Importance of Information Confidentiality while processing payroll

A major issue for any payroll department or an HR who manages payroll is to ensure that a large part of the information it processes remains confidential.

Most employees would consider it disastrous if information about their PAN, Bank account numbers, earnings, deductions, investments, and so forth were to be made public. This information is located in the payroll register and employee files, and may be scattered among other payroll reports, as well.

The following are recommended methods were suggested by Relativity’s payroll outsourcing solution for ensuring the confidentiality of payroll information:

Locked storage. Clearly, the best single action to enhance confidentiality is to keep physical payroll documents in a locked storage area. This can be a locked storage cabinet or locked room with a door that automatically closes and locks.

Password protection. If someone is not outsourcing payroll and using the payroll software must input a password to access the system. Further, set the software to require a new password at frequent intervals.

Also Read: The Uses and Benefits of Tracking Time

Limit authorization. Even within the payroll department, it is not necessary for every team member to have full access to payroll information. For example, if there is an accountant who only handles employee timesheets, do not give that person access to other types of payroll information.

Shared documents. Once the company is no longer required to continue archiving old payroll files, do not just throw them in the trash; instead, shred them. There are shredding services in most major cities that can handle this task. It is so important to shred the documents which are no longer needed in the organization. When these reports are shared across, this may lead to unnecessary problems.

Dissemination policy. Have a department policy that no one ever gives out confidential information without specific written authorization. In all cases, this should involve the approval of the payroll manager.

Cloud security measures. Implementing ISO 27001 program is a good start but the most basic requirement is that all PII (Personally Identifiable Information) is stored in encrypted form.

At Relativity, Data confidentiality is one of the top 3 reasons why companies outsource their payrolls to us. We have more than 55+ auditable security protocols to ensure Data confidentiality.