reminders that they have an upcoming shift. This is an advantage of rostering and scheduling software – it reduces absenteeism and clarifies exactly when shifts are on the staff rostering app (roster schedule app), and allows sudden changes to be communicated instantaneously through the online rostering system. Tanda’s staff rostering system makes sending rosters easy.

How you use employee scheduling software Australia to organise your staff rostering app (roster schedule app) depends on your business needs and the industry you’re in. In some industries, opening times are during typical business hours, and employees will prefer to have their shifts arranged on the roster schedule app (staff roster software) so that they have consistent hours. However, if you’re in an industry where demand is variable, it might not suit to have staff have their shifts arranged on the staff rostering software (employee rostering software) at the same hours all the time. Likewise, if your business operates during unsociable hours, you might not want to have your online rostering software (staff rostering app) arranged with employees constantly working on overnight shifts, preferring to use the staff rostering software within the employee scheduling software Australia to move their shifts around every now and again so employees don’t get burnt out.

All shifts created on rostering software programs (automated rostering software) need to be compliant with Fair Work rules. These staff rostering app shifts vary between different awards and enterprise agreements, although Tanda’s rostering and scheduling software (automated rostering software) can handle these complexities. Typically, restrictions on the roster schedule app include things like a minimum number of hours between two shifts, maximum shift lengths, or how late junior staff can work, all of which are built into our rostering and scheduling software. Some awards also contain other rules for using staff roster software (staff roster app) salaried staff, such as outer limits and maximum penalty hours in a week. Familiarise yourself with these staff roster app rules and check out Tanda’s written article detailing many of these restrictions.

Yes, while Workforce.com handles our clients in many overseas markets, Tanda handles employee scheduling software Australia wide. Our employee scheduling software Australia is built for purpose, including an online rostering system (online rostering system), award interpretation, onboarding, before exporting straight to payroll. Clients looking for online rostering software (online roster system) use Tanda to fulfil their needs. Our employee rostering software and rostering software programs have some of the strongest suite of features in the market. In terms of employee scheduling software Australia, Tanda is a comprehensive option for companies of any size.

It’s crucial that if your staff are paid annualised salaries, they’re paid correctly. Tanda’s online rostering software (automated rostering software / employee rostering software) calculates the hours your salaried staff work. The rostering software programs (employee rostering software) data can be entered into our wage compare tool, which works out if the hours the employee worked in the automated rostering software (online rostering system) exceed the maximum permitted under the award before the employee must be paid more money. This automated rostering software analysis looks at the exact hours the employee works in the employee rostering software (online rostering software), and applies the penalty rates and entitlements, then compares the amount that would be earnt per hour with the weekly amount earnt under the annual salary. The automated rostering software (staff roster software) will warn that a top-up payment is needed if the employee has worked enough hours to no longer be covered by their salary as per the online rostering system. Tanda’s wage compare uses industry leading automated rostering software (staff roster software) and is used by ASX leading companies nationwide. It has been developed by a team with extensive automated rostering software (staff roster software) experience. It fits in seamlessly with Tanda’s staff rostering software and is intuitive to use.

Have a question which hasn’t been answered?

Fair Work is increasingly investigating businesses for failing to give workers compliant breaks, fining several operators tens of thousands of dollars in recent weeks. In one case, a laundry business was fined more than $20,000 after an Ombudsman probe found workers didn’t receive their proper entitlements. Another investigation saw a large business enter into an Enforceable Undertaking with the Commission, as a reward for self reporting the matter.

Previously, legal action over break rostering was largely confined to unions launching class actions aimed at large companies. These class actions aim to recuperate hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of thousands of workers, and are still before the courts. Unions received tip-offs from workers in these companies before starting the claims. However, Fair Work has now widened its investigations to include rostered breaks, putting the broader business community on notice.

Breaks Complexity

Breaks are included in every Modern Award and Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, but can be notoriously complicated to understand and implement into a roster. Firstly, there are many different types of breaks – paid and unpaid, meal breaks, and rest breaks. Each of these have their own different lengths and entitlements, and can vary drastically across different industrial instruments. This makes it easy to confuse which break type applies.

Paid & Unpaid Breaks

These two breaks are pretty self explanatory – it’s just important you follow them to the letter of the law. Giving workers unpaid breaks when they’re entitled to paid breaks will result in pretty big fines.

Rest Breaks

Rest breaks are probably the most common type of break across Australia’s Award system. They are built-in rest breaks for employees that have worked for a certain amount of time. Usually these breaks are a little shorter than meal breaks – often 10 minutes after a few hours work and another break toward the end of a longer shift. The length varies depending on your Award so it’s important to check. Rest breaks are usually paid.

Meal Breaks

Meal breaks are longer than rest breaks and most of the time are not paid. Often sitting right in the middle of a shift, these will go for 30 to 60 minutes and allow an employee to rest and eat a meal. Importantly, if workers need to skip this break because of business operational reasons, they’re entitled to overtime rates for the remainder of their shift, or until the meal break has been taken.

How Do I Roster Breaks Correctly?

Businesses that roster breaks correctly typically spend a large amount of time getting across the complexities of break rules across different awards, and applying it to their rosters to ensure compliance. This often leads to non-compliance, as even small errors can leave businesses on the wrong side of the law. Recently, Tanda updated our software to include automatic breaks. This feature will automatically add the correct break length to shifts under an Award managed by Tanda, and ensure compliant breaks for every shift you roster. It also records breaks taken by employees for easy review should Fair Work launch an audit of your business.

How automatic breaks work

Each automatic break rule takes into consideration:

  1. What is the minimum shift length to receive the break?
  1. How long does the automatic break need to be?
  1. Is the break paid?
  1. Are staff required to clock the break?

When a shift meets the minimum length defined, breaks are automatically added to the shift upon creation. 

If a break is set as unpaid, the break length will be deducted from the total rostered time. 

If a break is set as paid, the total rostered time remains as is.

Automatic break rules and manual breaks are mutually exclusive, so creating a manual break on a roster will disable automatic break rules and remove them from the shift. Deleting the manual break will re-trigger the automatic breaks.

For a full explanation of how this new feature works, read our help guide here.

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