Employees' payslip neglect may lead to major problems for HR leaders
The majority of Australians don't have the habit of checking their payslips, leaving potential errors unnoticed by employees and employers alike and putting the organisation at at significant risk of non-compliance.
An analysis by payroll firm Reckon revealed that three in four Australians don't check their payslips regularly, with just 26% of employees diligently checking theirs.
Full-time workers lead in payslip diligence, with 28% of them regularly checking their payslips. This is followed by part-time employees (23%), and then casual staff (19%).
Sam Allert, CEO of Reckon, attributed their findings to Australians being too preoccupied to regularly check their payslips.
"For many busy Australians, checking their payslip can seem tedious and unnecessary, especially given the level of trust many workers place in their employers," Allert said in a statement.
According to the report, 48.1% of Australians don't check their payslips because they trust their employer and their payroll system, while 25.2% said they just assume their payslip is correct because they've never noticed an issue before.
Consequences for employers
But Allert warned that not checking payslips can have consequences for employees, as well as for employers.
Among the most common mistakes spotted in payslips is an incorrect pay amount (47%), followed by missing overtime or penalty rates (31.1%), and then incorrect leave balances (18.6%).
Employees are warned that they may miss out on their superannuation payments if they don't check their payslips, according to the report, especially ahead of the upcoming Payday Super reforms.
These errors, when unnoticed, can also lead to hefty penalties for employers involved. Repayments to employees because of payroll errors reached over $353 million in 2024-25, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The biggest repayments were recorded in the Education and Training sector, which reached $68.8 million. This is followed by Retail Trade ($60.0 million), and then Mining ($54.9 million).
"I believe there is a huge opportunity for businesses, particularly small business owners, to improve payroll accuracy and transparency," Allert said.
"By using the right tools and payroll software, employers can keep communication clear, reduce errors, and ensure their staff feel confident they're being paid correctly, especially as Australia prepares for Payday Super in July."
