What do you check on payslips before they are released to employees?
What the interviewer wants to hear
- Employee details such as name, ID, PAN and bank masked correctly
- Earnings and deductions match the salary structure and inputs
- LOP, arrears and variable items are correct
- Net pay matches the payroll register and bank file
- YTD figures and tax details are correct
Model answer
I do a sample review across different types of employees: a new joiner, a leaver, someone with LOP, someone with arrears or a bonus, and a few regular employees. On each payslip I check the employee details are correct, and that sensitive numbers such as bank account and PAN are masked if the format requires it. I check that earnings match the salary structure, that LOP days match approved attendance, and that arrears, overtime and reimbursements match the approved inputs. Then I check deductions: PF on the right wage, ESI if covered, the correct professional tax for the state and TDS consistent with the tax projection. I make sure net pay on the payslip equals the payroll register and the bank file, and that YTD totals look right. Only after these checks and approval do I publish payslips through the secure portal.
Can you answer it under time pressure?
Take a timed easy round and get scored on every answer.
More easy Payroll Specialist questions
- Explain how you get from an employee gross salary to their net pay.
- A new employee asks why their monthly take-home is much lower than their CTC divided by 12. How do you explain it?
- Walk me through how you prepare and run a monthly payroll.
- An employee emails you saying their salary this month is wrong. How do you handle it?
- Why is data privacy so important in payroll, and what do you do to protect it?
- A new employee asks what PF is and why it is deducted from their salary. How would you explain it?
- What information and steps do you need to set up a new joiner correctly in payroll?
- How would you explain the difference between a fixed allowance and a reimbursement to an employee?
- Payroll has fixed deadlines. How do you stay accurate when there is very little time?