Maintenance of time and wage records
The Industrial Relations Act 1999 (PDF, 1.9 MB) requires employers to keep time and wage records and give written statements of wages paid (for example, payslips).
Keeping accurate and detailed records protects both the employee and the employer when there are complaints or disputes.
It is the employer’s responsibility to keep these records.
The Industrial Relations Act 1999 doesn’t say employees must fill in a time sheet, but employers should implement a process to gather accurate information hey are required to keep.
The Act requires all time and wage records to be kept:
- for six years. This means an employee's entire record must be kept for 6 years after their employment ends.
- in the English language
- at a workplace of the employer in Queensland.
The Act says these records must be kept for each employee covered by an award or agreement and must include:
- full name of employer
- full name of employee
- address of employee
- date of birth of employee
- date on which employment started and if appropriate, ended
- for each pay period:
- job title
- name of the award or agreement
- number of hours worked each day and week
- times of starting and stopping work
- details of any meal breaks or other work breaks
- details of the rate of pay
- the gross and net amounts paid
- details of any deductions
- leave entitlements - what's been taken and what's accrued.
- superannuation contributions
- for a casual entitled to long service leave, the total ordinary hours worked since their entitlement started, calculated to 30 June each year.
Employers also need to keep records for employees not covered by awards. These records need to include:
- full name of employer
- full name of employee
- address of employee
- date of birth of employee
- employee designation
- number of hours worked each day and week
- hours worked for each pay period
- wage rate paid
- any deductions
- gross and net wages paid
- for a casual entitled to long service leave, the total ordinary hours worked since their entitlement started, calculated to 30 June each year.
Records of the employee’s date of birth and number of hours worked are not needed for employees paid on piece rates or wholly by commission.
Last updated August 24, 2006
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