Why shop payslips get messy
Retail rosters are never the same twice: a cashier works three Saturdays this month and one next month, a casual packs shelves during promotions, Sunday trading adds premium hours. Many small retailers still build payslips in a Word document — retyping hours, retyping totals, and hoping the arithmetic is right. It usually is not, and the error only surfaces when a staff member queries pay.
This generator takes the typing out: enter the period's hours and rates, and it calculates gross pay, the automatic UIF deduction and net pay, then produces a tidy PDF with every BCEA section 33 item. For a full staff list, the bulk CSV option produces one PDF with a page per employee.
How to create them
1. Open the free generator and enter your shop's name and address once.
2. Add the staff member's name and job title (e.g. Shop assistant, Cashier), the pay period and payment date.
3. Enter the hours actually worked this period — ordinary hours in the basic fields, and overtime and Sunday hours as separate lines with their rates so they show up separately on the slip.
4. Download the PDF, give a copy to the staff member, and file yours with that period's roster.
A note on rates
Sectoral determinations set minimum rates for many of these roles — check the current determination covering wholesale and retail before each payroll run, and enter the rates that apply. The generator calculates from the figures you enter; it does not set or verify rates.
Frequently asked questions
Do part-time and casual shop staff need payslips?
Yes. Part-time and casual staff are employees, and section 33 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) requires written particulars of payment each time wages are paid, however few hours were worked. The payslip should show the hours actually worked in that period, the rate, gross pay, each deduction and the net amount.
How do I handle hours that change every pay period?
Enter each period's actual hours — ordinary hours, plus overtime and Sunday hours as separate lines with their rates — and the generator works out the gross from those figures. Because casual rosters change weekly or monthly, keep the hours record (roster or timesheet) with each payslip so the two documents agree.
How should Sunday work appear on a retail payslip?
Show Sunday hours as their own line with the rate applied. Premium rates for Sunday work apply under the BCEA and the sectoral determination covering many retail roles, and sectoral determinations set minimum rates for many of these roles — check the current determination for the rates that apply to your staff, and enter them in the generator.
I currently make payslips in Word. Why switch?
A Word template does not calculate: every total, overtime amount and UIF deduction is typed by hand, which is where mistakes creep in. This generator does the arithmetic for you — including the automatic 1% UIF deduction up to the ceiling — produces a consistent PDF, runs in your browser with no sign-up, and can do the whole staff list at once from a CSV file.