GPC key terms

The calculation chain that turns gross earnings into the amount actually paid to an employee, applying statutory deductions, voluntary deductions, employer contributions, and any net adjustments in a defined sequence.

A parallel payroll run that calculates hypothetical home-country tax and social security for an internationally assigned employee, used to determine tax equalization or protection settlements without actually paying those amounts.

A policy under which the employer ensures the assignee bears no more and no less tax than they would have paid at home, with the company absorbing or recovering the difference through a settlement calculation.

A policy where the employer reimburses the assignee only when actual host-country tax exceeds the home-country hypothetical liability, leaving the employee to keep any tax savings.

The estimated tax an assignee would have owed in the home country absent the assignment, used as the baseline deduction in equalization and protection calculations.

A document issued under a bilateral social security agreement confirming an employee remains covered by the home-country system for a stated period, supporting an exemption from host-country contributions.

A bilateral treaty between two countries that coordinates social security coverage and contributions so a mobile employee is not required to contribute to both systems on the same earnings.

Mandatory employee and employer contributions to state pension, health, and insurance schemes, calculated on capped or uncapped earnings according to local rules and remitted by the employer.

Any amount a law or regulation requires an employer to withhold or pay on behalf of an employee, such as income tax, social insurance, or wage levies, as distinct from voluntary deductions.

The final amount transferred to an employee after all deductions, withholdings, and adjustments have been applied to gross earnings in the payroll calculation.

The total cost to the employer of employing someone, comprising gross pay plus employer social contributions, insurance, levies, and benefit costs, often expressed as a percentage of gross salary.

The operational process of enrolling employees in benefit plans, processing qualifying life events, reconciling carrier invoices, and ensuring payroll deductions and employer costs match plan rules.

The schedule defining pay periods, cut-off dates for input, approval deadlines, pay dates, and statutory filing dates for each payroll cycle across one or more countries.

An additional payroll run outside the standard schedule, used to correct errors, pay leavers, or process bonuses, usually requiring separate approval and reconciliation controls.

An adjustment that pays an employee the difference between what was paid and what should have been paid for prior periods, typically following a late salary change or corrected input.

The deadline by which time, attendance, and change data must be submitted and approved so it can be included in a given payroll cycle.

A standardized file or form used to collect earnings, deductions, and master data changes from business units or HR before loading them into the payroll engine, with validation rules applied.

The core employee and organizational records, such as contracts, bank details, tax identifiers, cost centers, and pay grades, that payroll calculations depend on and that must be controlled and audited.

The policy and practice of keeping payroll records for the period required by local law or company policy, then securely disposing of them, balancing legal obligations with privacy requirements.

The set of legal and control requirements governing how employee personal and payroll data is collected, accessed, transferred across borders, and protected against unauthorized use.

Preventive and detective measures such as segregation of duties, maker-checker approval, reconciliation, and access restriction that protect payroll accuracy and integrity.

The control principle that no single person should be able to initiate, approve, and record a payroll transaction, reducing the risk of error or fraud going undetected.

A control workflow in which one person prepares or inputs a transaction and a different person reviews and approves it before it is processed or released.

The periodic comparison of payroll outputs against source data, general ledger postings, bank funding, and statutory reports to confirm completeness and accuracy before or after payment.

The process of mapping payroll results to accounting accounts and cost centers and recording them in the finance ledger, including accruals, employer costs, and liability accounts.

An accounting entry that recognizes payroll expense in the period it is earned even though payment occurs later, ensuring costs are matched to the correct reporting period.

A contract term defining measurable service commitments such as payroll accuracy, timeliness, and query response, together with remedies when the provider misses those targets.

A quantified measure used to monitor payroll performance, for example on-time payment rate, error rate, or cost per payslip, tracked against agreed targets.

A structured document issued to potential payroll providers setting out requirements, volumes, and evaluation criteria, used to compare bids and select a vendor objectively.

The pre-contract investigation of a payroll provider or in-country partner covering financial stability, security certifications, references, subcontractor arrangements, and compliance history.

Documented arrangements that let an organization keep paying employees and meeting statutory obligations during disruptions such as system outages, vendor failure, or loss of key staff.

The technical and procedural measures for restoring payroll systems and data after a major failure, including backups, alternate processing sites, and tested recovery time objectives.

An independent review function that tests payroll controls, samples transactions, and reports weaknesses to management and the audit committee with agreed remediation actions.

Country-specific legal obligations affecting payroll, including filing deadlines, payslip content rules, minimum wage, working time limits, and mandatory leave or severance entitlements.

An employee representation body in some countries that must be informed or consulted on payroll-related changes such as time recording, performance monitoring, or changes to pay processes.

The structured approach to preparing people and processes for a payroll transformation, covering communication, training, stakeholder engagement, and readiness checks before go-live.

A transition technique where the old and new payroll systems run simultaneously for one or more cycles and results are compared before the legacy system is retired.

The overarching design decision on how payroll is delivered across countries, balancing standardization, local compliance, cost, and control through models such as centralized, decentralized, or outsourced.

The documented split of payroll activities, systems, and accountability between global centers, regional teams, local entities, and external providers, including escalation and ownership.

A local payroll or professional services firm engaged to calculate, file, and advise on statutory payroll in a jurisdiction where the organization lacks sufficient internal expertise.