Pay statement (pay stub)

A pay statement (pay stub) shows an employee how their pay was worked out for a pay period: hours, rates, gross pay, each deduction and net pay.

Also called: pay stub, wage statement, pay slip, earnings statement

What pay statement (pay stub) means

A pay statement, often called a pay stub or wage statement, is the record you give an employee with each pay. It shows how you got from their gross pay to the amount they actually received.

Each province and territory sets its own rules on pay statements, including what they must show. A clear statement each pay also protects you: it is your best record if an employee later questions their hours, overtime or vacation pay.

For employees, the pay statement is how they check they were paid correctly, and it is often what a landlord or bank asks to see.

How it works

A good pay statement covers the pay period dates and pay date; the hours worked, including overtime hours shown separately; the wage rate and overtime rate; gross pay, broken into regular pay, overtime, holiday pay, vacation pay and any other earnings; each deduction (income tax, CPP, EI, and anything else), named and with its amount; and net pay.

Many employers also show year-to-date totals, which help employees track CPP and EI maximums and make it easier to prepare T4 slips. Showing vacation pay earned or paid on each statement can prevent disputes when someone leaves.

If you want to send pay statements by email or through a payroll portal, check your province's rule on electronic delivery first, and make sure each employee can open and print their own statements privately.

Keep a copy of each statement, or the payroll records behind it, for as long as your province requires. British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador require payroll records to be kept for 4 years, and Nunavut for at least 2 years after they are made.

Is it the same in every province?

Pay statement rules come from provincial and territorial employment standards, and from the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated employers. The required contents and delivery rules differ, so check your own province's list.

Example: A clearer stub stops the questions

Lena runs a 9-person bakery café in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Her old pay stubs showed only gross pay, total deductions and net pay, and staff kept asking why their pay changed from one week to the next.

She switches to a stub that shows regular and overtime hours separately, each rate, holiday pay when it applies, and each deduction by name with year-to-date totals. The questions drop off, and when an employee later asks about overtime from a busy month, Lena can show the exact hours paid.

Employee records in the Staffkin HR Suite

Staffkin HR Suite employee records keep each person's profile, documents and job history together, so pay-related documents are easy to find when questions come up.

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Questions about pay statement (pay stub)

What is the difference between a pay stub and a T4?

A pay stub covers one pay period and comes with each pay. A T4 slip covers the whole calendar year and is issued once, by the last day of February.

What should be on a pay stub?

At least the pay period, hours, rates, gross pay, each deduction and net pay. Your province may require more, such as vacation pay or overtime hours shown separately.

How long should I keep pay records?

As long as your province requires: for example 4 years for payroll records in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Check your province's rule.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.