Your guide to pay slips

For an employee, a pay slip ensures that they receive the correct pay and entitlements. As an employer, pay slips enable you to keep accurate and complete records.

Timing of giving pay slips

Employers need to pay employees at least monthly for the work they do. It doesn’t matter if the employee is paid in cash, by cheque or by bank transfer, a pay slip must be given out within one working day of an employe being paid and needs to include certain details about their pay.

What should be on a pay slip?

Employers need to ensure that the correct information is included on a pay slip because penalties apply for providing false or misleading information, as well as if they are not issued within one working day of payment.

Pay slips need to include details of an employee’s pay for each pay period which includes:

• employer’s and employee’s name
• pay period
• employer’s Australian Business Number (if applicable)
• date of payment
• gross and net pay
• if the employee is paid an hourly rate:
  • the ordinary hourly rate
  • the number of hours worked at that rate
  • the total dollar amount of pay at that rate
• any loadings (including casual loading), allowances, bonuses, incentive-based payments, penalty rates or other paid entitlements that can be separated out from an employee’s ordinary hourly rate.
• the pay rate that applied on the last day of employment
• any deductions from the employee's pay, including:
  • the amount and details of each deduction
  • the name, or name and number of the fund / account the deduction was paid into
• any superannuation contributions paid for the employee’s benefit, including:
  • the amount of contributions made during the pay period (or the amount of contributions that the employer intends to make)
  • the name, or the name and number, of the superannuation fund the contributions were (or will be) made to.

• If an employer is required to give a new employee a pay slip within 14 days of their first pay day, they don’t have to include the superannuation fund name or number if:
  • the employee hasn’t notified the employer of their choice of superannuation fund
  • the employer hasn’t been able to obtain the employee’s stapled superannuation fund details from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Good record-keeping

As an employer, you need to ensure you keep accurate and up-to-date records about your employees. This would include information about the employee’s pay, leave and hours of work as well as any changes to working arrangements or ending employment.

Payment summaries

Also known as income statements, payment summaries need to include the payroll information required by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Most businesses are covered by Single Touch Payroll, which impacts the way employers need to report payroll, tax and superannuation to the ATO.

How we can help

If your business has expanded and you need to employ more people then it’s understandable to feel daunted by the duties required to run a payroll on top of everything else you need to do. Meeting your obligations as an employer to the ATO can be confusing and time-consuming. 

By working with TaxAssist Accountants it’s possible to maintain your responsibilities as an employer, while freeing yourself of the day-to-day concerns that payroll can bring.

For a free initial meeting to discuss all your payroll or employment related needs, please call us today on 02 9608 3707 or drop us a line using our online enquiry form.

Date published 1 Feb 2023 | Last updated 1 Feb 2023

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.