In today’s environmentally friendly and tech savvy offices, many business owners have chosen to email pay slips and payment summaries to their employees. The option to move from printed copies to electronic copies is often overlooked. These emailed documents are essentially the same as printed pay slips and payment summaries, except for a few extra benefits:

•  The emailed versions save paper.
•  Easier for employers to distribute records to employees.
•  Makes it easy for employees to file their documents electronically – this is an increasing trend in this day and age.
•  Increases security and confidentiality, since other employees can’t access personal emails.

Employers who engage employees under relevant Commonwealth workplace laws are required to issue pay slips to each employee within one working day of pay day, even if an employee is on leave.  All pay slips and payment summaries should be written in plain and simple English.

Electronic pay slips must be provided to an employee (unless issued a hard copy) and include the same information as hard copy pay slips. Employers are required to give electronic pay slips to each worker, such as via email or into an electronic personal account (employers should not simply store them on a database.) It is important that these electronic files are issued in an easily printable format. Employers should also:

•  issue electronic pay slips to employees securely and confidentially – for example, send to a personal email that only the employee can access; not a work email.
•  ensure that employees can access and print their electronic pay slips in private (e.g. it would be inappropriate to issue an electronic pay slip to an employee who doesn’t have access to a computer terminal to privately read and print their pay slip).

What information must be included on the pay slip?

Pay slips must contain details of the payments, deductions, and superannuation contributions for each pay period. The following information must be included on all pay slips issued to each employee:

•  the employer’s name
•  the employer’s ABN (if any)
•  the employee’s name
•  the date of payment
•  the pay period (beginning and end dates – e.g. 26/09/11 to 2/10/11)
•  the gross and net amount of payment
•  any loadings, monetary allowances, bonuses, incentive-based payments, penalty rates, or other separately identifiable entitlement paid.

Additionally, where relevant, a pay slip must include any of the following:

•  if the employee is paid an hourly pay rate, the ordinary hourly pay rate and the number of hours worked at that rate and the amount of payment made at that rate
•  if the employee is paid an annual rate of pay (salary), the rate as at the last day in the pay period
•  any deductions made, including the name, or the name and number, of the fund or the account of each deduction
•  if the employer is required to make superannuation contributions for the benefit of the employee:

o  the amount of each contribution the employer made or is liable to make during the pay period
o  the name, or name and number, of any superannuation fund into which the contributions were made or will be made.

Here at The Quinn Group our experienced team of lawyers and accountants can assist your business in meeting your obligations in relation to employee records. For more information regarding the emailing of docs, or for any other business accounting advice submit an online enquiry or call us on 1300 QUINNS (784 667) or on +61 2 9223 9166 to book an appointment.