Paying staff properly: payslips, SSNIT and records

For most small businesses, staff pay is one of the biggest monthly costs, and one of the easiest places to make quiet mistakes. A missed SSNIT payment, a cash salary with no record, or an argument about deductions can cost you money and the trust of your staff.

This guide covers the basics of paying staff properly in Ghana: agreeing pay clearly, working out SSNIT, handling PAYE, giving payslips and keeping records. The figures below are the well-established ones, but contribution rules and tax bands do change, so always confirm the current position with SSNIT, GRA or an accountant.

Start with a clear agreement

Before the first pay day, every worker should know exactly what they will be paid and when. Write it down, even if it is a one-page letter that you both sign. It should say:

• the job title and start date
• the basic salary per month, or the daily or weekly rate
• any allowances, such as transport or lunch, and whether they are fixed
• the pay day, for example the last working day of the month
• how pay will be made: bank transfer, Mobile Money or cash

Keep the basic salary separate from allowances. This matters because SSNIT is worked out on basic salary, not on everything you pay. If a chop bar pays its cook GH₵ 1,800 a month, decide clearly whether that is all basic salary, or GH₵ 1,500 basic plus GH₵ 300 transport. Either can be fine, but your paperwork must match what you actually do.

How SSNIT contributions work

SSNIT runs Ghana's social security scheme. It builds a pension for your workers and gives support in cases such as invalidity, or to their families if they die. As an employer you must register your business with SSNIT, make sure each worker is registered, and pay contributions every month.

The well-established split is:

• Employer: 13% of the worker's basic salary, paid by you on top of their pay.
• Employee: 5.5% of basic salary, deducted from the worker's pay.
• Total: 18.5% of basic salary, which you pay over.

In practice you deduct the worker's 5.5%, add your own 13%, and pay the full 18.5%. Part of the total goes to the first-tier scheme run by SSNIT and part to a second-tier occupational scheme managed by a licensed trustee. Ask SSNIT or your trustee exactly how your payment should be split and where each part goes.

A worked example

Take a phone accessories shop that employs one sales assistant on a basic salary of GH₵ 2,000 plus a fixed transport allowance of GH₵ 300 each month.

Before PAYE, the assistant takes home GH₵ 2,300 minus GH₵ 110, which is GH₵ 2,190. The shop's full monthly cost for this worker is GH₵ 2,300 plus the employer's GH₵ 260, which is GH₵ 2,560. Many owners budget only for the salary and forget the employer share. Build it into your prices and your cash planning from day one.

PAYE: income tax on salaries

PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is the income tax taken from workers' pay. As the employer, you work it out each month, deduct it and pay it to GRA. Very low earners may pay little or nothing, and higher earners pay a higher rate on the top part of their income, using bands set by GRA.

These bands change from time to time, so do not rely on a table you copied years ago. Get the current bands from GRA or your accountant, and check them again at the start of each year. Ask too how the worker's own SSNIT deduction and any allowances are treated when PAYE is worked out, so your sums are right for your staff.

Give every worker a payslip

A payslip is a short statement showing how a worker's pay was worked out. It protects both of you. The worker can see exactly what was deducted and why, and you have proof of what you paid. A good payslip shows:

• the business name, the worker's name and the pay period
• basic salary and each allowance
• each deduction: SSNIT, PAYE and any salary advance being repaid
• net pay, and how and when it was paid

Payslips help your staff too: a worker renting a room or applying for a loan is often asked for recent ones.

In Snnel, you can keep staff records and run payroll each month, and every payslip carries a QR code anyone can scan to check it is genuine. That makes it hard for an edited or fake payslip to be passed off in your business's name.

Salary advances and deductions

Small businesses often help a worker with an advance before pay day. That is kind, but write it down. Record the amount, the date and how it will be repaid, for example GH₵ 300 a month for three months to clear a GH₵ 900 advance. Show each repayment on the payslip so there is never a dispute about what is still owed.

Be careful with deductions for shortages or breakages. Agree any rule in writing first and keep amounts reasonable. If you are not sure what is allowed, ask the Labour Department or an adviser before you deduct.

Keep proper payroll records

For every pay run, keep a simple record: who was paid, gross pay, each deduction, net pay, and the SSNIT and PAYE payments you made. Keep the proof as well: bank or Mobile Money statements, SSNIT payment receipts and GRA receipts. For each worker, keep a copy of their agreement, their Ghana Card number and their SSNIT number.

These records matter when SSNIT or GRA asks questions, when a worker leaves and asks for their pay history, and when you apply for a loan. Payroll is a large expense, so it must also appear correctly in your books. See the tax records every small business should keep and bookkeeping for small shops for how it fits with the rest of your records.

Payroll is not complicated once it becomes a habit: same steps, same days, every month.