Payslip

A payslip is the written record of each pay an employer must give every employee — within one working day of payday, even if the person is on leave. It can be electronic or paper, but it has to be private, easy to access, and complete. Payslip rules sit in the Fair Work Act and the Fair Work Regulations, and the Fair Work Ombudsman treats missing or incomplete payslips seriously.

What a payslip must show

• the employer's name and ABN, and the employee's name,
• the date of payment and the pay period it covers,
• gross and net pay, and the hourly rate and hours where the employee is paid hourly,
• any loadings, penalty rates, allowances, bonuses or other separately identifiable amounts,
• any deductions, with the name (and number) of the account they went to,
• superannuation contributions for the period and the name of the fund.

For shift teams the detail that matters most is itemisation: weekend penalties, casual loading and allowances should each be visible, not folded silently into one number.

Why it matters

Clear payslips are how employees check their pay and how you prove yours is right. If a dispute ever reaches the Ombudsman, accurate payslips and time records are your best evidence — and missing ones can shift the burden onto you to disprove a claim.

Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 536 and Fair Work Regulations 2009 reg 3.46 — enforced by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Related terms

• Record-keeping obligations
• Single Touch Payroll (STP)
• Superannuation guarantee