By law, all employers are required to keep records relating to staff. The primary purpose is to ensure all staff have been paid correctly, have received all relevant entitlements and that taxation and superannuation have been correctly accounted for.

In both the state and national system, all time and wages records must be kept for at least seven years, and records relating to calculation of long service leave should be kept for at least 10 years.

Unfortunately there is no one single list which details the time and wages records you need to keep. It depends on whether the employment is covered by the state or the national labour relations system, and which employment arrangement is in place.

Employment records in the State system

The Department of Commerce has some excellent resources for employers about record keeping. Use the following links to find the information you're after:

• Time and wages record keeping
• Templates and worksheets for annual, long service, personal and other leave

Note that while payslips are not a legislative requirement under the state system, they are recommended.

Employment records in the national system

For further detail on the types of employment records that need to be kept under the national system, including payslips, electronic payslips, leave, pay scales, superannuation and terminating employment, see the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

What’s next…

• Make sure you recruit the right people
• Do you know your obligations to your staff?