Pay slips and records
Employers must keep accurate records for all their
workers. These are important for proving that
workers are being paid the correct wages and other
entitlements.
Businesses do get checked regularly by
inspectors. Employers could be fined if the
right information has not been recorded!
Employee information
Employers must record and keep information on
each worker in their business. These records are
private and generally only the employer and payroll
staff can access them.
At other times, Fair Work inspectors or trade union
officials may also need to look at this information to
check particular facts.
Chris and Rae have loads of templates they can
send out – making it easier for employers to
keep accurate records. Give the team a call on
1300 361 968.
What information must be kept by
employers?
A business must keep the following information
about their workers:
General employment records
• the employer’s name
• the employer’s ABN (Australian Business
Number if they have one)
• the worker’s name
• the date the worker started work
• whether the worker is full-time, part-time,
permanent, temporary or casual.
Pay records
• the rate of pay paid to the worker
• gross (before tax) and net (after tax) amounts
paid to the worker
• any other deductions
• other entitlements such as incentives, bonuses,
loadings, penalty rates or allowances.
Hours of work
• a record of the hours worked by all casual and
irregular part-time workers
• overtime hours worked if the employee is paid a
penalty rate or loading
• a copy of a written agreement if an employer and
employee have agreed to change the working hours.
Leave
• any leave taken by a worker
• the balance of the worker’s leave, which they
have not yet taken.
If an employer and worker agree to cash out an
accrued amount of leave, the employer needs
to keep:
• a copy of the agreement to cash out the leave
• a record of the pay rate for the leave cashed out.
Superannuation
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the amount of each contribution
the date when each contribution was made
the period that the contribution applies to
the name of the fund which the contribution was
paid into
• the date a worker elected to make contributions
into a different fund.
Flexible working arrangements
If an employer and a worker agree in writing to a
flexible work arrangement, the employer needs
to keep:
• a copy of the agreement
• a copy of the notice when the arrangement ends.
Ending employment
• how the relationship ended – e.g. dismissal,
resignation, on-the-spot dismissal, redundancy
• the name of the person who terminated the
employment.
Changing business owners
When a business changes hands, the old boss must
give the new owner all employment records of those
workers who will be staying in the business and
working for the new owner.
Pay slips – what needs to be on them?
Wage deductions
Pay slips must be issued to each worker:
• within one working day of pay day – even if the
employee is on leave
• either electronically or on paper.
An employer can’t deduct any money from a
worker’s pay unless they have agreed to it in writing
or it is required under the law. This includes things
such as tax, superannuation, child support agency
payments and other court ordered deductions.
A pay slip must include the:
✔ the name of the employer
✔ the Australian Business Number (ABN)
(if any) of the employer
✔ the worker’s name
For example – if a worker accidentally breaks something, their boss can’t deduct money from their wages to cover the cost of the breakage. ✔ the date of payment
✔ the pay period (e.g. 24/3/11 to 30/3/11)
✔ the gross (before tax) and net (after tax)
amount of pay
✔ any loadings, allowances, bonuses, incentivebased payments, penalty rates or other
entitlements paid that can be singled out
✔ if the worker is paid an hourly rate – the
ordinary hourly pay rate and number of
hours worked at that rate and the amount
of pay at that rate
✔ if the worker is paid an annual rate (salary) –
the rate as at the last day in the pay period
✔ any deductions made from a worker’s pay,
including the amount and details of each
deduction (including superannuation), the
name and number of the fund or account
the deductions are paid into
✔ if an employer is required to pay
superannuation contributions for a worker,
the employer needs to include:
• the amount of each superannuation
contribution made during the period
to which the pay slip relates, or the
amounts of contributions that you are
liable to make
• the name or the name and number of
the superannuation fund you put or will
put superannuation contributions into.
Feel free to call Chris and Rae on 1300 361 968 to
talk more about the records that need to be kept
by a business or if you have questions about
your pay slips.
Sam’s story
Sam owns a popular clothing shop and has 10
employees working for her.
Sam is a pretty good boss and always pays
her workers on time, but she has never
actually given them a pay slip on pay day.
One day one of Sam’s workers asks for all her
pay slips over the last three months so that
she can apply for a loan to buy a car.
Realising that she hadn’t been keeping
accurate records, Sam went along to a
workshop run by NSW Industrial Relations
where she learnt all about pay slips, what
information needs to be included and how to
record leave details properly.
Sam was concerned about getting a fine and
she also wanted to make sure she did the
right thing by her workers, so she made sure
she got her records up-to-date and now all her
staff get pay slips every pay day.