Are Your Payslips Still Delivered The Old Fashioned Way?

24th July 2019

Payslips are dead. Long live payroll apps.

With the introduction of apps and digital technology business has moved on. We now have more tools to rely on to help business and the people within it. But you may be surprised how many companies still provide paper payslips. Don’t think you’re ahead of the game with PDF payslips or portals.  A mobile savvy employee audience now demands more from their employer.

When I started work, I would get a hand delivered payslip from my boss. Later on, I received them by post to my home address. And then, magically, I received them in PDF format as an attachment in an email (not very GDPR compliant in today’s world).

Payslip Law – A reminder

The payment of Wages Act 1991 grants all employees the right to a payslip. The law was recently updated in April 2019 to include the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) Order 2018. And you must receive a payslip on or before your payday, whether that be monthly, weekly, or four-weekly.

Mobile Savvy Employees need payslip information at their fingertips

Using mobile technology to access the Internet is not a luxury anymore; it’s something we take for granted.

According to the Office of National Statistics, most adults access information ‘on the go’ using mobile devices now. The number of adults accessing the internet on the go via mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) has more than doubled since 2011, and this is constantly rising. 89% of adults in Great Britain used the internet at least weekly in 2018 according to the ONS. And, a  2018 CIPP survey suggested 50% of employees would rather receive their payslip via an app or portal.

Employees have grown to expect that any information they require is instantly accessible to them on their smartphone or tablet. We are able to manage so much of our ‘life admin’ on our mobile devices now; banking, email, travel plans, purchases and more. And it’s all driven by knowing how much we are paid.

Financial wellbeing can have a big impact on stress and work engagement. With financial wellness high on the agenda for many companies, getting information into employees’ hands as easily as possible can have major benefits.

PDF/ Online payslips – So Old School

I can remember a number of times when I’ve been stuck thinking about what I’ve been paid and then having to wait until Monday to access a work email or system to get to my payslip. There’s nothing quite like the stress of needing to find important information quickly and not being able to get hold of it. Down time is when employees are away from work and when they do all of the important stuff, so for most employees that’s now unacceptable. Online portals are good but the same 2018 CIPP research raised the question about access and storage of payslips should an employee leave. And the report questioned whether PDF payslips are still relevant in a new GDPR compliant world.

Payroll apps – power in your employees’ pocket

Savvy employers are now waking up to a new breed of payroll processing software and payroll outsourcers that use apps to push payslips to you and your employees’ mobile devices every single pay period, allowing constant, easy access to all of the information they contain.

Using any device with an Internet connection, employees can access and view payslip information as soon as pay day occurs. And the great thing about a lot of these payroll apps is that you have historical information at your fingertips – the usual basic pay, overtime and bonuses, but also details such as National Insurance number, tax code and P60s. It’s that convenient autonomy employees are now craving. Gone are the days when referring to current and historic payslip required sifting through a pile or papers or reviewing information through work email or computers.

What does that mean for your business?

Think about it. Easier access to information will mean less queries to your payroll team. And with greater financial understanding for your employees, and ultimately better financial wellbeing, payslip apps should now be the norm for your payroll.