A payslip is a document that an employer gives to an employee at the end of each pay period. A payslip gives the employee a breakdown of important pay-related information, such as their total wages earned, as well as any income tax, overtime, holiday pay, bonuses, or commissions.
Do employers have to give payslips?
Employers are currently not legally required to provide payslips unless agreed upon in the employment contract. However, employers must keep accurate wage and time records as per the Employment Relations Act 2000 and Holidays Act 2003.
Payslips give employees useful information and it’s currently considered best practice to issue all employees with payslips at the end of each pay period.
As an employer, it’s vital to ensure all the information given in payslips is up to date and accurate, which can help to avoid any pay disputes with your employees.
From 6 August 2028 the following will be in force as per the Employment Leave Act 2026:
The Employment Leave Act 2026 requires employers to provide a pay statement (commonly referred to as a payslip) to employees for each pay period during which the employee worked or was on paid leave.
What information should be in an employee’s payslip?
There are several important pieces of information that every employee’s payslip should cover and which information will be compulsory from 6 April 2028. These include:
- The employee’s name and IRD number: Every payslip should begin by clearly stating the employee’s full name and their IRD number. This will help to ensure that the slip is issued to the correct person.
- Your business/organisation name.
- Your NZBN: Your New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) is a unique identifier that inland revenue uses to track your business for tax purposes.
- Pay period dates: The payslip should specify the start and end dates of the pay period that the employee is being paid for.
- Payment date: This is the date that the funds will be deposited into the employee’s bank account.
- Hours worked: If the employee’s pay is calculated based on an hourly rate, the payslip should show how many hours the employee has worked and the normal hourly pay rate.
- The amount paid to the employee in each pay period, itemised by category (such as ordinary rate, “pay-as-you go” payment, overtime rate, piece work rate, commission, or allowances)
- Gross earnings: This figure should reflect the employee’s total earnings for the pay period before any taxes or deductions.
- Net pay: This figure is the ‘take home’ amount the employee will be paid after taxes and deductions.
- Additional earnings: This covers any overtime pay, bonuses, commissions, or additional entitlements that can be singled out for the pay period.
- Taxes withheld: This is the amount of money that has been withheld from an employee’s pay as tax under PAYE.
- KiwiSaver contributions: This specifies the amount of money that has been paid into to the employee’s KiwiSaver, or any other payments into the employee’s chosen superannuation account.
- Any other deductions the employer is required or entitled to make from the employee's pay, with details of such deductions
- Leave balances: The following leave information for the pay period, as applicable: leave information for the pay period, as applicable: annual leave public holiday, alternative leave and sick leave and bereavement leave
- Payment on termination: The payslip must also include the final date of employment and any leave payments made upon termination (where applicable)
The employer may include any other information they choose but must not include information indicating that an amount paid is for family violence leave or that a period of leave is for family violence leave purposes.
How and when should payslips be given?
Payslips can be issued on paper, electronically, or both. With most companies supporting sustainability, it’s common to supply them electronically via an email or through your company’s HR platform.
Payslips contain sensitive information, so in the interests of maintaining data privacy it’s important to ensure paper copies of payslips and any financial data are securely stored throughout the payroll process.
Most businesses will supply a payslip no more than one working day after the employee’s pay day, although some businesses may provide it earlier.
How should employers create and format payslips?
Rather than calculating payslips manually with Excel, there are a range of software solutions that allow you to easily automate the process.
Payslip generators offer customisable templates, which the software’s AI then populates with information based on an employee’s unique payroll data.
How do payslips help the payroll process?
Creating payslips with all the critical information can help your payroll staff with record keeping, ensuring they have accurate and complete data for each pay cycle.
Payslips also ensure that employees receive the correct pay and entitlements, helping you avoid unnecessary disputes with your employees.
Do employees have a right to ask for payslip information?
If your employees don’t get payslips, or their payslips don’t have enough information, they have a right to ask you to write down the things they want to know.
In this case, you’re obligated to supply any records they request related to hours worked, wages, holiday, leave balances, taxes, commissions, and KiwiSaver payments.
If there is anything about the information you supply that they don’t understand, you must explain it when an employee asks.
The Employment Leave Act, which comes into force on 6 August 2028, makes it a legal requirement that employer provide their employees with pay statements for each pay period in which the employee has worked or was on paid leave.
Struggling to understand wage and pay entitlements and obligations? Peninsula works with Kiwi businesses supporting them with tailored documents and resources. Call us on 0800 215 036 today.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.