What is a payslip? Make compliant salary slips for free
Payslips are the primary way employees see their gross earnings and entitlements.
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What is a payslip?
A payslip is a document that employers provide their employees to show their total wages for a certain period. This may include the total amount earned, which can also reflect deductions for tax payments.
Payslips are not only used for salary payments they should also have the following:
- Wages
- Income tax or PAYG withheld
- Employer contributions for superannuation funds
- Reimbursements (travel expenses, food, etc.)
- Deductions for other contributions
- Amount of time/leave owed or used by the employee
The world of work has changed dramatically in the last decade, and that’s especially true regarding how we get paid. Previously, payslips were hard copy documents that were given to employees with a cheque or wages envelope. Today, many employers prefer to give out electronic versions of payslips that are available for employees online.
What is included on a payslip?
According to the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009 in Australia, payslips must contain the following to be considered legally compliant:
- The name of the employer
- The employer’s ABN (if applicable)
- The name of the employee
- The date the amount is paid to the employee
- Work duration and dates the payslip covers
- Gross amount paid to the employee before tax
- Gross amount paid to the employee after tax (net)
- Detailed amount of other fees such as allowances, bonuses, penalty rates, etc.
- Detailed amount of deductions made by the employer
Take note that the requirements for certain payslips may vary, depending on an employer’s type and entitlement. With a legally compliant payslip, you maintain employee trust and transparency.
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Frequently Asked Questions about making payslips using Payroller
How is a payslip generated?
Keeping records of hours worked and wages paid is an important part of protecting workers from wage theft. As a business owner, you know your employees are your greatest asset. You want to keep them happy and healthy, and you want to make sure they’re paid fairly for the work they do.
The Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009 require employers to keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid to each employee. These regulations also stipulate that employers must issue payslips to each employee, including the total amount of hours they worked, leave taken, and balance of remaining leaves.
Make a payslip easily with our online payslip generator. Our payslips are legally compliant, and can be automatically generated straight from your business payroll.
What are the scenarios where a payslip's information may vary?
Here are some of the events/scenarios where payslips may vary:
- When employers are required to settle superannuation contributions
- The amount of the contribution made by the employee
- The name, or name and number, of the superannuation fund the contributions were made
- When an employee is paid at an hourly rate
- The regular hourly rate pay
- The number of hours paid at that specific rate
- The amount of payment done within the rate
- When an employee is paid on an annual salary rate, the pay is on the last day of the pay period.
What are best practices for preparing employee paying slips?
When preparing payslips for employees, Australian employers should be aware of the following:
- Use printable payslips. Your employees may have different computers, printers, and internet speeds. It is important that you provide a printable PDF version of your payslip that anyone can download and print out. You can generate payslips instantly from payroll with Payroller software.
- Ensure your employees can access their payslips easily and privately. This means that any personal information in your payslip should not be accessible by anyone other than the employee who is being paid by you. Your staff can view their payslips on their own Payroller employee mobile app for free when you use Payroller software.
Payslips are required to keep track of your employees’ earnings and how much they have been paid. Creating employee remuneration reports can also help you track what employees should be receiving every pay period. This allows you to ensure that you are paying them their correct wages and also helps you to avoid any disputes or legal issues down the line.
How to make a payslip for employees and as a self-employed person?
Employers can issue easy and compliant payslips to employees with one click using Payroller straight from a completed pay run. Employee payslips can be emailed to workers or printed out. Payroller makes it so simple to make, view and edit payslips which is ideal for self-employed businesses.
How can I show leave balances and adjust leave loading on payslips for employees?
It’s simple to show annual leave and sick leave balances on payslips using Payroller. Navigate to Payslip settings on mobile app or web app.
How can my employees get their payslips?
Your employees can view payslips from your small business in our free Payroller employee mobile app. The Payroller self-service employee app also allows your workers to request and manage leave, view earnings & PAYG withholding, and manage rostered shifts with our integrated staff scheduling features.
What does YTD mean on a payslip?
YTD refers to ‘year-to-date’ and represents the total amount of earnings, deductions and PAYG taxes from the start of a financial year to the current pay period on a payslip. In Australia, year-to-date or YTD amounts are the running totals or cumulative view from the 1 July or start of the financial year. Employee payslips usually list the following:YTD earnings are the total gross income earned by an employee from the start of a financial year to the current pay periodYTD deductions shows the total amount of deductions from the beginning of a financial year.YTD taxes or PAYG withholding represents the total amount of taxes that have been withheld from the employee’s pay from the start of the financial year.
What’s the penalty for not issuing payslips?
In Australia, employers who don’t issue compliant payslips to employees can be subject to fines or infringement notices. The Fair Work Ombudsman may enforce various penalties particularly for repeat offenders and other Fair Work non-compliance issues like wage underpayments.
Does Payroller provide a summary of all wage slips for workers?
Yes, it’s simple to access the history of employee payslips or employee earnings & PAYG withholding in the ‘Payroll Activity Summary’. Employers can log in to Payroller web app or mobile app and see records of any adjustments made in the ‘Finalise STP’ screen of previous pay runs. Follow the steps below:Step 1: Log in to payroller.com.auStep 2: Select ‘Reports’.Step 3: Select ‘Payroll Activity Summary’.Step 4: Select the employee and select the period.Step 5: Select ‘View’.Step 6: Select the download icon or the print icon on the top right to download or print.Your employees can also view their payslips conveniently in a dedicated employee mobile app.