Salary Structures & Assignments
Salary Structures & Assignments
A Salary Structure defines the earnings, deductions and company contributions for a pay grade or role. A Salary Structure Assignment attaches a structure to an individual employee, with their base salary and the income tax slab to use.
1. Create a Salary Structure
Go to Salary Structure → New:
- Name it for the grade/year, e.g.
General Staff 2026-27. - Company — set it.
- Earnings — add components (Basic Salary, Travel Allowance, etc.), each with an amount or formula.
- Deductions — add PAYE, UIF Employee Contribution, Medical Aid, Pension, etc. PAYE and UIF are formula/auto-calculated by the SA engine, so you do not hand-key their amounts.
- Company Contribution —
za_localadds a Company Contribution table to the Salary Structure. Add UIF Employer Contribution and SDL Contribution here (and employer retirement/medical if applicable). These are employer costs, not employee deductions. - Save and Submit.
The Company Contribution table is what feeds employer UIF/SDL and other employer costs onto the salary slip and into the payroll posting. If it is empty, employer contributions will not post.
2. Create a Salary Structure Assignment per employee
Go to Salary Structure Assignment → New for each employee:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Employee | The employee. |
| Salary Structure | The structure from step 1. |
| Company | The company. |
| From Date | When this structure takes effect (use 1 March for a new tax year). |
| Base | The employee's monthly base salary. |
| Income Tax Slab | The Income Tax Slab for the tax year of the payroll period (e.g. South Africa 2026-2027). |
| Annual Bonus | (za_local field) Expected annual bonus, used to annualise PAYE correctly. |
Submit the assignment.
The Income Tax Slab link is critical: PAYE is computed from the slab on the assignment. If it points at the wrong year, PAYE will be wrong. At each tax-year rollover, create a fresh assignment dated 1 March linked to the new slab.
3. Multiple structures and changes
- Use separate structures for materially different remuneration models (e.g. monthly-paid staff vs commission earners).
- When an employee's pay changes mid-year, create a new assignment with the new base and a later From Date; do not edit a submitted assignment.
Optional: retirement funds and private benefits
If the employer offers retirement funds or fringe benefits, configure them next in Retirement Funds & Private Benefits before running payroll, so deductions and medical tax credits compute correctly.
Next
Configure Retirement Funds & Private Benefits, then capture your Employee Master & SA Details.