Answer
Under the Fair Work Act, you must give every employee a pay slip within one working day of pay day, even if they are away on leave. A pay slip can be sent electronically (by email or through an online portal) or given as a printed copy.
What every pay slip must show
- The employer's name, and the employer's Australian Business Number (ABN) if it has one.
- The employee's name.
- The pay period the pay slip covers.
- The date of payment.
- The gross and net amount of pay.
- Any loadings (including casual loading), monetary allowances, bonuses, incentive-based payments, penalty rates or other separately identifiable entitlements paid.
If the employee is paid an hourly rate
The pay slip must also show the ordinary hourly rate, the number of hours worked at that rate, and the total dollar amount paid at that rate. For an employee on an annual salary, show the rate of pay as at the last day of the pay period.
Deductions and superannuation
For any deduction, the pay slip must show the amount of the deduction and the name (or name and number) of the fund or account it was paid into.
Where you are required to pay super for an employee, the pay slip must also show the amount of each super contribution made (or that you intend to make) for the pay period, and the name (or name and number) of the fund the contributions were paid into.
Leave balances are not legally required on a pay slip, but the Fair Work Ombudsman considers it best practice to include them so employees can keep track of their entitlements.
How Lightning Payroll helps
Lightning Payroll pay slips include your company name and ABN, the pay period and processing (paid) date, gross and net pay, hours and rates, allowances, deductions, super contributions with the super fund's name, and year-to-date totals. A few things depend on how you set things up:
- Deductions print under the name you give them, so include the fund or account each deduction is paid into in its name (for example, Union fees (AWU)).
- For an employee on an annual salary, the pay slip shows the amount for the pay period rather than the annual rate. Add the annual rate to the employee's ongoing payslip note.
- Keep hours and rates switched on for employees paid an hourly rate.
You can turn individual sections (such as hours and rates, leave balances or year-to-date totals) on or off for each employee. See How Can I Adjust What is Shown on the Payslips?
For the full rules, see the Fair Work Ombudsman pay slips guide.
