Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Preventing Payroll Errors

You work hard for your money. Make sure you’re getting everything you’re entitled to

By Ryan Griffioen, Representative

Who doesn’t check their bill when it’s handed to them at the restaurant? I imagine you give the receipt a once over at the grocery store, too.

It doesn’t surprise me when I see someone rifle through the food bags handed to them at the drive-thru. We regularly check to make sure we get the goods we paid for. We’re reasonably good at keeping an eye on the money we spend.

Why is it that so few people check their pay stub to make sure they receive the right amount of pay? Do we think our employer, or the person hired to administer payroll, is less likely to make an error than the cashier at the grocery store or the wait staff at the restaurant?

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not crying foul play. Mistakes happen. Is it as easy to have a payroll error as it is to accidentally scan a grocery item twice or enter a decimal in the wrong place when keying in your dinner order at the register?

It could be, depending on whether your payroll system is a sophisticated computer program, or a person with a time sheet, a calculator, and a cheque book. And even if it’s a sophisticated computer program, the program is only good if the information entered into it is correct.

Your income is so much more than your straight time hourly wage. It also includes premium pay for working overtime, vacation pay, or maybe retirement savings (RRSP or pension) and/or allowances (uniform, tool, safety, etc.).

Your collective agreement specifies all these things—the amount of vacation pay to which you are entitled, the percentage you should receive in pension or RRSP contributions, or how much you are eligible to receive in reimbursement for work-related tool or workwear purchases.

How do you know you are receiving everything you should be receiving as compensation for your hard work? Just trust that the amount that is direct deposited in your account is correct?

No. You need to make it a habit to always review your pay stubs.

Your employer is obligated by law to provide you with a pay stub—and for good reason. It gives you the opportunity to ensure you’re receiving the right money, but also being deducted the right amounts.

You need to make sure that you received your wage increase, or if your collective agreement says you are supposed to move up in vacation pay and/or pension contributions, that such movement took place.

Ensure you received premiums for the overtime hours you worked. Check to see that your reimbursement for tools or boots wasn’t taxed along with your other income. Or simply make sure that your length of service is being tracked accurately.

Union dues are a mandatory deduction, and for some, benefits premium copayments may be too. Make sure the correct amount is being deducted.

Payroll errors happen from time to time. It’s better that issues or concerns are detected and dealt with sooner than later.

Preventing Payroll Errors

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