Payslip
What it really means
The document (paper or online) showing your pay for the period: gross pay, deductions like tax and National Insurance, and the net pay that actually reaches your bank. By law your employer must give you one on or before payday.
Context, tips & common mistakes
Get into the habit of actually reading it, because payroll errors are common and easiest to fix quickly. Check three things each payday: the hours or salary match what you worked, the tax code looks right (a code with 'W1', 'M1' or 'BR' in a first job often means emergency tax and an eventual refund), and holiday or pension lines behave as expected. Workers with variable hours must by law be shown the hours they are being paid for, which matters on zero-hours and agency contracts where underpayment usually hides in missing hours rather than a wrong rate. Keep payslips long after leaving a job — letting agents, mortgage lenders and visa applications routinely ask for three to six months of them, and reconstructing lost ones through a former employer is slow. If something looks wrong, raise it with payroll in writing first; if that fails, ACAS gives free, confidential advice on recovering underpaid wages.