An employee questions their pay¶

Sooner or later, an employee will come to you and say their pay looks wrong. It can feel confronting, but most of the time it is a simple question about how the numbers add up — often, why the amount that landed in their account is lower than they expected. A calm, tidy process sorts out almost all of these.

This lesson is about good process, not legal advice. The aim is to understand the question, check the facts, explain what the payslip shows, and fix anything that is genuinely wrong.

In one line

Listen, check the pay run and payslip and the year-to-date figures, explain gross, deductions and net — and if there is a real error, fix it.

Why this matters¶

Pay is personal. Handling a query calmly and clearly keeps trust intact, and it often turns a worried employee into a reassured one once they can see how the numbers work. It also helps you catch a real mistake early, while it is easy to fix.

What you will learn¶

How to respond calmly with a clear checking process
How to use the payslip and year-to-date figures to explain the numbers
How to tell a "how the numbers work" question from a real error

Understanding the concept¶

Start by listening. Ask the employee exactly what looks wrong — the total, a particular amount, or a number that changed from last time. Let them explain before you reach for the figures.

Then check the pay run and the payslip together. A payslip is the record of what the employee was paid and what was taken out. It shows the gross pay (the amount before anything is taken out), the deductions (amounts taken out, the largest usually being tax the employer sends to the Australian Taxation Office), and the net pay (what is left — the take-home amount).

It also helps to look at the year-to-date figures — the running totals for the year so far. These let you see whether this pay fits the pattern or stands out.

Walk the employee through it in plain words: this is your gross, these are the deductions, and this is your net. Most queries are simply that net pay is lower than expected because of tax and other deductions — once that is explained, the question is answered.

If, after checking, you find the figures really are wrong, that is a genuine error — and errors are fixable. Head to the lesson that matches the problem, for example correcting a pay after it has run, or wrong tax was withheld.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Fair Work sets out that a pay slip must be given each pay and must show the pay details, which makes it your primary checking document for a query. The largest deduction is normally PAYG withholding, which the ATO describes as an amount the employer withholds and remits toward the employee's end-of-year tax. Keep the conversation to what the records show; leave entitlement interpretation to the right body.

Example¶

Sam gets a message from an employee: "My pay is smaller than last fortnight — is that right?" Sam opens the pay run and the payslip side by side and looks at the year-to-date totals. The gross is the same as usual, but this fortnight had a little more tax taken out because an extra shift last time had pushed one pay higher. Sam explains the gross, the deductions and the net in a short reply, and the employee is happy. Nothing was wrong — it was a question about how the numbers work. Had the gross itself been wrong, Sam would have corrected the pay and let the employee know.

Common mistakes¶

Getting defensive before checking — listen first, then look at the figures.
Only looking at the net pay — the answer is usually in the gross and the deductions.
Ignoring the year-to-date totals, which show whether a pay is out of pattern.
Treating a "how do the numbers work" question as an error, or the reverse.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — open the employee's pay run to see the gross, deductions and net, and open the payslip to see the same figures laid out the way the employee sees them. The year-to-date totals let you compare this pay with the year so far. If you find a genuine error, you can correct the pay and the payslip updates to match.

Key points¶

Listen first — understand exactly what the employee thinks is wrong.
Check the pay run and payslip together, and look at the year-to-date figures.
Explain the gross, the deductions and the net in plain words.
Most queries are simply that net pay is lower than expected due to deductions.
If the figures really are wrong, it is an error — fix it.
Keep it about good process and the records, not legal advice.

Learn next¶

General information only — not tax, super or financial advice.

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