In Western Australia these rules apply to proprietary limited (Pty Ltd) companies only but it is still best practice to issue payslips to your employees.
Pay slips ensure that employees receive the correct pay and entitlements and allow employers to keep accurate and complete records.
When should pay slips be provided?
Pay slips have to be given to an employee within 1 working day of pay day, even if an employee is on leave.
How can pay slips be provided?
Pay slips have to be in either electronic form or hard copy. Electronic pay slips must have the same information as paper pay slips.
What has to be on a pay slip?
Pay slips have to cover details of an employee’s pay for each pay period. Below is a list of what to include:
- employer’s and employee’s name
- employer’s Australian Business Number (if applicable)
- pay period
- 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, 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 need to be made)
- the name and / or number of the superannuation fund the contributions were made to.
Should leave balances be on a pay slip?
While it’s best practice to show an employee’s leave balances on their pay slip, it’s not a requirement. Employers do need to tell employees their leave balances if they ask for it.
Requests for pay slips
If as an employee, you don’t receive a pay slip, we encourage you to talk to your employer. Check out the FairWork online learning module on having difficult conversations for tips on how to approach your employer.
Employers who give proper pay slips are able to keep good records that can be easily found if needed.
What happens if pay slips aren’t given, or don’t have the right information on them?
Fair Work Inspectors can give employers a fine, called an infringement notice, if they:
- don’t include the right information on a pay slip
- don’t issue pay slips at all or within 1 working day of paying employees.
It is unlawful for employers to give pay slips that they know are false or misleading.
Employers can also be penalised if FairWork choose to take a matter to court. In some cases employers who have not given pay slips may have to prove to a court that they didn’t underpay an employee.
Best practice tips
- Issue pay slips in an easily printable format
- Make sure employees can access and print their pay slips in private
- Pay slips should be written in plain English that is simple to understand
If you need help with any pay slip or record-keeping issues, please call us on (08) 9321 2642 to discuss.
