Maintaining Pay Related Information in SIMS
The Pay Related area in SIMS is a key part of the SIMS Personnel module that needs to be regularly maintained to make sure that information is kept up-to-date and relevant. There are two key areas in SIMS where Pay Related information needs to be maintained.
The Pay Related area
Accessed via Tools > Staff > Pay Related, this is the area where you set up the definitions of Pay Related lookups such as Service Terms, Pay Scales, Roles, Posts and Allowances. Key activities that should be regularly checked in this areas include:
- Updating the Pay Scales in SIMS when new Pay Scale information is released by your payroll team, normally this is updated each new Financial Year. This needs to be manually updated and won’t happen automatically in SIMS. (How to add new scales, points and pay awards to existing Service Terms – Frequently Asked Questions).
- Maintain Superannuation schemes and National Insurance rates (p. 5-8 of the SIMS – Managing Staff handbook).
- Update the Allowances and Posts within the Service Terms and ensure unused or duplicate Allowances and Posts are deleted (p.15-17)
The Employment Details tab on the Staff Record
Accessed via Focus > Person > Staff, under the ‘Employment Details’ tab, this is where you record details of a staff member’s Employment Dates and their Contract or Service Term. Key activities that should be regularly checked in these areas include:
- Check the status of Staff Contracts and Service Agreements, and close any Contracts or Service Agreements that are no longer active.
- Check all active staff Contracts or Service Terms are accurate and up-to-date in line with the guidance on p.60-77 of the handbook. The pre-defined Personnel reports detailed in p.81-91 of the handbook should help you with checking this data.
If you have any specific queries regarding pay related information for your school please contact your Local Authority/Academy HR team to ensure that the information you are entering is correct.
For more information on how to carry out these key activities, please check the SIMS – Managing Staff handbook.