Every payslip is a legal requirement
Section 33 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act requires every employer to give each employee a written payslip on every pay day. This generator has a field for each item the law requires.
What a South African payslip must include
Under Section 33 of the BCEA, every payslip must show the employer's name and address, the employee's name and occupation, the pay period, gross remuneration, each deduction listed separately, and the net amount paid. The generator above is laid out to capture exactly these fields.
PAYE calculation: a worked example
PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is South Africa's income tax deduction system. Here is a worked example for a monthly salary of R8,000, which falls below the tax threshold:
At R8,000 per month (R96,000 per year), the employee is below the effective tax threshold of R99,000 per year (2026/2027, under-65s). The tax of R17,280 is fully offset by the primary rebate of R17,820, so no PAYE is deducted. UIF at 1% (R80) is still deducted.
Worked example: R25,000 per month
Who needs to issue payslips?
- Small businesses with 1 to 10 employees who don't use payroll software
- Households employing domestic workers, gardeners, or au pairs
- Construction companies paying labourers weekly or fortnightly
- Restaurants and shops with part-time staff
- Every employer in South Africa, under the BCEA, without exception
How to use the payslip generator
- Enter the company name and address, and your UIF reference number if you have one
- Enter the employee's full name, occupation, and ID or employee number
- Type the pay period, for example 1 to 31 March 2026
- Add an earnings line for each amount: basic salary, overtime, allowances, bonus
- Add a deduction line for each amount: PAYE, UIF, pension, medical aid. You work these out and type them in
- Check the gross, total deductions, and net pay in the live preview
- Click Download PDF, choose 'Save as PDF', and give the payslip to the employee on pay day
The generator adds up the lines you enter. It does not calculate PAYE or UIF, so use the worked examples above and the current SARS tax tables to get those amounts first. If overtime or Sunday hours affect the pay, put the hours and rate in the earnings line label, for example “Overtime, 6 hrs at R65.38”.
Send the payslip on WhatsApp and keep a copy
A PDF payslip can be shared straight from your phone. In the employee's WhatsApp chat, tap attach, choose Document, and pick the saved PDF. This suits staff who have no email address. Nothing is stored by the generator, so save every payslip in a folder per employee as your payroll record. For the full legal checklist, see the BCEA Section 33 payslip requirements.
FAQ
Is this payslip generator free?
Yes. The generator on this page is completely free with no signup. Fill in the employer, employee, earnings, and deductions, then download the payslip as a PDF. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded.
How do I generate a payslip in South Africa?
Enter your company details, the employee's name and pay period, then add earnings lines (basic salary, overtime, allowances) and deduction lines (PAYE, UIF, pension). The generator shows a live BCEA-compliant payslip you can download or print as a PDF.
Is the payslip BCEA compliant?
Yes. The generated payslip includes every field required by Section 33 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997: employer name and address, employee name and occupation, pay period, gross remuneration, each deduction itemised, and net pay.
Does it calculate PAYE for me?
No. You enter the PAYE and UIF amounts yourself as deduction lines. The worked examples on this page show how to calculate PAYE using SARS tax tables so you know what to enter. The generator handles the professional formatting and totals.
How do I send the payslip to my employee?
Click Download PDF, choose 'Save as PDF' in the print dialog, and save the file. Then send it to the employee on WhatsApp (attach it as a Document so it is not compressed), email it, or print it. A payslip sent as a PDF counts as a written payslip.
Are the payslips saved so I can reuse them next month?
No. Nothing is uploaded or stored, and refreshing the page clears the form. Download each payslip and keep the PDF as your payroll record. Next month you fill in the form again with that month's figures.
Free to use. No signup. Nothing leaves your browser.