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Qld Health staff finger payroll problems

Payroll staff at Queensland Health have said they have identified 70 key problems with the department's SAP-based payroll system.
Written by Ben Grubb, Contributor and  AAP , Contributor

Payroll staff at Queensland Health have said they have identified 70 key problems with the department's SAP-based payroll system.

Tens of thousands of staff were underpaid, overpaid, or not paid at all under a new SAP-based payroll system introduced last month.

Australian Services Union (ASU) members working in payroll hubs across the state met directly with Queensland Health, IBM and CorpTech experts on Wednesday to discuss the way around the numerous problems beleaguering the new payroll system.

ASU branch secretary Julie Bignell said members had reported the meeting was worthwhile.

"They finally felt listened to," Bignell said.

Payroll staff presented a list of about 70 key problems relating to the payroll system.

They said that about three-quarters of those issues are system errors or configuration errors.

Other serious issues raised related to poor business rules and processes which were making their job harder.

"We expect immediate action on these items," said Bignell said.

"Whilst a lot of the errors had already been identified, there were new ones raised today which no one had previously known existed.

"The scope of the system problems is just breath-taking," she added.

The ASU is in discussions with Queensland Health about extra resourcing for payroll staff and say they have have secured additional computer equipment which is now being rolled out, as well as commitments for more payroll staff.

"We will continue to work with Queensland Health to get through this morass," Bignell said.

"We are pleased with recent progress but believe that the way forward will be difficult and require much better communication and coordination than previously expected of the department."

Bignell said payroll staff had been subjected to abuse over the computer problems.

IBM has previously described the system it has been implementing for Queensland Health as the most complicated it had ever seen in Australia.

Queensland Shadow Minister for Public Works and Information and Communication Technology Jann Stuckey this week wrote to the Auditor-General asking that a full investigation be held into the payroll system.

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