How to Get a Paystub
Although a pay stub is a legal requirement to be received from an employer, some employees do not receive their pay stubs regularly or at all. So, if you are employed and are not receiving pay stubs, it can leave you in an awkward position of having to ask for your pay stub. Although this could be a one-off issue for any number of reasons, if you are consistently not receiving pay stubs and have to ask for them each pay period, you may be uncomfortable about approaching this.
If you do not know how to solve this problem, we have some ideas below that will help you to resolve the issue.
Establish the Reason
If you are not receiving pay stubs from your employer, it is important that you first establish why this is happening. If it is something as straightforward as the person who completes payroll is off unexpectedly, then it can be best to wait for them to return to work to see if the pay stubs resume. If the staff member who completes payroll has left the company, then understandably, there may be a transition period where a new member of staff takes over the payroll.
However, if this is more of a long-term issue with no apparent reason, then you will need to speak to your payroll department to establish why you are not receiving your pay stubs. There could be several very reasonable explanations for why you are not receiving pay stubs, but if there is no reason why you are not receiving a pay stub, you will need to take steps to resolve this.
Find a Resolution
We recommend that the first thing you do in any form of workplace dispute is to speak to your employer about this. You can speak to your manager or to your payroll department to find out what can be done to get you a pay stub.
Some states do not make it a legal requirement to get individual pay stubs. However, proof of income is covered by federal law. While we do not recommend immediately discussing legislation and legal requirements, it is best to do your research before the conversation with your employer in case you need the details.
When you speak to your employer, it is best to have prepared the information you need to know and the questions you are planning to ask in advance. This will ensure that you get all of the information from the conversation that you require and will prevent you from having to ask additional questions at a later date.
If the initial conversation with your manager or payroll department does not resolve the issue, it may be best to escalate the issue within your workplace. HR departments or the payroll manager can be the next option to discuss this, and we recommend that you outline exactly why you need proof of income. It could be that your employer does not provide pay stubs but will provide an annual proof of income and deductions statement that will cover your needs.
