Not all businesses are aware that the Fair Work Act has established guidelines and requirements about the timing obligations, as well as the specific information required to be included on an employee payslip.
Most business owners know of the requirement to make timely payments to their employees. Payslips, however, are often not considered as important in terms of timing and the details they must include.
Payslip Employer Obligations
While it may seem onerous for a small business owner to provide each employee with a correctly issued payslip, it is an important requirement for every employer to do so. Accurate pay information must be provided to your staff within one working day of their payday. Payslips may be provided in printed or digital form, privately and confidentially to each employee.
Here are the key requirements set out by the Fair Work Ombudsman when it comes to payslip presentation:
Employee’s name
Business name and ABN
Payment date
Period of payrun (for example: 1-7 January 2019)
Gross and net amounts of the payment
Allowances, overtime, bonusses, commissions, penalty rates and/or any other separately identifiable amounts
Number of hours worked and details of any deductions from the employee’s pay (for example: Child Support)
Details of any superannuation contributions made
Hourly payrate stated (or salary as at the last day of the pay period)
Other Employer Obligations to be aware of
The Fair Work Act 2017 requires all employers to maintain accurate employee records for 7 years
Unless otherwise covered by an award or agreement, employees must be paid at least monthly
Don’t just assume your software or systems get it right!
Employees must receive pay slips within one working day of them receiving payment (either electronically or hard copy)
Your responsibility as an employer is to ensure your employee record keeping and payslip obligations are adhered to as per the Fair Work Act guidelines. Make sure your current software produces payslips as mandated by the Act. With the correct inclusions and on time.
Getting any of this wrong can be costly and a recent Fair Work Ombudsman audit found that non-compliance in this area is included in the top three that businesses get caught out for.
Note that if you have Xero Payroll subscription, you have all this under control and can easily give your employees 24/7 access to all their payslips, timesheets, and leave submissions.
Don’t hesitate to call us if you have any concerns in this area.