What’s on the minds of your HR peers? Check out this recent client inquiry.
Q: What are some tips for asking employees (especially exempt/salaried) to provide input on work productivity for the purposes of ERTC calculation?
A: The ERTC is based on the extent of disruption to a company’s workforce, revenue and operations due to COVID-19. Large employers must calculate their ERTC credit based on wages paid for non-productive work time. For 2020, a large employer is any average FTE count over 100; for 2021, that count jumps to 500. Many employers are hesitant about asking employees to help them quantify dips in their own productivity, but as one client recently demonstrated, transparency and communication have broader benefits.
Beyond requesting personal work records, the client developed FAQs to educate employees on the ERTC, outline the possible financial benefit to the company and stress how their input would maximize that benefit. This approach elevated a self-reporting task into helping protect the company’s financial standing.
This is a valuable lesson beyond the ERTC and COVID-19: When you ask your employees to do something or provide certain information, make sure you tell them why you need it, how it benefits the organization and how they are part of the solution.
