The legal requirements of a payslip

There are certain aspects of employee’s payslip which may appear to be an obvious requirement, such as for example the net pay due to an employee, but are you aware as an employer what the legal requirements of a payslip are (in line with the Employment Rights act of 1996) and the law surrounding them?

A payslip by law must include:

• Total gross pay
• Net pay due
• Statutory deduction amounts (e.g. tax, NI, Attachment of Earnings deductions or CSA deductions)
• Contractual deduction amounts (as agreed by the employee in writing, e.g. Trade Union Subscriptions, Gym membership, Medical Insurance)
• Method of payment (e.g. BACS transfer)
• The pay date

The below elements of a payslip are useful, but not essential:

• National Insurance Number
• National Insurance Category
• Tax Code
• Pay rate
• A breakdown of the gross pay in any form
• Employee number
• Address
• Gross year to date figures
• Name of the Employer
• Tax reference/period number
• Bank details (many companies opt not to include this information due to security reasons)
• Date of birth (many companies opt not to include this information due to security reasons)

The payslip must:

• Be provided on or before pay day

The payslip can be either:

• A written (ideally printed) paper copy that is sealed before delivery or
• A emailed copy (providing the employee is not providing a shared email address, and that each employee signs to confirm the email address they are happy for their payslip to be emailed to) or
• A secure portal login that is password protected (with each employee having their own unique login to access their own payslip)

Are your payslips meeting the above requirements? Are you considering a move to electronic payslips? How do you show a salary sacrifice deduction on a payslip? Would it be best to show holiday pay separately on payslips? If you need any help with these questions, or any other questions relating to payslips or payroll in general, then please do not hesitate to call the Payroll Advice team on 0844 892 2772 Option 3 (available from 9am – 5:30pm Monday to Friday).