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Records Relating to Employees and Pay Slips
One of the less spoken about aspects of the new Fair Work legislation is a requirement of employers to complete and retain employment records for their employees.
The Fair Work Regulations 2009 supplement the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009; and in particular the regulations (as amended) relating to employment records and an employee’s pay slips are found at Chapter 3, Regulations 3.30 to 3.46.
In all of the following there is ‘strict liability’ (as defined in section 6.1 of the Criminal Code) for the employer to be able to produce these records or face a civil remedy. What this means is an employer continues to be liable regardless of the circumstances. In civil law the concept applies where a person is liable despite the absence of fault or negligence; the vicarious liability of an employer is strict.
The information below is taken from the Fair Work Regulations that relate to an employer’s obligation regarding employment records. The actual Regulation number is in square brackets after the heading.
General [3.32]
The record relating to the employee must contain the following:
- the name of the employer;
- the name of the employee;
- whether the employee’s employment is full-time; or part-time;
- whether the employee’s employment is permanent; temporary; or casual;
- the date on which the employee’s employment began;
- the ABN of the employer.
Pay [3.33]
The record must contain details of the rate of:
- remuneration paid to the employee and
- the gross and net amounts paid to the employee and any deductions.
If the employee is a casual or irregular part-time employee who is guaranteed a basic periodic rate of pay, the record relating to the employee must also contain a record of the hours worked by the employee.
If the employee is entitled to be paid an incentive based payment, a bonus, a penalty rate or other monetary allowance or separately identifiable entitlement, the record relating to the employee must contain details of the payment, bonus, loading rate, allowance or entitlement.
Overtime hours worked [3.34]
If a penalty rate or loading (however described) must be paid for overtime hours actually worked by an employee, the record relating to the employee must state:
- the number of overtime hours worked by the employee during each day or
- when the employee started and ceased working overtime hours.
Averaging of hours [3.35]
If the employer and employee agree in writing to an averaging of the employee’s hours of work under section 226 of the Act, the employer must keep a copy of that agreement.
Leave [3.36]
If the employee is entitled to leave, the record must contain the following details:
- any leave taken by the employee;
- the balance of the employee’s entitlement to that leave from time to time.
Superannuation Contributions [3.37]
If the employer is required to make superannuation contributions for the benefit of the employee, the record must contain the following:
- the amount of the contributions made;
- the period over which the contributions were made;
- the dates on which the contributions were made;
- the name of any fund to which the employer became liable to make the contributions, including:
- a record of any election made by the employee as to the fund to pay contributions and the date of the election.
Individual Flexibility Agreement [3.38]
If an agreement is made between an employee and practice, the employer must keep a copy of the agreement and the notice of termination of the agreement.
Termination of employment [3.40]
If the employee’s employment is terminated, the record relating to the employee must contain the following:
- whether the employment was terminated by consent; notice; summarily; or in some other manner, specifying the manner;
- the name of the person who acted to terminate the employment.
Records must be legible and in English. The records must also be easily accessible to an inspector. This may be at the practice or if not easily accessible within 2-3 days.
Payslips
What information needs to be included on an employee’s payslip?
Pay slips [3.46]
An employer must issue to each employee a written pay slip for each remuneration payment made to the employee.
The pay slip:
- must be issued within 1 day of the payment to which the pay slip relates and
- may be issued in electronic form or as a hard copy.
The employer must include on a pay slip particulars specified in regulation 3.46 (below).
Contents of pay slips [3.46]
The following particulars are to be specified:
- the name of the employer;
- the name of the employee;
- the period to which that pay slip relates;
- the date on which the payment to which the pay slip relates was made.
If the employee is paid at an hourly rate of pay:
- the ordinary hourly rate;
- the number of hours in that period for which the employee was employed at that rate; and
- the amount of the payment made at that rate.
If the employee is paid at an annual rate of pay — that rate as at the latest date to which the payment relates;
- the gross amount of the payment;
- the net amount of the payment;
- any amount paid that is an incentive-based payment, bonus, loading, monetary allowance, penalty rate or other separately identifiable entitlement the employee has;
- the details in respect of each amount deducted from the gross amount of the payment including the name, or the name and number, of the fund or account into which the deduction was paid.
If the employer is required to make superannuation contributions for the benefit of the employee:
- ABN of the employer;
- the amount of each contribution that the employer has made for the benefit of the employee during the period to which the pay slip relates, and the name of any fund to which that contribution was made; or
- the amounts of contributions that the employer is liable to make in relation to the period to which the pay slip relates, and the name of any fund to which those contributions will be made.
