Reference no: EM133151632

SITXHRM002 Roster Staff

Assessment task: Knowledge Test

1. Tick the true statements relating to award conditions:

1. In Australia there is one federal award which is relevant to every individual workplace.
2. Awards are set by national and state governments and cover a wide variety of industries, including the many sections of the industry.
3. The Fair Work website provides the essential information relating to awards, leave and other staff entitlements and requirements to be considered when rostering staff.
4. The awards cover many of the conditions of employment including WHS matters.
5. In terms of rostering the most important aspects are the pay rates and the rules governing how many hours can be worked.
6. Penalty rates apply when a worker works more than the specified full-time hours per week, on weekends, after regular work hours, after midnight and on public holidays.
7. Penalty rates can have a direct effect on the profitability of a business.
8. On public holidays, if the level of staffing remains the same as on regular work days, the staff costs can increase by 50%.

2. Tick the correct answers

Effective from 1st January 2010, all Australian employees (except casual workers) are entitled to the following minimum conditions, referred to as the 10 National Employment Standards:

1. A maximum standard working week of 38 hours for full-time employees, plus ‘reasonable' additional hours.
2. A right to request flexible working arrangements.
3. Parental and adoption leave of 12 months (unpaid), with a right to request an additional 12 months.
4. 2 weeks paid annual leave each year (pro rata).
5. Ten days paid personal/carer's leave each year (pro rata), two days paid compassionate leave for each permissible occasion, and two days unpaid carer's leave for each permissible occasion.
6. Community service leave for jury service or activities dealing with certain emergencies or natural disasters. This leave is unpaid except for jury service.
7. Long service leave.
8. A right to 12 months fully paid parental leave after 12 months of service
9. Notice of termination and redundancy pay.
10. The right for new employees to receive the Fair Work Information Statement.

3. Multiple True or False

The following key aspects, set out by the Australian Government Workplace Ombudsman, must be considered for rostering staff in the hospitality industry:

1. Changes to rosters made less than 7 days before the shift require the worker's agreement.
2. An employee working 5 hours or more is entitled to a paid break of at least 30 minutes.
3. All shifts must be a minimum of 6 hours and a maximum of 11.5 hours, excluding meal breaks.
4. Employees must be paid for the minimum shift, even if they actually work fewer hours.
5. An employer must not deduct any sum from the wages or income of an employee in respect of breakages or cashiering underings except in the case of wilful misconduct.
6. Pay rates may be pegged to the staff member's age and qualifications.

4. Match

Match the type of labour cost to the correct description:

Direct labour costs
are labour costs of people not directly involved in production, e.g. cleaning staff and admin staff

Indirect labour costs
are labour costs involved in producing a good or service, e.g. chef or tour guide

5. Multiple True or False

Which of the following aspects relating to staff availability must be considered when developing a staff roster?

1. When rostering a combination of full-time, part-time and casual staff you will need to take into consideration people's preferred availability and required time off.
2. Part-time and casual staff legally must work whenever the business wants.
3. You will need to consult with your staff as to their work preferences and outside commitments that may prevent them from working at certain times.
4. Some workers such as those with young children may have family issues that affect when they can work and this must be considered when creating a roster.
5. The dynamics of the whole work team does not need to be considered when rostering staff.
6. While you may be very direct in enforcing your anti-discrimination policies, there could still be particular staff members who have a problem working with other staff on cultural grounds.
In the interests of a happy and efficient workplace, you will need to try to avoid any potential disputes or clashes.

6. Multiple True or False

Indicate whether the following aspects relating to religious requirements for staff are true or false:

1. Religious considerations can have a large impact on rostering, particularly on weekends.
2. Some people strictly observe the Sabbath Day, which prevents them from working.
3. Muslim people in particular are concerned with the Sabbath.
4. Jewish and Muslim workers in the kitchen may have objections to handling certain food items, particularly pork products.
5. Where there are issues relating to particular religious requirements, arrangements must be made to accommodate these preferences.
6. Strict Muslims are expected to pray throughout the day. Rostering them for night shifts instead is the most effective way of handling this requirement.

7. Tick the correct answers

Which of the following are examples of organisational policies which impact on rostering practices?

1. Large businesses sometimes have childcare facilities for employees with young children and allow greater flexibility in rostering, by providing care for the children for the entirety of the rostered shift.
2. Some businesses may have guidelines with regard to the skill levels present during any particular shift.
3. There may be a required ratio of staff to supervisors to ensure adequate supervision and delivery of service.
4. Strategies for rostering only senior staff over public holidays and other unusual events are commonly used.
5. Flexible start and finish times and flexible break times for lunch help to assist mothers with children at school as they may be able to work whilst other workers are on break.

8. Multiple True or False

How can productivity standards be useful when constructing a staff roster?

1. To assist in determining the minimum numbers of staff, productivity standards can used.
2. Productivity standards can be determined from a manager's expectations of desired profit ratios.
3. Productivity standards can be used to calculate how many staff members are needed, depending on the anticipated volume of business or the amount of work to be done.
4. If a restaurant had 160 bookings and each staff member could serve 20 customers on average, then you would need to roster 8 staff for that service period.
5. Staff shortages create service problems and increased levels of customer complaints.
6. Excessive staff levels create higher guest satisfaction levels and reduced staff hours for the business.

9. Match

When constructing a roster, staff levels must pass the "3E" test. Match the factor to the correct description:

Efficient to keep wage costs within or below budget
Economic to deliver the desired outcomes
Effective adequate staff to provide customers with quality service

10. Tick the correct answers

How staff skill levels affect how a roster is constructed?

1. The level of skill or proficiency of each staff member will affect how you construct your roster.
2. Rostering more unskilled staff has the advantage that a business can provide higher levels of service.
3. Because it is widely known that skilled staff are often hard to come by in the TH&E Industry, there is no effect on your rostering.
4. Rather than having 2 highly skilled staff members who earn more than $20 per hour, you may need to roster 3 less skilled staff members at $15 per hour, in order to make up the shortfall.
5. Skilled staff cost more individually, but there is an overall saving over the course of the shift due to their greater ability.
6. Rosters should reflect the customers, e.g. a hotel with many international guests checking in should have multilingual staff rostered for that period.
7.

11. Multiple True or False

When developing rosters in the TH&E industry the following aspects relating to cultural diversity should be considered:

1. In customer service areas in the TH&E industry, cultural diversity has very real benefits as there is often a need for service staff who speak many languages.
2. When your business deals with many customers from a particular cultural background, it is often reassuring for those customers to deal with someone who speaks their language and understands their cultural nuances.
3. In customer service areas with a high number international clientele, only culturally diverse staff should be rostered during peak periods.
4. Managers should try to ensure that appropriate staff are rostered on to maximise the comfort of customers.
5. It is a good idea to try and reflect the diversity in society in the diversity of your workplace.
6.

12. Tick the correct answers

The volume of business in the TH&E industry varies and can change quickly. The following aspects need to be considered to ensure adequate staff skill levels:

1. During busy periods when you roster higher numbers of staff, it is very unlikely that the skills on hand will cover all requirements.
2. During a quiet period, you will need to make sure that the few people rostered on have the skills to cover all the requirements.
3. If a staff member has to work alone then you should ensure that the staff member has at least basic skills and training for the core activities.
4. You may find it useful during quiet periods to combine the duties of staff members.
5. Combining duties may involve giving them responsibility for a larger physical area, or giving them more than the usual number of duties.
6. Events which require extra staff have no effect on rostering for a given roster period as you can simply pay overtime to staff regardless of how many total hours they work.

13. Match

Match the type of roster used in the TH&E industry to the correct description:

Shift Rosters Kitchens often employ a split-shift system, whereby workers will work 2 separate periods with a long break in between. Split-shifts are useful for reducing wage costs but are usually unpopular with staff.
Staggered Rosters These are used in situations where there is a fairly constant workload, often with shift lengths of around 8 hours. Shifts can be arranged so that there is no overlap.
Split-Shift Rosters These are used when there is a variance in the amount of work or volume of business, such as in a restaurant.

14. Match

Match the type of roster used for various operational situations to the correct description:
Full-time Rosters Are often used to cycle staff through the various duties of the workplace. For example, a hotel with three different restaurants may rotate the wait staff through the different restaurants.
Part-time and Casual Rosters These are used to ensure that all staff have equal opportunities of working the desirable and undesirable shifts. In businesses that are open 24 hours per day, a cyclic roster might last for a 4 week period, with each 24 hour period divided into 3 or 4 shifts.

Duty Rosters When businesses are open 7 days per week, the full-time staff need to be rostered over all 7 days. Awards state rules about how many consecutive days can be worked and maximum numbers of hours per week.

Cyclic Rosters Rostering of these workers can be used to complement the rostering of full-time staff, especially in periods of high business volume such as special events and during high season.

15. Tick the correct answers

Which of the following aspects need to be considered when determining the best roster?

1. Operational procedures and policies
2. Opening and operational hours
3. Opportunities for overtime
4. Ratio of full-time to casual staff
5. Skill levels and numbers
6. Staff availabilities
7. Awards
8. Staff preferences according to rank
9. Business volume fluctuations

16. Match

Match the type of roster to the relevant examples for rostering applications:

Shift rosters in the restaurant

Staggered rosters in the kitchen
Split-shift rosters for housekeeping, grounds staff, security, trainees
Duty rosters for reception and security

Cyclic rosters for front office and administration staff

17. Tick the correct answers

What are the benefits of using computerised rostering systems? Which aspects should be considered when choosing a rostering system?

1. Computerised systems make it easier to factor in all of the award requirements and limitations.
2. Computerised systems have the capacity to flag possible problems and also to redo and fix mistakes.
3. A computerised system can be programmed to choose staff preferences over award requirements in order to make a popular roster.
4. The rostering system chosen should meet the organisational requirements, based on the size and type of the business as well as the different needs of the various departments.
5. A rostering system must be flexible enough to allow a variety of roster types to be developed and reliable enough to provide control and accountability.
6. A computerised system will ensure full compliance with all award requirements is maintained at all times.

18. Multiple True or False

There are many simple user-friendly pieces of software specifically designed for developing rosters. Some of the available system features include:

1. Many systems link into existing payroll systems or have add-ons that streamline the budgeting, record keeping and payroll processes.
2. Some systems can import directly into MYOB, Xero or other accounting software in order to reduce the administration time and costs of the business.
3. Systems linked to accounting software can calculate all entitlements, taxes due and automatically correspond with nominated superannuation providers and the Taxation department.
4. With systems linked to accounting software you can manage the amount of overtime being done, calculate contractor hours and budgets and keep an eye on associated staff on-costs.
5. Many computerised applications allow you to schedule leave, evenly allocate workload across casual and shift workers and plan staffing needs for high demand and low demand periods accordingly.
6. Some systems are linked to electronic clocking systems such as swipe cards.
7. Many different reports can be created to help you analyse staff costs and these can then be compared to historical reports and help identify trends or problem areas.

19. Multiple True or False

There is a range of communication skills that can be used to inform staff of rosters. Indicate whether the following examples are true or false:

1. Communicating a roster to staff can be in the form of hand-written rosters on a piece of paper which may be copied and handed out or put on a noticeboard.
2. A spreadsheet file should be printed and posted by mail to each staff member.
3. A spreadsheet file can be emailed to staff, posted online or on the company intranet site.
4. With mobile phones being common, some casual staff may just ring voicemail for their shift details.
5. Casual staff may receive their roster details via SMS.
6. Rostering software may allow you to distribute individual rosters by electronic forms - email, through a calendar such as Outlook, SMS, etc.

20. Tick the correct answers

Indicate which of the following processes need to be established to ensure that all staff understand the work-related requirements:

1. Days and times of attendance at work
2. Rostered breaks, duration and frequency
3. Mechanisms for recording extra hours worked
4. Processes to obtain a wage rise
5. Leave application processes
6. Process in case of incidents such as sickness
7. Bonus calculation scheme
8. Process for any grievances

21. Multiple True or False

The following procedures can be used to effectively monitor and approve shift documents in a workplace:

1. In many situations there will be documentation associated with a worker's shift that will need to be analysed and approved or followed up on.
2. Electronic swipe cards that link directly into the rostering and payroll system and will need to be monitored to ensure staff are using their own card correctly.
3. Where staff use time sheets, these need to be reconciled and verified against the scheduled hours on the roster.
4. If a staff member has claimed more hours than were allocated then they should only be paid for the minimum shift length until a formal investigation by Fair Work Australia is completed.
5. In many situations the supervisor or manager in the department has to sign off on timesheets before the Finance department will process them.
6. Contractors and casual staff who are paid based on time worked do not need to be verified as the hours are set in advance.

22. Tick the correct answers

What are the requirements for maintaining staff records of time and wages?

1. Maintenance of staff records is a requirement under Federal and State Laws.
2. Employers are required to keep accurate and complete records of time and wages and to issue pay slips to each employee.
3. Records must be laid out so that a government inspector can review the information and determine if the employee is being paid the correct amount.
4. Employees and former employees do not have the right to access employer copies of their own records.
5. Employers must keep copies of all staff records for at least 7 years, under law.
6. Records must be written in plain English and may be stored on computer, provided the records can be printed on request.
7. The Fair Work Act 2009 specifies the details for information to be kept.

23. Tick the correct answers

Which of the following details must be included in a pay slip?

1. Employer name
2. Employee name
3. Date of payment
4. Payment period
5. Gross and net payment amount
6. Accrued holidays
7. Loadings, allowances, bonuses, incentive-based payments, penalty rates
8. For workers paid on an hourly rate, the rate, number of hours and total amount paid
9. Accrued long service leave
10. Rate of payment on the last day of the pay period for workers on salary
11. Superannuation fund details and amounts paid

24. Multiple True or False

When evaluating rosters for their effectiveness the following aspects need to be considered:

1. Consultation with staff should be part of an effective evaluation of the roster's effectiveness.
2. If the staff indicate that there are consistent periods of overwork along with consistent periods of little or nothing to do, then this indicates that you have achieved a balanced roster.
3. If you observe a change in busy periods you might need to change the times of certain shifts so that there are more staff on hand at the busy times and fewer during low periods.
4. A periodic evaluation of the needs of the business can also affect rostering for example seasonal fluctuations or special events.
5. Rosters are an essential tool for helping you stay within your budget and frequent reviews ensure that you stay goal-oriented.