The questions to ask about payroll rewards.
A payroll rewards program can be easy to like and hard to judge, because the important detail is in the terms. This guide sets out five areas of questions to ask before you take part, written for employers, workers and advisers. It’s general information, not advice.
1. Pay is pay; points are separate
The first thing to understand is that points don’t replace pay. Wages, superannuation and entitlements are governed by law and by your own arrangements, whatever rewards are offered. Be wary of any description that blurs the two. A good explanation says clearly what you’re paid, what you can earn in points and how the two are recorded separately, so you can always see where each comes from.
- What your pay includes, in writing
- What points are, described separately
- That rewards never stand in for entitlements
- How each is recorded and shown to you
- Who to ask if the two seem confused
2. Who is eligible and for what
Ask who can take part and what payroll activity earns points. The answers might differ for permanent staff, casuals and contractors, and they might change over time. This website sets no rates or rules, so the written terms matter. If a description is vague about eligibility, ask for it to be made specific. Before you begin, you should be able to tell whether you or your people would qualify.
- Which groups are eligible
- What activity earns points
- From what date participation starts
- Whether anything is excluded
- How eligibility questions are resolved
3. How points are confirmed and used
A program should be able to show what’s been earned and explain how to request a reward. Ask how often you’ll be told your points, how mistakes are corrected, what can be requested and how a request is accepted or declined. Ask how the value and use of points are defined, whether any option involves money, and how any conditions are explained in the program terms.
- How and how often points are confirmed
- How errors are corrected
- What rewards can be requested
- How requests are accepted or declined
- Whether any option involves money and on what terms
4. What happens when things change
Work changes: roles move, assignments end, businesses switch providers. Ask what happens to earning, and to points already earned, in each case, and whether points can lapse. Ask how any change to the program itself will be notified and whether you can end your participation. Terms for these situations are agreed directly and aren’t published here, so ask for them in writing before you agree.
- What happens when a role or hours change
- What happens when work ends
- Whether and when points can lapse
- How program changes are notified
- Whether you can stop participating
5. Tax, advice and written terms
Rewards may raise tax questions for employers and for individuals. This website doesn’t provide tax, legal or financial advice, and no tax outcome is claimed. Speak with a qualified professional about your circumstances, and ask YTS to provide the service and rewards terms in writing so your adviser can read them. Treat the written agreement, not marketing text, as the reference you rely on.
- Speak with a qualified tax professional
- Ask for service and rewards terms in writing
- Let your adviser read them before you sign
- Don’t rely on general marketing text
- Keep a copy of what you agreed
Your questions, answered.
Is a rewards program worth having?
That depends on the terms and on what your people value. This guide can’t judge it for you. Use the questions here, read the written terms and consider your adviser’s view before deciding.
What’s the most important thing to get in writing?
Eligibility, how points are earned and confirmed, what can be requested, and what happens when work changes. If those four are clear in the written terms, most other questions become easier to answer.
Are the rewards the same for everyone?
Not necessarily. Eligibility and options are set by the agreed terms for each arrangement. Ask whether different groups are treated differently, and how that’s explained to the people affected.