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Bulk Update Rates Of Pay

Louise Robinson
  • Updated

Introduction

Within this guide, you will learn how the National Minimum Wage (NMW) bulk update functionality works in Sona and how to update employee pay rates in line with the latest NMW legislation.

 

How to bulk update employee pay rates:

  1. Go to Customer Admin and open Manage Pay Rates.
  2. If this is your first time, click Set Up and choose your target rate format (‘Exact amounts’ is recommended for most organisations).
  3. Click ‘Bulk Update Rates’, select your filters (job role, age band, locations), and set your effective date.
  4. Preview the changes - you'll see a full list of affected employees and their old vs. new rates before anything is applied
  5. Click ‘Update Rates’ to confirm - Sona will automatically apply the changes and update any future shifts.
  6. Click ‘Confirm’ to apply.

 

💡The system will warn you if any rates fall below NMW, and a full audit log is kept of all changes made under Manage Pay Rates > Rate Changes.

💡 If your employees have the same job title but different ‘Job’ assignments, you may need to run a second bulk update filtering by those additional fields. Use the Rate Changes page afterwards to verify no one was missed.

 

How to use the Rate Changes page:

The Rate Changes page provides a full audit trail of all rate updates across your workforce. Access it from within Manage Pay Rates.

 

What you can see:

  • Employee name, job, location, and role
  • Current rate and new rate side-by-side
  • The absolute and percentage change
  • Effective start date

How to filter:

Use the date range filters to view changes effective within a specific period. You can also filter by status, pay type, and location to quickly identify employees who may need attention.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • Who can access bulk rate updates?

Any user with the Admin Pay Matrix permission assigned to their role. If you cannot see the Manage Pay Rates section in Customer Admin, contact your Sona account administrator to check your permissions.

  • Can I set different rates for individual employees within a bulk update?

Yes. After previewing the employee cohort, you can override the default rate for any individual employee before confirming. This is useful where employees are on a higher rate due to tenure, promotion, or a contractual arrangement.

  • What happens to scheduled shifts when I update rates?

Any scheduled shifts from the effective date onwards will automatically be updated to reflect the new rate of pay. You will see a summary of how many shifts are affected before you confirm the update.

  • What if I only want to update some employees with the same job title?

In the preview step, you can exclude any individual employee from the update.

  • Can I use bulk update for salaried employees as well as hourly?

Yes. The bulk update tool works for both hourly and salaried pay types. The rate format is automatically adjusted based on the employee’s pay type.

  • Some employees with the same job title were not included in my bulk update. Why?

Employees may have an additional ‘Job’ field that was not included in your cohort filter. Run a second bulk update with those additional fields included, then use the Rate Changes page to verify full coverage.

  • How do I check whether I have missed anyone?

Use the Rate Changes page, filter to the relevant effective date, and search for employees with your required characteristics. You can also search by job title to see who in that cohort did or did not receive an update.

  • Is there an audit trail of all rate changes?

Yes. The Rate Changes page records every update, when it will come into effect, and the old and new rates. 

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