I just got paid for the first time (well, except for my summer job but it worked differently) for my first part time job and I'm a bit confused.

The pay day was on the 7th and I worked from Nov 24th-Dec 5th for a total of 35.5 hours. I get paid $8/hour so my total should be $284... but when i checked my history in my bank account it says that my work place only gave me $161.05? That's a $122.95 difference...

They probably didn't calculated it from Nov 24th-Dec 5th because I think the main company does the payroll and stuff... But I heard that there are like taxes and stuff they take out and I don't get it until i do my taxes?

Can someone explain how payroll works?

(I don't fell it's the right time to ask my manager or anyone because she's going to come back from vacation soon to find out that some expensive items were stolen from the store =_=;; So she'll be pretty angry and I don't want to fan the flames with asking about how I'm getting paid...)

somethings rlly fishy. part time jobs usually have rlly less tax..(i get $4 tax from every $200)
at the same time, the company that i work for pays for the 4th& 3rd weeks ago that i worked..maybe thats the problem? how many hours did you work the 2 weeks before that?
i also recommend you ask a close coworker

I don't think they paid you for November 24th to December 5th if your paycheck was on December 7th. My paycheck is from 4 weeks before to 2 weeks before (December 1 = paycheck for November 1 to November 15). So yours probably is only for a few days. I think you should ask anyway... managers often mess up on hours, etc. - mine doesn't mind when I talk to him.

they might not have counted the hours you worked for the week of dec5th yet. how many hours did you work from nov24-dec1?

it should say on your paycheck the starting payment date to ending payment date

^I'm thinking they paid me that way too. Because in the recycling today I saw an empty folder that was entitled: PAYROLL CONFIDENTIAL blah blah

So payroll may have recorded employee's hours to a certain date and then sent in some papers and then my manager put it into my account?

Because if they paid me from just Nov 24th - Nov 30th I would have recieved only $160... and they gave me $161.05 so maybe they paid me from Nove 24th - Dec 1st ($196) and the $34.95 was tax?? =T I'm really not sure....

I guess I'll try and ask my coworker tomorrow (I've only worked with her once though!) before my manager gets back... or I'll wait for the Christmas rush to die down then ask? =T

v13co: I didn't get a paycheque? I just went to the bank and the ATM gave a copy of my recent transactions XD They didn't give me a paycheque... I only knew I was paid because it said "PAYDAY! YAY!" on our calendar =P! Will I be getting a paycheque in the mail or something to explain stuff? I got a nicely explained paycheque for my summer job...

not all companies send out the paycheque infos..so youll have to ask for that one
lol i recommend you ask asap before people forget!

ask for a paycheque! the employee has the right to know how they're getting paid.

i think they counted nov24-nov30 and you might have worked just a little bit more (a few minutes) than what you count so your paychecks a wee bit higher. tax shouln't count that much. although are you part of a union? maybe their deducting dues, although it shouldn't be that much

^I'm worried though... since my manager will be mad pissed when she finds out that three very expensive items (over $100 are missing!) and she just got back from vacation too... I barely see her too since she gets off work half an hour or so before I come in. I guess I'll try asking a coworker tomorrow.

And I don't think they're so precise like that... Like counting down to the last minute. If they shedule me until 6:30 for example, and I don't leave until 6:45, they don't record that.
I don't think I'm a part of a union? Or at least I never heard anyone talking about unions =P

Hey Summerheaven,

You should check your paystub. Even if you get your money electronically deposited, they are still required to provide you with a written statement of the period for which you are being paid, and the regular hours and the payrate, the overtime hours and the payrate, as well as all the deductions taken.

The other people that posted are probably right. If you are working retail, there is usually a couple of days between the last day of your pay peroid and the date of the cheque (under the Labour Code, I believe they have 1 week). Most retail stores because of hours worked that may differ from week, do not pay for work done the very next day. There is usually a few days lag time.

With regards to payroll deductions, under normal circumstances, Income tax, Employment Insurance, and Canada Pension Plan deductions HAVE to be deducted from paycheques (called statutory deductions). HOWEVER, if you claimed on your TD1 form (the personal tax credit return form you filled out for income tax purposes) that your total income for the year from all employers and payers will be less than your total claim amount, then your employers or payers will not deduct tax from your earnings. Some employers will red flag this and ask if you realize what you are doing and the consequences of claiming no tax deduction. This is because, if you are incorrect, and are supposed to pay taxes, and had no taxes deducted, you could be stuck with a BIG tax bill in April.

The rate you get taxed at for income tax depends on what credits you are claiming for. Everyone gets the basic personal exemption. You get another credit if you support your spouse (ie. who earns very little money - the amount depends on the spouses income), another for any children born in 1990 or later and residing with you, etc. etc. etc. The more you claim, the less income tax is taken off.

No CPP is deducted if you are under 18. If you are over 18 (and under 70 and not receiving CPP, which I am assuming not), then the amount deducted is your gross earnings minus the basic exemption then multiplied by 4.95%. The basic exemption for the year is $3500, so payroll would divide this figure by the number of pay periods in the year. That figure is then deducted from your gross earnings, and the resulting amount is multiplied by 4.95%

Employment Insurance must be deducted no matter what your age, and the amount deducted is 1.8% of insurable earnings.

OK, now for the really fun stuff.

Income tax, CPP and Employment Insurance are all listed on your T4's that you will receive by mid March (if not - phone the employer - they are required by law to mail them by the end of February) for any earnings for the previous year (ie. any paycheques dated from January 1 - December 31 of the previous year).

CPP and Employment Insurance that have been deducted from your paycheques are non-refundable tax credits. This means they are amounts that are used to decrease the Basic Federal and Provincial Tax, and any amounts that is left over the Government gets to keep (hence the non-refundable part). The Income tax that has been deducted is a refundable amount. HOWEVER, only the amount that has been overdeducted is refunded.

The following is a good link to a webpage that breaks down what is on a paystub.


The following link is the Canada Revenue Agency's web page on the different deductions, amounts, etc.


Clear as mud, huh, that's because we are talking about the government here.

If you're still confused, let me know, and I'll try to explain some more. PM me if needed. I''d be happy to try and help.

^ Wow! Thanks a lot =D I probably didn't get a paystub because my manager isn't here? I think the other manager (well I dunno if she's a manager, but on the schedule she's on the same section as the manager as well as the person who does business things =P) did the payroll stuff this time. I'll ask a coworker tomorrow (since the managers and people in their special section dont' work weekends) to see what happens normaly.

The company/person who issues the paycheque is responsible for issuing the paystubs too, because the company also has to keep a record of your paystub. If you get your paystub electronically deposited, the paystub may be given to you the next day by a manager, or maybe it's mailed. Depends on company policy.

When I say company/person, I mean the one who actually does the payroll (usually someone in a payroll department). A lot of companies now are using payroll services, and they are the ones that acutally prints the cheques or directly deposits the amounts to bank accounts. But whoever does the actual payroll payment does the cheque stubs too.

The manager is usually just responsible for giving the total hours worked for each week and the rate the hours are paid. She (or he) would then give the stubs to the employees when she receives them from whoever does payroll. She proabably would also have to give acutal paycheques to anyone requesting that their paycheques not be direct deposited (it happens - out of about 40 employees, I used to have about 5 who wanted an actual cheque).

it probably wasn't included on the payroll. usually, when you first start a job (atleast for me and all my jobs), the first week or the week leading to payday isn't included but just comes on your next paycheck. but still ask for a paystub.

Ah, I wasn't able to ask today... we had a major system meltdown so it was very busy X_x;;; I'll have to ask next week. I hope things would have calmed down by then!