A Salary Slip is a document given by an employer to his/her employees when their salaries are paid to them. This business document records the information about salaries of an employee like amount to be paid, amount deducted as tax or against some advances, pensions, overtimes, allowances etc. and the final amount being paid to the employee. The Salary Slip Format is generally a formal written sheet of paper prepared by the company and signed by an employee after receiving the salary as a receipt. Although a Salary Slip is mostly a formal document, in some organizations or employment, Informal Salary Slips are also used.
Formal or Informal, both Salary Slips contains same contents and serves same purpose. Both types of Salary Slip Formats contain the information about the company/employer and the employee along with the information related to the salary being paid to the employee. The main difference in both the formats is the way they are designed and calibrated. The tone and look of the Salary Slip Format determines whether it is a formal one or informal one.
Formal Salary Slip Format
This Salary Slip Format is designed horizontally and all the necessary information regarding the company is mentioned in the top left-hand corner of the slip. Next, information of the employee like his/her name, address and contact info is provided. The employee’s identification no. is mentioned next. The document also mentions the method in which the salary was paid to the employee (cash, cheque, demand draft etc.). Next, the extra earnings of the employee are listed which includes bonuses, overtime and incentive payments. The deductions are also listed on the slip which shows how much money has been withheld due to state and local taxes and the loans entitled in the name of the employee (if any). At the end, the total net amount to be given to the employee is mentioned at the bottom of the list. In case of payment being made via cheque, there is a space reserved for putting the information of the cheque like cheque no., date of payment etc. This kind of Salary Slip Formats always contain the organization’s logo and brand name at the slip.
Informal Salary Slip Format
This kind of Salary Slip Formats do not need to follow a fixed format. It may or may not contain the organization’s logo as they are mostly used by small trader’s or shop owners. In this slip, only the name of the employee is generally mentioned, and the final amount being paid to the employee is declared. The additions or deductions are generally not mentioned or listed in Informal Salary Slip Format. The design of the slip may be light and casual or not anything in particular at all. They may also not be printed on any official company letterheads and sometimes are also handwritten on any simple piece of paper.
The preference for the type of Salary Slip Formats can depend on the type of organization/employer (large, medium, small) or the budget of the employer. Some large companies also prefer Informal Salary Slip Formats whereas there are small employers using Formal Salary Slip Formats, too.