Mathematics Standard • Year 11 • Module 3 • Lesson 4
Pay Slips — Reading and Calculating
Practise HSC-style writing on pay-slip reading — multi-mark short answers and one structured extended response.
1. Short-answer questions
1.1 A pay slip shows gross pay of $1,860.00 and total deductions of $412.50. Calculate the net pay. 2 marks Band 3
1.2 An employee's net pay is $2,108.40. PAYG tax is $614.00 and salary sacrifice super is $227.60. Calculate the gross pay. 3 marks Band 3-4
1.3 A pay slip lists 38 hours at $26.00/hr ordinary and 4 overtime hours at time-and-a-half, but the overtime is recorded as $104.00. The slip also lists a $32.00 allowance and a PAYG deduction of $245.00.
(a) Identify and correct the error in the overtime line.
(b) Calculate the correct gross pay.
(c) Calculate the correct net pay. 4 marks Band 4
2. Extended response
2.1 The pay slip below is for Aroha, who works as a hospital administration officer. Her award rate is $32.40 per hour.
Period: 1–14 March (fortnightly)
Ordinary (76 hrs × $32.40): $2,462.40
Overtime (6 hrs at time-and-a-half): $______ (you must calculate)
First-aid allowance: $32.00
PAYG tax withheld: $725.00
Salary sacrifice super: $150.00
Net pay shown on payslip: $1,910.16
(a) Calculate the overtime pay that should appear on the payslip.
(b) Calculate the correct gross fortnightly pay.
(c) Calculate Aroha's correct net pay using Gross − Deductions.
(d) Compare the correct net pay to the $1,910.16 shown on the payslip. State whether Aroha has been underpaid or overpaid, by how much, in a clear conclusion sentence. 7 marks Band 5-6
Explicit marking criteria
Part (a) — 2 marks
• 1 mark — correct OT rate using $32.40 × 1.5.
• 1 mark — correct OT pay using OT rate × 6 hours.
Part (b) — 1 mark
• 1 mark — gross = ordinary + overtime + allowance.
Part (c) — 2 marks
• 1 mark — correctly sums PAYG + salary sacrifice as deductions.
• 1 mark — correct net = gross − total deductions.
Part (d) — 2 marks
• 1 mark — correct numerical comparison of correct net vs shown net.
• 1 mark — explicit conclusion sentence stating direction (under/over) and dollar amount with units.
Your response:
Stuck? Work top-to-bottom on the payslip — calculate each line, sum for gross, sum deductions, subtract for net, then compare.How did this worksheet feel?
What I'll revisit before next class:
1.1 — Net pay (2 marks)
Sample response. Net = $1,860.00 − $412.50 = $1,447.50.
Marking notes. 1 mark — correct subtraction shown. 1 mark — correct dollar value with units. A bare answer scores 1/2.
1.2 — Gross from net (3 marks)
Sample response.
Total deductions = $614.00 + $227.60 = $841.60.
Gross = $2,108.40 + $841.60 = $2,950.00.
Marking notes. 1 mark — correct total deductions. 1 mark — uses the reverse formula (Gross = Net + Deductions). 1 mark — correct dollar value with units. Subtracting instead of adding gives $1,266.80 — a common error and a 0 for the second mark.
1.3 — Multi-part overtime correction + net pay (4 marks)
(a) Sample response. Recorded OT $104 = $26 × 4, no multiplier applied. Correct OT rate = $26 × 1.5 = $39/hr. Correct OT pay = $39 × 4 = $156.00.
(b) Sample response. Ordinary = $26 × 38 = $988.00. Gross = $988.00 + $156.00 + $32.00 = $1,176.00.
(c) Sample response. Net = $1,176.00 − $245.00 = $931.00.
Marking notes. 1 mark — identifies the missing 1.5 multiplier and states correct OT pay. 1 mark — correct gross. 1 mark — correct net. 1 mark — clear final values with units. The most common error is stopping at the wrong gross and not progressing to net.
2.1 — Aroha's payslip verification (7 marks): sample Band-6 response with annotations
Sample Band-6 response.
(a) Overtime pay.
OT rate = $32.40 × 1.5 = $48.60/hr. [1 mark — OT rate.]
OT pay = $48.60 × 6 = $291.60. [1 mark — OT pay.]
(b) Correct gross fortnightly pay.
Gross = $2,462.40 (ordinary) + $291.60 (overtime) + $32.00 (first-aid) = $2,786.00. [1 mark — gross.]
(c) Correct net pay.
Total deductions = $725.00 (PAYG) + $150.00 (salary sacrifice super) = $875.00. [1 mark — total deductions.]
Net = $2,786.00 − $875.00 = $1,911.00. [1 mark — net.]
(d) Compare to payslip net.
Correct net = $1,911.00; payslip shows $1,910.16. Difference = $1,911.00 − $1,910.16 = $0.84. [1 mark — comparison.]
Conclusion: Aroha has been underpaid by $0.84 this fortnight — the correct net is $1,911.00 but the payslip shows $1,910.16. [1 mark — explicit conclusion with direction and dollar amount.]
Total: 7/7.
Band descriptors for marker.
Band 3: Calculates ordinary and overtime correctly but doesn't progress to net pay. ≈ 3 marks.
Band 4: Full gross + net calculation but does not compare to the payslip's $1,910.16. ≈ 5 marks.
Band 5: Full calculation with comparison but conclusion is just a number ("$0.84") with no direction. ≈ 6 marks.
Band 6: Complete: every line correctly calculated, total deductions summed, comparison made, AND a clear conclusion sentence stating direction (under/over) and dollar amount. 7/7.