Misery for nurses, midwives
set of nights, the last thing you want to do is wake up and go and chase your pay.’’
When this staff member started working for the DHB, she was told by other employees to always check her pay slips.
‘‘I didn’t bother until I got hit quite hard. When it’s $400-$500 you get a bit stuck.
‘‘Ongoing as an employee it makes you reluctant to pick up extra shifts.’’
The employee blamed the DHB’s payroll system.
Colleagues from other DHBs from around New Zealand did not have these issues because they used more modern systems that allowed staff to quickly check their pay. ‘‘We still get a paper print-out and you tear it open and see your information.’’
In a recent email to staff seen by interim Waikato DHB chief executive Derek Wright warned employees to treat those in payroll with respect if there were issues with underpayments.
A Waikato DHB spokeswoman said they were not aware of any major payroll issues from the last pay round. The spokeswoman said the DHB’s system was complex as it paid 7000 staff on different union agreements, individual employment agreements and work shifts.
‘‘Sometimes mistakes can be made, many of the errors are caused by timesheets not being correct. I’d encourage this person to contact payroll to get this rectified.’’
The DHB had upgraded its payroll system in March 2015 and the board had just approved a new system that was subject to final approval by the Ministry of Health.
‘‘Once introduced it will improve the timesheet payroll interface and bring in employee online self service.
‘‘This will give staff greater visibility in real time of their pay, rather than waiting for paper payslips as they do now,’’ the spokeswoman said.
‘‘It’s very common that we all sit around and double-check our [pay] slips.’’ Waikato District Health Board staff member