Employment law
Issuing payslips
A payslip is not a simple statement: it is the document evidencing performance of the contract month after month. The Labour Code sets its content, organises its retention, and, the most surprising point, limits its legal effect.
A properly drawn payslip protects both parties. An incomplete one does not deprive the employee of their rights; it only deprives the employer of a means of proof. Labour Code, Articles L.104 to L.111 (French).
1. Mandatory particulars
The payslip must show:
| Particular | Detail |
|---|---|
| The employer's name and address | Full identification of the company |
| The employee's name, address and reference number | The reference number links to the employer's register |
| The date of payment | It starts time limits and evidences that payment was regular |
| The job and occupational category | They determine notice, probation and often the applicable scale |
| Gross remuneration, with all its components | Base salary, bonuses, overtime, benefits |
| Deductions, itemised | Each deduction appears separately, never as a block |
| Net remuneration | The amount actually paid |
Two requirements deserve emphasis. "All its components": a payslip showing a single global pay line does not meet the obligation; bonuses, overtime premiums and benefits must appear separately. And "itemised deductions": a "miscellaneous deductions" line is irregular. Labour Code, Article L.105 (French).
2. The payment register
The payslip particulars are reproduced in a payment register, which may take the form of a computerised file, subject to the validation the regulations require.
The retention period is five years from the last entry made. It is a period to build into the company's archiving rules: it runs from the last entry, not from the employee's departure. Labour Code, Articles L.107 and L.108 (French).
3. The most important point: evidential value
Two rules limit the payslip's effect, and both run the same way, protecting the employee.
Accepting a payslip without protest does not amount to waiving rights. An employee who signed, banked the money and stayed silent for months has waived nothing. A back-pay claim remains possible.
The words "in full and final settlement" cannot be enforced against the employee. This is the phrase reflexively added at the foot of final settlements, in the belief it closes the file. It does not. Labour Code, Articles L.110 and L.111 (French).
The practical consequence is direct: the security of a final settlement comes not from the wording but from the accuracy of the figures. Better to spend the time checking each line, salary, bonuses, overtime, untaken leave, payments due, than obtaining a signature on a phrase with no effect.
4. The employer's register
Alongside the payment register, the company keeps an employer's register, organised in three sections:
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Section 1 | Employees' personal details and employment contracts |
| Section 2 | Work performed, remuneration, leave |
| Section 3 | The labour inspector's endorsements and observations |
It may be computerised, provided a listing remains accessible to the labour inspector. Retention follows the same period: five years after the last entry. Labour Code, Article L.130 (French).
5. The monthly checklist
- Have the variable elements been entered: overtime, absences, bonuses for the period?
- Are the premium rates applied those of the collective agreement, rather than the statutory minima alone? See Calculating overtime.
- Do benefits in kind appear on the payslip, at their value? See Benefits.
- Are deductions itemised, and do they correspond to permitted deductions?
- Is the occupational category up to date after a promotion or amendment?
- Has the payment register been updated?
6. The most frequent mistakes
| Mistake | Why it is a problem |
|---|---|
| A single global pay line | The Code requires the detail of all components of gross pay |
| A "miscellaneous deductions" line | Deductions must be itemised |
| A deduction not provided for by law | Only the exhaustively listed deductions are permitted |
| A benefit in kind missing from the payslip | It is a component of pay and enters the calculation bases |
| Relying on "in full and final settlement" | It cannot be enforced against the employee |
| Archiving for less than five years | The period runs from the last entry made |
Key takeaways
| The rule | What it implies |
|---|---|
| Mandatory particulars | Including the detail of every component of gross pay |
| Deductions are itemised | No global line |
| Payment register and employer's register | Kept five years after the last entry |
| Acceptance without protest is not waiver | A back-pay claim remains possible |
| "Full and final settlement" is unenforceable | Security comes from accuracy, not wording |
| The employer's register has three sections | Contracts, activity and pay, inspector's endorsements |