Someone asked me in an interview that being a HR Payroll Officer , you have 50 employees in your company who have stopped their work. They are demanding salary increase then they will start their work. They are not listening anything. they have only final demand to increase in your salary. So what would be your action being a HR payroll Officer.... I replied to interviewer but my answer was not satisfactory.
Kindly answer this such complicated question.
Advance thanks to all!

From Pakistan, Lahore
KK!HR
1534

Your first reaction needs to be on assessing the reasonability of the demand by way impact of the demanded rise in salary, affordability of the demand by the organisation, whether your wages are as per statutory notification, the prevailing wages in the industry cum regional basis, so also the strength and weakness of the employees for a long drawn strife, options of the employer etc before starting negotiations with the strikers and keeping ready your best offer in the circumstances
From India, Mumbai
nathrao
3131

HR is only recommending agency to increase pay.
In case you get such a threat/demand from employees as HR, your first duty is to report it to higher management.
While talking to the employees be courteous and respectful and do not commit yourself to granting increase of pay.
What pay they are drawing, the running pay scale, effect of increase on the whole company etc can be tabulated and put up to decision making authorities.

From India, Pune
You have not informed as to what was your reply.However,KKHR has given you useful input. Iam just elaborating it.In wage settlements, you need to do some home work before sitting at the negotiation table.
1) You cannot anyhow pay less than what is provided by the Minimum Wages Act for same class of employees.Check this first.
2) Find out what is the industry norm- compare wages paid by same or similar industries for same or similar class of employees in the region in which your industry is located.
3) Compare monitory rewards like incentives and bonuses paid by you and other industries which may not form part of salary but form part of CTC. this gives you a leverage in bargaining.
4)Compare non-monitory welfare schemes provided by you and by other industries like free health camps etc. to use it as a bargaining weapon.
5) Paying capacity of the employer-how much increase can be born by the balance sheet.
6) Bargain for more productivity vis-a-vis slary hike.
B.Saikumar
HR & Labour relations Advisor
navi Mumbai

From India, Mumbai
Dear Mr.Ali Asgher,
At times, in an interview for any professional position in an organization, only the interviewer knows what the answer would satisfy him because his intention might be to assess whether the candidate has the correct understanding of his role-play and as such whether he would be able to confine himself within his limits in a given situation which otherwise demands the co-ordination of other departments. Therefore, it would have been better had you narrated your answer for the question as you told then. Now, we, the respondents, are in a fix and to indulge in some sort of educated guess only.
Since I have no knowledge about the Law relating to Industrial Relations in Pakistan, my answer is confined to the contract of employment between the employer and employee and the primary role of a Payroll Officer or Payroll Administrator in the HR Domain of an industrial organization.
Stopping work suddenly in a concerted manner under the pretext of demanding hike in salary on the part of employees/workmen is a flagrant violation of the contract of employment and would enable the employer to deny wages/salary for the entire period of stoppage of work on the basis of the principle of " No work - No wages " apart from taking any disciplinary action as per the service regulations.
Payroll management is a portfolio under the HR Department of an organization. As such a Payroll Officer's primary responsibility is calculation and distribution of pay roll of employees periodically based on the inputs furnished by the Line or other Staff departments. Certainly, the Payroll Officer is not responsible for determining or setting salary levels of the employees. Therefore, in such a strike or stoppage of work by employees, the Payroll Officer has to ensure no wages/salary for such days of no work in the wage period based on the inputs passed on to him. If he is also charged with the IR responsibility, he should first resolve the stalemate and restore normalcy.

From India, Salem
Dear Seniors,
I have faced this type of issues during payroll process. Management is not ready to provide increment. In that situation workers are not working properly. Management is not ready to loss those worker also. In the above case what can be done to solve this issue and make those workers to work with full co-operation.
Please guide me.
Thanks.

From India, Chennai
KK!HR
1534

I agree, it becomes a difficult situation to handle, as the threat of adverse action can only worsen the situation. Here comes the need for sound Indl. Relns. Your skill would lie in making the employees to empathise with the company on why the demanded increase/increment cannot be agreed. Facts and figures could only help to an extent. Some sort of emotional appeal is needed. The key would lie in individually taking into confidence the opinion leaders among the group of workmen and using personal influence. Important factor is the credibility of your management, if the trust and confidence in management is high the task becomes easier otherwise the situation becomes very complex and prolonged crisis would be the result.
From India, Mumbai
Hi Dear,
As a HR you have to act based on incident.
1) are you paying minimum wages? if it is not paying,you have to motivate your management clear the issue.
2) If you paying minimum wages ? they have to give notice before strike other wise you can take legal action against them.

From India, Bangalore
Dear Seniors,
yes sir, we are paying minimum wages. Lot of times we have approached management to increase wages limit. but management is not ready to increase wages. how come i can able to solve this issue as Asst HR. Please guide me.
Thanks.

From India, Chennai
nathrao
3131

""Lot of times we have approached management to increase wages limit. but management is not ready to increase wages. how come i can able to solve this issue as Asst HR. ""
It is beyond the scope of HR to sort out this type of issue.
Pay scales are determined by the company at higher level,based on several inputs.
HR can recommend and adminster payscales but cannot force management to increase pay.

From India, Pune
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