Your bank app shows one number. Your payslip shows why that number is what it is. Gross pay is the full amount you earned; PAYE, PRSI, USC and any pension come off it; net pay is what is left. Today you read a real Irish payslip line by line, name every figure, and check that gross minus deductions really does equal net. That annotated slip goes straight into your Maths Portfolio as MA4 Collecting evidence.
Four words do most of the work on an Irish payslip. Gross is what you earned. Deductions are what came off (PAYE, PRSI, USC, pension). Net is what is left. Year-to-date is the running total since 1 January. Look at the snapshot below: a full-time retail assistant, monthly pay, four deduction lines, and a net footer. Notice that every deduction has its own row and its own explanation — that is the map you will build yourself later.
| Concept | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay — total earned before deductions | Every other figure on the slip is measured against it; if gross is wrong, everything below it is wrong | 160 hours × €15 = €2,400 gross on a retail contract |
| Deductions — PAYE, PRSI, USC, pension taken from gross | You cannot check a payslip if you cannot name what each line is for | PAYE income tax, PRSI Class A, USC tiers, workplace pension at source |
| Net pay — gross minus total deductions | This is the figure that should match your bank credit; the arithmetic is the check | €2,400 − €434 = €1,966 take-home |
| Year-to-date — running totals from 1 January | Spots a sudden jump in tax or a missing pension contribution across months | Five months at roughly €2,400 gross → YTD gross near €12,000 |
Work the payslip on the board with the class. The figures are already on the static slip: gross €2,400; PAYE €180; USC €62; PRSI €96; pension €96. You will name each line, add the deductions, subtract from gross to get net, and check what share of gross is left as take-home. Predict each answer before you confirm it.
Open the payslip explorer on the board. Click each deduction row and read the plain-language explanation. Watch the stacked bar that shows where the money goes. Then drag the gross-pay slider up and down and notice how every deduction scales with gross — the structure stays the same even when the euro amounts change. In pairs, agree on one sentence for each line: what it is, and why it is there.
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