November HR To Do List

Monday, October 30, 2017

Can you believe it’s already November? Halloween is in the books and it’s time to get ready for the Holidays again already. Before you get too involved in your lists for gift-giving, parties, and shopping, don’t neglect your HR to do list!

  • Open enrollment for Obamacare health plans is November 1 through December 15 for plans effective during 2018. You may not offer health plans to your employees, or you may have group plans available to them. Either way, you can expect some questions about open enrollment since it’s in the news these days…on the radio, on TV, on the internet. Here’s a good place to start.
  • Daylight Savings ends at 2am on Sunday, November 5th. Fall behind and get an extra hour of sleep!
  • Prepare or revisit your winter weather policies. When is it OK for employees to stay home due to weather? Are they paid for those days? Is there a time when you will close the office itself? Document your emergency plans and be sure your employees are aware of them.
  • Speaking of emergency plans, do you have enough emergency supplies to last everyone in your office for 72 hours?
  • This is a great time, especially here in the Bay Area, to choose a local charity to support during the Holidays. There are so many people in the North Bay, so close to home, that really need our support! Here’s a news report with some links to great charities to support.
  • Hopefully you’ve already published your company holidays during November (usually Thanksgiving and the following day) and December, but if you haven’t, do it now!
  • Start planning for year end:
    • plan your schedule for distributing information in December on renewing FSA plans for 2018
    • plan for when you will send out information to 401(k) participants with information about adjusting contributions for 2018
    • review payroll records and make any adjustments you can do ahead of time
    • review accounting records to be sure all vendors who should have a 1099 at the end of the year are flagged correctly

That’s it! Easy-peasy, right? HR is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. Planning ahead is key to success! Have a great month!

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