Millions of UK workers may be at risk of being underpaid or overtaxed because they donโt regularly check their payslips, according to the results of a new survey.
Polling over 1,000 people, HR and payroll software provider CIPHR found that nearly a quarter (22%) donโt regularly check their payslips, despite their importance for keeping track of their pay. As many as one in twelve employees (8%) confess to rarely (or even never) looking at their payslips.
Notably, older workers are the ones most likely to always check their payslips, compared to their younger counterparts. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of people over-55 say they always check their payslips, compared to around three-fifths (61%) of 35 to 54-year-olds, half (52%) of 25 to 34-year-olds, and less than half (45%) of 18 to 24-year-olds.
Similarly, women and employees in non-management roles seem to be more conscientious when it comes to their payslips โ 60% of women compared to 53% of men, and 60% of non-managerial staff compared to 45% of people occupying senior management positions, report always checking their payslips.
On average, just over half of respondents (57%) say they always check their payslips, while one in five (21%) check them frequently (very often). A further one in six (15%) check them sometimes, one in 20 (5%) say they rarely do, and one in 33 (3%) never do.
Younger workers are the least likely to look at their payslips overall, with around a third (32%) not checking them regularly.
Results vary considerably when examined by industry or profession. HR professionals were the ones most likely to say that they didnโt check their payslips regularly (50%). Followed by individuals working in the arts, entertainment, or recreation (33%), legal services (32%), IT, software and telecoms (31%), wholesale (30%), government and public administration (27%), and construction (25%).
On the opposite end of the scale, hospitality and foodservice workers were least likely to say that they didnโt check their payslips regularly (6%). While only 17% of employees working in transportation and warehousing, health and social care, education, and real estate, donโt check their payslips regularly.
Jon Lee, head of payroll bureau services at CIPHRโs payroll company PBS, said: โGenerally speaking, I don’t think people check their payslips too closely unless something out of the ordinary is happening that month. If there’s an annual increase going through, or someone’s just had a promotion, or itโs the start of the new tax year, for example, then they’ll be much more inclined to check how much they are being paid.
โThat said, while the onus is on employers to pay their employees correctly, there is still some responsibility on employees to check that their details are correct from month to month. And, if they donโt fully understand exactly what they are looking for, then they should speak to their line manager in the first instance.
โEvery payslip must show an employeeโs total or gross pay, their net or take-home pay, any deductions or payments, and list any variable hours that have been worked.
โMost will also include a National Insurance (NI) number, tax code, payroll number, pay rate, details of extra payments, the tax month, the payment method, and a tax office / PAYE reference, which is useful to have when contacting HMRC with any queries.
โIn an ideal world, people should always check their payslips as soon as they are issued. But, at the very least, itโs good practice to check payslips anytime thereโs been a change in personal circumstances โ an annual pay rise, a promotion, bonus payments, commission payments, people getting married or working from home. Anything that is likely to change earnings, tax codes or NI letters, for example.
โIf there are any mistakes on the payslip, itโs best to flag it as soon as possible, as itโs much more complicated to fix issues retrospectively, particularly in a different tax year.โ
To help people understand what to look for on their payslips, CIPHR has compiled its top five reasons to check your payslip.
CIPHR polled 1,007 UK adults between 23 September and 8 November 2021.
