The following information is correct to the best of our knowledge as of July 2025. If there are problems noted, please raise a Trickle or escalate to a Chief Registrar.

Row 1:

Staff pay number:

A staff pay number, also known as a payroll number, is a unique identifier for an employee that's made up of letters and numbers. It's used by employers to track employee information, such as their salary, benefits, and tax deductions.

Pay Div:

A pay division on a pay slip refers to a classification or grouping used by an employer to organise payroll. It typically represents a specific department, location, or category of employees within the company for administrative and accounting purposes.

Group code:

A group code on a payslip is a classification used by employers to categorise employees for payroll, taxation, or benefits purposes. It helps organise payroll processing and ensures accurate calculations for things like tax deductions, pension contributions, and other benefits.

Pay Point:

A pay point on a payslip refers to a specific salary level or position within a structured pay scale.

This considers:

·         Salary progression – Indicates where you are on a salary scale based on experience, qualifications, or tenure.

·         Pay banding – Aligns employees with a specific pay range within a job role or grade.

·         Annual increments – Shows where you stand in a structured pay system that increases with time or performance.

Pay scale/Band PT:

Pay Scale or Pay Band PT refers to a structured salary range assigned to a specific job role.

Holiday weeks:

Holiday weeks on a payslip refer to the number of weeks of paid leave (annual leave) an employee is entitled to or has taken. This may be displayed in different ways depending on your employer's payroll system.

Paid by:

This indicates the method by which your salary or wages are paid e.g. BACS – your wages are sent directly to your account.

Period ends:

This is the final day of the payroll period for which you are being paid.

Pay Period:

This is the specific range of dates for which you are being paid. E.g. Monthly pay reads ‘M’ and the number refers to the month of the financial year. For example, M08 would mean paid monthly and this is the pay slip for November (April is M01, May is M02 etc).

Row 2:

Tax code:

This is a set of letters and numbers used by your employee to calculate how much income tax should be deducted from your salary. It is assigned by HMRC.

Understanding the tax code:

S: This letter means you live in Scotland. Scottish tax payers have different tax rates and bands compared to those in the rest of the UK.

E.g. 1299: This number indicates your personal allowance. This is the amount you earn before you start paying tax. 1299 means you can earn up to £1299 without paying income tax.

L: This letter indicates that you are entitled to the standard personal allowance, which is the most common tax code for most employees.

Other letters could indicate special circumstances e.g. K for those with taxable benefits, M or N for marriage allowance

NI table or National insurance table:

National insurance contributions in the UK are deductions from your salary that go towards state benefits such as pensions, healthcare and unemployment benefit. The rates and thresholds can vary based on your employment status and income level.

What does the letter mean?

A – Table A (Class 1 employees). This is the most common table for employees under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system. It applies to workers who earn above the Lower Earning Limit (LEL) but below the Upper Earning Limit.

Tables exist from A to H. Other examples would be Table B. This is for employees who receive ‘Benefits in kind’ (e.g. company cars, private health insurance) rather than salary. Table F would be for self-employed individuals who make profits about a specific threshold.

NI number:

 A National insurance number is a unique identifier in the UK for the purpose of recording a person’s contributions to the NI system. It is required for anyone working, paying taxes or receiving benefits.

Superannuation number:

In the UK, employers are required to offer a pension scheme, where they automatically enrol you into and make contributions to your pension pot. This number is your unique identifier within that pension scheme.

Incremental date:

This is the date associated with an employee’s salary increase or pay scale progression.

Contracted hours:

This is the number of hours that an employee is legally required to work according to the terms of their employment contract.

Row 3:

Job description:

Your current role e.g. foundation doctor, specialty registrar.

Scale/band min:

‘Scale/band min’ on a payslip refers to the minimum salary or pay rate for a specific pay scale or band within an organisation. It is the lowest amount that an employee on that scale or band can earn.

Understanding ‘Scale/band min’:

• Pay Scale System:

Many employers, especially in the public sector (e.g., NHS, councils, civil service) or large organisations, use pay scales or bands to determine salaries.

Each band has a minimum (MIN) and maximum (MAX) salary level.

• Scale/band min:

This is the starting salary or the lowest pay rate for a particular band.

If you are new to a role or have recently been promoted into a higher band, you may start at the SCALE BAND MIN and progress upwards over time.

• Progression and Increments:

Employees move up the pay scale over time, usually based on experience, performance, or annual increments.

Scale/band max:

This is the highest salary an employee can reach within their current pay band.

Once an employee reaches this point, they cannot receive further automatic pay increases within that band.

To earn more, they would typically need a promotion to a higher band or a role with greater responsibilities.

Pay Progression and Increments:

• Employees move up their pay scale through annual increments, experience, or performance.

• Once they reach ‘Scale band max’, they stop receiving further automatic pay increases unless the entire pay structure is adjusted (e.g., cost-of-living increases).

Current WTE salary or ‘Current whole time equivalent salary’:

This is the full-time salary for your role, even if you work part time. It represents what you would earn if you were working full time hours. It is shown because it helps standardise pay comparisons between full time and part-time workers.

Taxable pay this period:

This refers to the amount of your earnings that are subject to income tax for the current pay period (e.g. monthly) This is the amount before tax is deducted but after certain pre-tax deductions (e.g. pension contributions, salary sacrifices such as cycle to work scheme, childcare vouchers).

NI pay this period:

This refers to the amount of national insurance contributions deducted from your salary for that period e.g. that month if paid monthly.

Row 4:

Pay and allowances:

This refers to the different components of your earnings before deductions. This section typically includes:

• Basic Pay – Your standard salary based on contracted hours and pay band.

• Enhancements – Additional payments for working unsocial hours, such as night shifts, weekends, or bank holidays.

• Overtime – Extra pay for working beyond your contracted hours.

• On-call Payments – If you are required to be available outside of normal working hours.

• Bonuses or Supplements – Any additional pay linked to specific roles or responsibilities.

• Mileage or Travel Expenses – If reimbursed through payroll.

Each item listed in this section will contribute to your gross pay, before deductions such as tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions are applied.

Deductions:

This section lists all amounts taken from your gross pay before you receive your net (take-home) pay. Common deductions include:

• Tax (PAYE - Pay As You Earn) – Income tax deducted based on your tax code.

• National Insurance (NI) – A contribution towards state benefits like pensions and healthcare.

• Pension Contributions – Payments into the NHS pension scheme (if enrolled).

• Student Loan Repayments – If applicable, deductions based on your earnings.

• Union Fees – If you're a member of a trade union like Unison or RCN.

• Other Deductions – Can include court orders (e.g., child maintenance) or salary sacrifice schemes (e.g., cycle-to-work, childcare vouchers).

Cumulative totals:

This refers to the running total of your earnings and deductions for the tax year (April to March). It helps track:

• Total taxable pay so far – The total amount you've earned that is subject to tax.

• Total tax paid so far – The amount of tax deducted since the start of the tax year.

• Total NI contributions so far – A record of your National Insurance payments to date.

This helps ensure the right tax is applied and can be useful for tax refunds or self-assessment.