Family-related bonuses 

Purpose

This component supports the calculation of family bonuses and completes the company’s accounting with the family equalization funds (FAK).

In Switzerland, each company is connected with a cantonal family equalization fund (FAK). The employer is obligated to pay a certain percentage of the wage total to the cantonal FAK. The amount of the family bonuses and the employee’s entitlement are stipulated by each FAK. Family bonuses are broken down into the following categories:

·         Child benefits

·         Training bonuses

·         Bonuses paid after birth of child

·         Household allowances (only in canton Jura)

In addition to cantonal laws, most companies offer company regulations. When using company regulations, the amount of the bonus must exceed or match the statutory amount stipulated by the canton.

Federal regulations stipulate the payment of family bonuses for employees of federal administrations. The federal regulation is processed as a company regulation. However, the amount paid out matches that of the federal regulation even if the cantonal laws require a higher bonus.

Family-related bonuses are paid out to the employee directly. The company then claims the amount from the cantonal fund after payroll has been run.

Implementation Considerations

The family bonus is calculated on the basis of the following criteria:

·        Child’s age

·        Number of children

·        Child number

·        Relationship to child

·        Accommodation of child

For the calculation, you must make various settings in Master Data Maintenance and in Customizing.

Features

The component includes all types of the following family-related bonuses for payroll:

If an employee does not work the required number of attendance hours or if the employee enters/leaves during the month, you can reduce the individual bonuses by using the reduction rules.

To determine whether payment of the bonus includes or excludes the month in which the child exceeds the age limit for entitlement, you can use the age limit entry. You determine a month up to which the bonus is to be paid for the year in which the child reaches the maximum age limit.

You can determine counting classes as dependent on the family bonus and the child’s accommodation, provided that a family equalization fund rule does not require you to count children with other accommodations separately.

 Before you represent the family-related bonuses in Customizing, SAP recommends that you gather information on the different regulations in the individual cantons.