1. Understanding a payslip
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

2. Starter question
You are a supermarket team leader earning an annual salary of £15,000.
How much do you take home each month?
More than £1,250?
Exactly £1,250?
Less than £1,250?
With students in the role of a supermarket team leader/supervisor earning a salary of £15,000 per annum. Ask them to estimate how much they will take home each month. Is it A) more than £1250 B) £1250 exactly or c) less than £1250?
The answer is £1,022 (This figure includes deductions for income tax and national insurance but does not include pension payments, student loans or overtime see .
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

3. National insurance (N.I.)
DATE
EMPLOYER
EMPLOYEE
31/05/2010
The Supermarket Ltd.
Your  name here
DEPARTMENT
N.I. NUMBER
TAX CODE
PAY METHOD
PERIOD
Retail
EB B
647L
BACS
Month 2
DESCRIPTION
UNITS DUE
DEDUCTIONS
TOTALS TO DATE
Basic Pay
Tax
N.I
Total Gross Pay
Taxable Pay
Tax Paid
Employee NI
Employer NI Employee Pension
Employer Pension
284.04
170.28
198.14
0.00
HOURS
GROSS PAY
NET PAY
Standard – 37.5hrs per week
227.16
What is this?
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

4. National Insurance
Everyone receives their National Insurance number just before their 16th birthday. It will stay with you for life.
Most people who work have to pay National Insurance Contributions, unless they are one of the groups who are exempt from the system.
National Insurance is paid at 11%* of your salary.
By paying National Insurance you are paying for benefits (including the jobseekers allowance, Incapacity benefit, a Widows Pension, and Maternity allowance) and the state retirement pension.
* For updated tax rates see
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

5. Tax code What is this? DATE EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE DEPARTMENT N.I. NUMBER
31/05/2010
The Supermarket Ltd.
Your  name here
DEPARTMENT
N.I. NUMBER
TAX CODE
PAY METHOD
PERIOD
Retail
EB B
647L
BACS
Month 2
DESCRIPTION
UNITS DUE
DEDUCTIONS
TOTALS TO DATE
Basic Pay
Tax
N.I
Total Gross Pay
Taxable Pay
Tax Paid
Employee NI
Employer NI Employee Pension
Employer Pension
284.04
170.28
198.14
0.00
HOURS
GROSS PAY
NET PAY
Standard – 37.5hrs per week
227.16
What is this?
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

6. Tax Code
Your Tax Code will show how much income you are allowed to earn before you start to pay tax.
It is the first 3 numbers of your tax allowance followed by a letter. Most people have the letter ‘L’ which indicates that they have the basic tax allowance.
So 647L means this person can earn £6,470* before they start to pay tax.
* For updated tax rates see
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

7. bacs What is this? DATE EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE DEPARTMENT N.I. NUMBER
31/05/2010
The Supermarket Ltd.
Your  name here
DEPARTMENT
N.I. NUMBER
TAX CODE
PAY METHOD
PERIOD
Retail
EB B
647L
BACS
Month 2
DESCRIPTION
UNITS DUE
DEDUCTIONS
TOTALS TO DATE
Basic Pay
Tax
N.I
Total Gross Pay
Taxable Pay
Tax Paid
Employee NI
Employer NI Employee Pension
Employer Pension
284.04
170.28
198.14
0.00
HOURS
GROSS PAY
NET PAY
Standard – 37.5hrs per week
227.16
What is this?
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

8. Bacs BACS is the Bankers Automated Clearing System.
If you are paid by BACS it means your pay goes straight into your own bank account.
It means you do not have to carry large sums of money around on pay day.
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

9. deductions What is this? DATE EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE DEPARTMENT N.I. NUMBER
31/05/2010
The Supermarket Ltd.
Your  name here
DEPARTMENT
N.I. NUMBER
TAX CODE
PAY METHOD
PERIOD
Retail
EB B
647L
BACS
Month 2
DESCRIPTION
UNITS DUE
DEDUCTIONS
TOTALS TO DATE
Basic Pay
Tax
N.I
Total Gross Pay
Taxable Pay
Tax Paid
Employee NI
Employer NI Employee Pension
Employer Pension
284.04
170.28
198.14
0.00
HOURS
GROSS PAY
NET PAY
Standard – 37.5hrs per week
227.16
What is this?
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

10. Deductions
Both National Insurance and Tax are deducted from your pay. These are called compulsory deductions because you must pay them.
The tax that is taken off is called income tax.
Everyone is allowed to earn some money before they start to pay income tax; this is your tax allowance. For most people it is £6,470* per year (per annum).
Once your income goes above this allowance you will have approximately 20 pence of every pound you earn taken as income tax.
So when income tax is added to National Insurance you can expect to lose 30% of your income in deductions.
* For updated tax rates see
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

11. Gross pay What is this? DATE EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE DEPARTMENT N.I. NUMBER
31/05/2010
The Supermarket Ltd.
Your name here
DEPARTMENT
N.I. NUMBER
TAX CODE
PAY METHOD
PERIOD
Retail
EB B
647L
BACS
Month 2
DESCRIPTION
UNITS DUE
DEDUCTIONS
TOTALS TO DATE
Basic Pay
Tax
N.I
Total Gross Pay
Taxable Pay
Tax Paid
Employee NI
Employer NI Employee Pension
Employer Pension
284.04
170.28
198.14
0.00
HOURS
GROSS PAY
NET PAY
Standard – 37.5hrs per week
227.16
What is this?
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

12. Gross Pay
The total income that you receive before any deductions are made is called your Gross Pay.
Gross pay will be bigger than Net Pay.
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

13. Net pay What is this? DATE EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE DEPARTMENT N.I. NUMBER
31/05/2010
The Supermarket Ltd.
Your  name here
DEPARTMENT
N.I. NUMBER
TAX CODE
PAY METHOD
PERIOD
Retail
EB B
647L
BACS
Month 2
DESCRIPTION
UNITS DUE
DEDUCTIONS
TOTALS TO DATE
Basic Pay
Tax
N.I
Total Gross Pay
Taxable Pay
Tax Paid
Employee NI
Employer NI Employee Pension
Employer Pension
284.04
170.28
198.14
0.00
HOURS
GROSS PAY
NET PAY
Standard – 37.5hrs per week
227.16
What is this?
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

14. Net Pay
This is the pay you have left after your deductions have been removed.
It is sometimes called your ‘take home’ pay.
All the deductions are made by the Tax offices, so you don’t have to do anything about it, except be honest about how much income you earn.
This system is called Pay As You Earn (PAYE).
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

15. totals What is this? DATE EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE DEPARTMENT N.I. NUMBER
31/05/2010
The Supermarket Ltd.
Your  name here
DEPARTMENT
N.I. NUMBER
TAX CODE
PAY METHOD
PERIOD
Retail
EB B
647L
BACS
Month 2
DESCRIPTION
UNITS DUE
DEDUCTIONS
TOTALS TO DATE
Basic Pay
Tax
N.I
Total Gross Pay
Taxable Pay
Tax Paid
Employee NI
Employer NI Employee Pension
Employer Pension
284.04
170.28
198.14
0.00
HOURS
GROSS PAY
NET PAY
Standard – 37.5hrs per week
227.16
What is this?
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

16. Total Deductions
This sums up all the deductions from your pay so far in the tax year (April to March). If you were to leave the business who paid you, then you should receive a P45. This would contain:
Your leaving date
How much tax you have paid so far in this tax year
How much pay you had earned so far in this tax year.
The tax year runs from April to March. So this payslip for August is month 5. At the end of the tax year your employer should give you a P60 which will tell you:
The total amount of tax you have paid in this tax year
The total amount of pay you have earned in this tax year.
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4

17. Total Deductions
Some people will choose to have other payments deducted from their pay; these are called voluntary deductions. E.g. Most people contribute to a pension scheme (a different one to the state pension that you qualify for by paying National Insurance payments). These contributions are taken from your gross pay and invested to build up a pension fund for you. When you retire, this fund will be used to provide you with a retirement income (known as pension or annuity). Another type of voluntary deduction is when you choose to join a Trade Union and pay their fees every month from your payslip.
Payslip Money Works: Level 2 Topic 4