Perfect pay slips

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Perfect pay slips

If you employ people under Commonwealth Workplace laws, you are required to keep accurate and complete pay records for all your employees and issue them with a payslip.  If you have employees paid under different classifications, pay records can become complicated. HR Central can provide an automated payslip process and general advice on pay including title/classification and hourly rate confirmation.

Read on for some commonly asked questions about payslips.  

Do I have to provide a pay slip to my employees?

Yes.

How often do I have to provide pay slips?

You must provide a payslip to all your employees within one working day (24 hours) of their payday, even if the employee is on leave. These days many employers deliver payslips online and electronically via email, but legally you can provide the payslip in electronic or hard copy form. It should be in easy to follow or plain English. Payslips should be accessible to employees, so for those who don’t have ready access to email i.e.: those working in remote locations or in a manufacturing environment, you may need to issue hard copies of pay slips.

At the end of the financial (EOFY) you must also provide each of your employees with a PAYG summary (Pay as you go statement). This is an extra pay statement required by the Australian Tax Office to document the full year’s pay paid by you to the employee.

What information must I include on a payslip?

Payslips must include the details of any payments, deductions and superannuation contributions made for each pay period including the following:

  • The name of the employer and your ABN (if you have one)
  • The name of the employee
  • The date of the payment and the pay period which is being covered. If the employee is being paid an hourly rate, then you should cite that rate
  • Details of any payments made – both the gross and net amounts
  • Details of any loadings paid (including casual loadings), any monetary allowances or incentive- based payments or bonuses, penalty rates or any other entitlements that can be separately identified
  • Details of any deductions taken from the employees’ pay including the amount and details of the deduction, and the name and number of the fund or account that the deduction was paid into
  • Superannuation contributions paid for the employee’s benefit including the name and or the number of the superannuation fund the benefits are paid into and the amount of the contributions being made during the pay period

It is not obligatory to include your employee’s leave on a payslip however it is generally considered to be best practice.

 How long do I need to keep time and wage records for?

You must keep your employees’ time and wage records for seven years. The records of an employee are private, and access should only be given to the employee, employer and payroll staff or the accountant. You must also make those records records available to a Fair Work inspector upon request for them to verify whether an employee has been paid properly.

What happens if I don’t comply with these requirements?

If you don’t include the right information on a pay slip or issue it within one day of the employee’s pay day you can be issued an ‘infringement notice’ by Fair Work Australia. Fines can be up to $1260 per breach per individual or $6300 for a corporation. Fair Work will take into account the circumstances of the breach when deciding whether to issue an infringement notice and may opt to not to issue one but instead assist the employer to fix the problem instead.

For more information contact us on 1300 717 721

Sarah Tidey

Sarah Tidey is a former lawyer who specialises in HR and workplace dispute resolution.

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