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Glossary


What is a payslip

04 Feb 2023
Author: Neil Helps

What is a Payslip South Africa?

Understanding your payslip is important. An employer gives an employee a payslip each payday. It shows their total amount earned, less deductions for things like tax and social security.

The important thing to remember about payslips is that it is regulated by labour law in that employers are obligated to issue payslips to their employees.

Payslips show earnings included from salary, hourly wages or commission. They also list things like:

  • Personal information of the employee like name, surname, address, ID number, position
  • The pay period
  • Gross pay
  • Net pay
  • Tax withheld
  • Reimbursements for personal work expenses (like mileage or travel expenses)
  • Deductions such as insurance and retirement or pension contributions
  • Employer contributions toward insurance or retirement
  • Health insurance contributions
  • Hours worked
  • Sick pay / days taken
  • The bank account details of the employee
  • The annual salary earned to date
  • Total income tax paid to date
  • Deductions included for example UIF, Loan repayments etc
  • Number of hours worked
  • The total amount of money the employee is to be paid at the end of the payroll period
  • Irregular employee earnings are also list on the payslip ie. Incentives

Payslips may also show other employee information such as the amount of leave owed or used. Payslips are also known as pay stubs, paycheck stubs, or pay advice.

Traditionally, the payslip was a paper document attached to a physical cheque or included in a wages envelope. Today, most employers prefer to use electronic payslips. These can be emailed to employees or made available to them online. Employees are issued payslips on a bi weekly or monthly basis based on their employment contract terms.

Some of the Payroll services on offer at Zeelie Professional Accountants SA:

  • Administration of Salaries and Wages.
  • Compensation and Benefits structuring.
  • Employment Contracts.
  • Full payroll function using high-quality payroll software.
  • Provision of a list of amounts payable to:
  • - Employees
  • - SARS
  • - UIF
  • - SDL
  • - Third parties
  • Pay slip for employees before payday, which is a statutory requirement.
  • Provision of annual IRP5's for all employees.
  • Registration for PAYE, UIF and Skills Development Levies.
  • Registration for UIF with Department of Labour.
  • Salary Reporting Packs on monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
  • Submission of statutory tax returns (EMP201 and EMP 501).

Frequently asked questions

What is the function of the payslip?

Payslips are a record of your earnings and employment history. They're also a record of how much tax you've paid, which can be important for future reference. Evidence of your earnings. Finally, people often use payslips as proof of earnings for things like mortgage applications and loan requests.

How do I make a payslip?

A payslip should include:

  1. The specific pay period
  2. Total earnings
  3. Your business's name, address, logo and contact information.
  4. The name and ID number of the employee
  5. Employee gross pay (before deductions) for the period covered.
  6. Each deduction and its amount.
  7. Their net pay the employee receives after deductions
  8. Their pay so far in the current tax year
  9. The employee's tax number
  10. Leave days taken

Why do companies want your payslip?

Typically, they cite reasons such as the following for proceeding regardless: Confirming job status. Market research for salary benchmarking and benefits. Understanding a candidate's compensation structure end to end to be able to put in a competitive offer.

Can I refuse to give a payslip in South Africa?

An employer must provide an employee with a proper payslip on each payday.

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