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Getting Paid
Getting your first pay cheque and earning your own money is very rewarding. How you get paid will depend on the company’s payroll procedure.
Salary vs. Wages
If you are paid a wage, it will be a rate per hour. In most part-time positions you will be paid by an hourly wage. If you earn a salary, this is yearly amount. The amount you make in a year would be divided by the number of pay periods in the year.
Cheque vs. Direct Deposit
You may receive a cheque that you will have to deposit yourself into your bank account. Or, many companies now use a direct deposit system where you pay goes directly into your account. Regardless of how you are paid, you should be provided with an earnings statement which will give you a breakdown of your pay. This is usually attached to your pay cheque. If you are paid through direct deposit, you should still receive a pay stub that includes your statement. It is important to keep track of you hours and keep this information.
Breakdown of your Pay Cheque
Do not be surprised when you open your pay cheque and find the amount to be lower than what you thought. There will be a difference between what you make and your actual take-home pay. Your pay is broken down into a number of parts:
Basic Information - Employee name, the date of the pay period, the rate of pay and hours worked.
Gross Earnings- The total of all of cash earnings. This includes straight salary or your hourly rate times, the number of hours worked in the pay period, overtime pay and vacation pay.
Statutory Deductions- An employer has a legal obligation to withhold statutory deductions, which, in order of priority, are: Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, federal and provincial income taxes.
Net Pay – A total all your deductions, taken off of your gross earnings. The amount you actually taking home.
Your pay statement can be a bit confusing, so if you have any questions or are unclear about something, you should speak to your employer or someone in human resources.
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