What is the primary source document for employment data in an employee benefit database?

An important first source document for generating basic employee data is the employment application. This document and, in many cases, the accompanying resume, normally can provide the following key information:

1. name, address, and telephone number;

2. date of birth;

3. work history;

4. salary history;

5. education and special skills;

6. date of employment;

7. job title and department;

8. starting salary;

9. employee status (i.e., union or nonunion, part-time or full-time, seasonal, probationary, flextime, leased);

10. in some case, results of pre-employment physical and psychiatric examinations; and

11. equal employment opportunity data.

Date-of-hire. Capturing the correct date-of-hire is essential to many employee benefits functions. For example, it is necessary to:

1. determine eligibility to participate in pension or profit-sharing plans;

2. calculate the number of vacation and personal days for each employee, if based on length of service;

3. determine the end of a contractual probationary period in the case of union employees; and

4. determine when the new employee is eligible to participate in the health, life, disability, and other employee plans that have waiting periods

5. and/or quarterly, semiannual, or annual enrollment dates.

Starting salary. The starting salary is required for the following purposes:

1. analyzing highly compensated employee status to satisfy plan IRS requirements regarding nondiscrimination;

2. determining the initial face amount of group-life insurance where the plan provides coverage as a multiple of salary (e.g., face amount equal to two times salary rounded to the nearest $1,000);

3. making initial employment tax estimates (e.g., Social Security and unemployment compensation) for budget analysis and planning; and

4. adjusting the company's fringe benefits rate (i.e., the cost of each component of benefits as a percentage of total salary).

Employee status. Documenting employee status is also essential. The status of an employee, depending on government regulations and plan restrictions, may determine whether an employee qualifies for participation in a variety of employee benefit plans and policies.

Database sharing. Many human resources organizations include, in addition to the human resources director, an affirmative action officer, salary administrator, manpower development manager, recruitment manager, employee relations manager, and perhaps other specialists. Some of the source data captured from the employment application file can and should be shared with these individuals, as well as front-line managers. However, the design of shared systems must minimize access in order to protect confidentiality and to avoid litigation over an employee's right to privacy.