XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero
Country Restriction: Australia only
Risk Type: Payroll Risk
Business Function: Payroll
Overview
The "Monthly Employee Leave Balance Warning" XBert highlights when one or more of your active employees has built up a large amount of annual leave. A high leave balance is a growing liability for your business, so spotting it early helps you manage staffing and protect your cash flow.
What it does
Once a month, XBert reviews the annual leave balances of your active employees in your payroll data. It compares each person's accrued annual leave against their normal yearly entitlement to find anyone who has accrued more than 80% of that entitlement.
If at least one employee crosses that level, XBert raises a single monthly warning so you can review the balances and act.
How it works
XBert looks at each active employee's annual leave and compares the accrued balance to their normal annual leave entitlement. The warning is raised when an employee's accrued annual leave is more than 80% of their yearly entitlement.
To keep the warning accurate and avoid false alarms, XBert deliberately ignores:
Employees who have been terminated, even if their record is still marked as active.
Leave types that are not standard annual leave (for example, annual leave loading, unpaid annual leave or other accruals).
Leave types with no proper yearly entitlement set up yet, so a missing or zero entitlement cannot trigger a false warning.
When one or more employees meet the 80% level, XBert raises one warning for the business for that month, rather than a separate alert for every employee.
Example/Use Case
Joan has worked at Jim's Appliance Store for several years. With flexible hours and very few holidays taken, her accrued annual leave has grown to around nine weeks, well above 80% of her yearly entitlement.
XBert raises the Monthly Employee Leave Balance Warning, prompting Jim to review his team's balances. He notices Joan's leave is high and arranges for her to take a planned two-week break and to cash out a portion of the remainder by agreement. When Joan later retires, Jim no longer faces a large, unexpected leave payout on top of hiring and training a replacement, easing the pressure on the store's cash flow.
Accounting software
Xero.
Which countries it supports
Australia only.
Processes
This XBert is part of the Payroll business area.
To manage and reduce the risk:
Review the flagged employees' annual leave balances against their entitlements.
Encourage employees with high balances to plan and take leave.
In line with the relevant award or agreement, you may direct staff to take leave or negotiate a cash-out of excess leave by mutual agreement.
Ensure employees keep the minimum leave they are entitled to under their award or agreement.
Once the balances have been reviewed and managed, mark the XBert as resolved.