To comply with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, employers are legally required to provide employees with payslips.  Here’s what employers need to include in every payslip.
A workplace audit revealed a significant number of organisations weren’t compliant with legislation around record-keeping and payslips in NSW.

As an employer, it’s essential you’re providing employees with a payslip that meets the legal requirements in Australia. From the correct company information to the calculation of hourly wages and entitlements, here’s what your organisation needs to include on every employee’s payslip. 

 

12 requirements for employee payslips in Australia

The Fair Work Act has strict standards around the information that should be included on a payslip and no matter what industry you’re in, payslips need to include:

  1. Employer’s name - This should include your company’s registered name, but you can also choose to include other names that your organisation is known by.

  2. Employer’s Australian Business Number (ABN) - If your organisation has an ABN, this should be included under the employer name. 

  3. The name of the employee -  The employee name should be the same name that’s associated with their Australian Tax File Number (TFN).

  4. Pay period -  This could be weekly, fortnightly, or monthly depending on your organisation.

  5. Date the payment was issued - As the date of payment might be different from the pay period (you might pay in advance for a certain period, for example), it’s essential to include this on the payslip.

  6. Gross and net pay to the employee - Gross pay refers to the total amount of pay before any tax deductions or other deductions. Net pay is the amount the employee receives after these. Gross and net pay shouldn’t include superannuation – this is a separate line.

  7. The amount of tax withheld - This is also known as pay-as-you-go (PAYG), and employers need to specify this on the payslip.

  8. Hourly rate calculation - In addition to providing the total amount of pay, you should show how gross pay was calculated. This includes the hourly pay rate and the number of units (or number of hours) worked by your employee.

  9. Any additional deductions - Each deduction from the employee’s gross pay should be listed as a separate line item, and include the amount and details of the deduction, as well as the name and fund/account the payment was made to.

  10. Loadings, penalties and allowances -  Any pay that is not calculated as an hourly rate needs to be included as a separate line item. This can include things like casual loading, bonuses, incentives, overtime hours, penalty rates and termination entitlements.

  11. Superannuation contributions -  In addition to gross and net pay, employers should also include any superannuation contributions they paid to the employee’s super fund on behalf of the employee, as well as the name and number of the super fund. If your employee chooses to make their own contributions, you should include the amount of contributions they need to make in their payslip.

  12. Salary to date - This should be the total number of dollars the employee has been paid up until the last payment date.

 

Payslips: other considerations 

When should I issue payslips to my employees and how are payslips given?

Businesses legally should issue payslips within one working day of paying employees, and payslips can be issued either electronically or as a paper payslip.

Do I need to include an employee’s leave balance on a payslip?

While most employers will generally include leave balances on a payslip, this isn’t a legal requirement – but a recommendation by the Fair Work Ombudsman. 

What can employees do if the employer is not providing payslips or refuses to give payslips?
Employees can contact the Fair Work Ombudsman, who may issue an infringement notice whereby employers pay a fine for non-compliance. This can also occur if you don’t include the right information on an employee’s payslip, or if you issue a payslip more than one day after paying your employees.

This is applicable if an employee is requesting payslips from an employer or looking into how to get payslips from a previous employer.  Because of this, it’s important to ensure you not only issue payslips on time to employees, but also ensure you keep records of all payslips that have been issued to current and former staff.

Payslips are an essential part of workplace legislation, and employers must comply with the standards outlined by the Fair Work Act. As an employer, it can be challenging to navigate your legal obligations, but we’re here to help. Become a member of My Business today, and be the first to hear about resources and tools that will help you comply with Australian requirements.