Plurality at work also reflected in the payroll!

By María Fernanda Aguirre

Published: 11 May 2025

Human resources professionals, administrators and accountants already have precise guidelines and an official model for issuing payrolls.

But don't give us andronyms: there is not just one type of payroll! That's right: payroll is much more than mechanically repeating, period after period, the same procedure. This is because the world of work brings with it particularities, singularities and differences.

🏳️‍🌈 Because diversity also takes over administrative processes, today Appvizer reviews with you the different types of payroll that coexist in the company and what situations make them fit.

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What is payroll?

The payroll is a business document where precise information is detailed regarding:

The salary that a person receives for their work;
the deductions to which this salary is subject (social security, taxes, etc.);
other payments such as bonuses or allowances received in addition to the basic salary.

Although there may be different types of payrolls from one company to another and even within the same company, there is a minimum amount of information that all payrolls must include.

Order ESS/2098/2014 of 6 November, updated the model of individual salary receipt to be used by companies, so that it includes the payments corresponding to:

The contribution base,
the withholding rate corresponding to the employee's and employer's contribution.

What are the types of payroll?

As already mentioned, the payroll that all workers receive is not necessarily the same in all companies. This is because, after complying with the minimum legal requirements, organisations are free to choose the payroll system that suits them best. In addition, situations such as sick leave or extraordinary work lead to changes in the payroll that cause it to vary from month to month and from worker to worker.

Generally speaking, payroll can be classified by:

Pay periodicity,
type of charge,
type of incidences.

Let us see, in detail, what each of these groups corresponds to.

1. Payroll types according to their payment method

The form of payment of a payroll refers to the payment periods established for issuing it. Each company, depending on its convenience, may choose to handle one of the following types of payroll:

Weekly payroll

As its name indicates, this type of payroll is the one that is paid at the end of a working week. Depending on the type of agreement or contract that has been signed, it may be considered to have ended on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Bi-weekly payroll

In many companies, payroll is paid on a fortnightly basis. That is, the monthly salary is divided in two to be paid in the middle and at the end of each month. Although the fortnightly payroll settlement is similar to the monthly one, the first fortnight does not usually include items related to social security and tax withholdings.

Monthly payroll

This type of payroll, perhaps the most common in most Spanish companies, generally covers a period of 30 days, although it is understood that it is adjusted to cases in which the month has 28 or 31 days. Payment is usually made between the last days of the month in question and the first five days of the following month, although this depends on each company.

In this respect, the Workers' Statute determines the following:

The settlement and payment of wages shall be made punctually and documented on the agreed date and in the agreed place or in accordance with customs and practices. The period of time to which the payment of regular and periodic remuneration refers may not exceed one month.

2. Payroll types by type of personnel

A company's payroll system can also vary according to the positions present in the company. In this sense, the most common distinction between some workers and others at the time of paying the salary earned can be classified as follows:

Executive or senior staff payroll.

This type of payroll, as it corresponds to a company's senior executives, is generally confidential. It is only known to the person who pays and receives it, and may include additional benefits in relation to the position held.

General payroll

This is the payroll received by the company's general staff. In other words, all those positions that are not considered executive positions but are part of the company structure. These may include the positions of managers and managers, without therefore being considered as "senior positions" or "management".

General staff payroll is settled according to the type of position and the collective bargaining agreement that applies.

3. Special payroll types

As mentioned above, payroll incidents entail a special treatment at the time of settlement. In this sense, we can find the following classification.

Payroll with overtime

If, during the month, the person has carried out extraordinary work (exceeding the usual working hours, working at night or working on public holidays), he/she is entitled, by law, to receive the corresponding overtime payments.

Payroll with pro-rata payments

Still on the subject of overtime, when overtime is paid to the employee each month, it is considered to be pro-rata. This means that the worker will be paid for the hours as they are worked and that they will not be subject to additional pay slips at the end of the year, for example.

Some companies usually make extra payments twice a year: once during the summer and once at the end of the year. In this case, it is not a pro-rata payroll, but the employee receives 14 pay slips per year, instead of 12.

Payroll with sick leave

Payroll incidences are quite common. They may be due to:

Common contingencies: accident outside work or common illness;
occupational contingencies: accident at work or occupational disease.

In the case of illness, the pay slip must reflect what the worker is going to receive in benefits for the sick leave. Your regulatory base and the time you are on sick leave will be decisive for the calculation of the amounts.