In this article
There are a number of reasons you may need to add backpay to an employee's pay, we have a few examples we support below:
- The employee has a start date in a previous period
- The employee has a salary increase from a previous period
Please note - Pento only calculates backdated pay for effective dates in the previous month's pay period. It will not calculate backdated pay for any effective dates further in the past. In this case, you will need to add the payment as a manual gross addition.
Start dates from a previous period
If you have an employee with a start date in a previous period, Pento can automatically calculate the backpay for you. Once the employee has been added to Pento, you will need to set a pay schedule and salary, this can be found on the Salary tab on the employee's profile.
When setting the salary details, please tick the box Enable automatic addition for backpay. Once ticked, you will see a summary of the employee's ordinary monthly salary, the backdated pay calculation and the total salary to be added to their first payslip
Please note - If you need further guidance on adding a new employee, please refer to our help article How to add a new starter to Pento
How the backpay is calculated
Pro-rated backpay is calculated based on the Day rate method in your Pay schedule settings 
Calendar Month
If you have the day rate set to Calendar month, Pento will divide the monthly salary by the working days in the month the employee joined, then multiply it by the working days from the start date you entered to the last working day of that month.
Yearly working days
If you have the day rate set to Yearly working days, Pento will divide the annual salary by the yearly working days defined in Pento (this is usually 260 days) then multiply it by the working days from the start date you entered to the last working day of that month.
Please note - If you need further guidance on locating your Pay schedule settings, please refer to our help article How to add, view and edit your pay schedule settings
Once you have selected Set salary, the backpay will automatically be added to the payslip in the current month's payroll draft.
Salary increases from a previous period
If you have an employee with a salary increase with a start date in a previous period, Pento can automatically calculate the backpay for you. You will need to follow the step below:
- Navigate to Employees from the left sidebar
- Search for the relevant employee
- Select the Salary tab
- Select Set new salary
- Enter the new salary details
- Once you have selected the Effective date, you will have the option to Enable automatic addition for backpay
- Once ticked, you will see a summary of the employee's ordinary monthly salary, the backdated pay calculation and the total salary to be added to their payslip
- Select Set salary
How the backpay is calculated
Pro-rated backpay is calculated based on the Day rate method in your Pay schedule settings
Calendar Month
If you have the day rate set to Calendar month, Pento will calculate the monthly difference first, then divide it by the working days in the month the employee's salary increased, then multiply it by the working days from the effective date you entered to the last working day of that month.
Yearly working days
If you have the day rate set to Yearly working days, Pento will calculate the annual difference first, then divide it by the yearly working days defined in Pento (this is usually 260 days) then multiply it by the working days from the effective date you entered to the last working day of that month.
Screenshot example:
Annual difference of £2,000 / yearly working days of 260 x 14 working days from 13th - 30th September = £107.69
Once you have selected Set salary, the backpay will automatically be added to the payslip in the current month's payroll draft.
HR Integrations and Backdated pay
If your Pento account is integrated with your HRIS and you have synced salaries, the backdated pay will automatically be calculated and added to the payslip as a gross addition.