How to read your payslip
A guide on how to understand your payslip.
Each company’s wage slips are different, and it is sometimes difficult to see what the different numbers mean. So we’ve gone through the VGC payslip, to help you see what you have been paid.
(The password to open your payslip is your National Insurance number – use capital letters and no spaces.)
For weekly paid staff
VGC’s head office address is top right, and your name and address are on the left, positioned so the post-office can read them through a window envelope.
First box (on the right, under VGC’s address)
The first number is your supervisor’s number.
Below that is the date for the payday (Friday), then the week number, and the year.
This example shows the pay for work during the week of 6 – 12 July. (The week numbers start on 6 April, at the start of the UK financial year, so 17 July is in week 15.) Your pay takes three or four days to process, so you are paid by Friday of the week after you did the work.
The UK government decides your tax code*, and gives you a personal National Insurance number. VGC gives you your own employee number.
BACS is the automated payment method VGC uses to put money into your bank account.
Timesheet (on the left, below your address)
This section starts with the place and project where you worked during the week.
The dates you worked are in the first column, then the hours you worked on that day.
Then you will see the trade you worked as, and finally the amount you earned. In this example, this person worked for two hours during the day on 6 July, at a basic pay rate of £10 per hour. That earned them a total of £20 for the day.
On 7 July they only worked 1 hour, and earned £10. On 10 July they worked five hours on a night shift. The pay in the first section shows that as £10 per hour = £50.
The amount they earned as overtime for working nights is shown next to ‘overtime’ in the Pay additions section on the right.
Pay additions (column to the right of the timesheet)
This shows your basic pay for the week (£140 in this example) and for the year to date. This person has earned £2,000 in basic pay since 6 April.
If you have earned any overtime, that will be the next line down.
Any bonus, holiday pay, and taxed extras are below the overtime. If you haven’t earned any of these, they won’t be on your payslip.
There will be a message at the bottom of the payslip to explain what the taxed extras are. For example, holiday pay, or perhaps extra top-up pay, if there was an error in the timesheets from a previous week.
Deductions
The first deduction is your EE Pension. That is the amount the government says VGC must take from your wage to put into your pension. Elaine’s blog has information about enrolment in the pension scheme. If you have any questions, please contact the pension provider.
- For site-based staff, this is The People’s Pension – ph 0300 200 555 or go to thepeoplepension.co.uk.
- Office staff pensions are managed by Standard Life.
Below that are the national insurance and tax deductions which VGC must take from your pay and give to the government. These are calculated on the basis that you will earn the same amount during the whole year. You can check the tax deductions on the HMRC PAYE calculator, and reclaim if you have paid too much.
Your gross pay is the amount you have earned during the week.
Last section
ER pension is the amount that VGC contributes to your pension.
Taxable pay is the amount you are taxed on. The money which goes into your pension is not taxed – that is why it is a good way to save for your retirement.
Net pay is the amount that is paid into your bank account.
Monthly paid staff
The layout is different, but the elements are the same.
Std life ee is your contribution from your salary into the Standard Life pension scheme.
Std life er is VGC’s contribution to your pension.
Gross pay TD is the amount paid to you during this financial year (from 6 April).
Net pay is what has gone into your bank account this month.
*Tax
If you are out of work for part of the year, you may be able to claim back some of the tax you paid, at the end the tax year. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year. You may find the information you need if you look up ‘claiming a tax refund’ on the government website www.gov.uk, or you may prefer to speak to an independent financial adviser. MoneySavingExpert and Which? have information on how to find an independent financial adviser.