Payroll is a serious business..until it’s not! – 7 funny stories from the Payroll department

Payroll, as we know, is a serious business. Most payroll managers have seen and heard it all. However, every once in a while, even they get a good chuckle from an unusual request or unique submission…Here’s 7 of the best!

1. The Time Traveler: An employee once submitted a receipt for reimbursement that was dated two years into the future. We had to explain that while we admire their forward-thinking nature, our payroll system, unfortunately, doesn’t have time travel capabilities yet.
2. The Lottery Winner: One time, an employee mistyped their bank account number when they were setting up direct deposit. They added an extra zero at the end, and for a moment, thought they had hit the jackpot when they saw their “salary”!
3. The Mystery Deduction: We once had an employee who was convinced there was a ‘coffee tax’ because every payday, the cost of their daily cappuccino seemed to have been deducted from their pay. After a good laugh, we explained it was actually their retirement contribution.
4. The Tax Code Novelist: In one memorable instance, an employee filled out their tax form with what looked like a secret code – a mix of numbers, letters, and even some hieroglyphs. We had to gently remind them that tax codes aren’t the place for creative writing!
5. The Ghost Employee: We had a panic when we couldn’t find any records for an employee who called about not receiving their paycheck. It turns out they had been using their nickname, not their legal name. We now have a ‘no pseudonyms’ policy.
6. The Payday Vacationer: There was an employee who would always be on vacation every payday and would call us panicked that they hadn’t received their salary. We had to repeatedly remind them that international banking transfers take a bit longer!
7. The Decimal Point Dancer: An employee once entered their hourly rate as $150.00 instead of $15.00 during self-service data entry. They were quite disappointed when we caught the error!

While these situations gave us a good chuckle, they also highlight the importance of clear communication and thorough checks in the payroll process. No matter what, it is so important to keep rolling with the punches and maintaining a sense of humor!