Usually, leap year causes headaches in the payroll department—but not this year. Most businesses do not have to worry about extra paychecks.
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Get Your Report Now!In an average year, most days are repeated 52 times, but in leap years, 2 days are repeated 53 times. In 2008, the 2 days repeated 53 times were Tuesday and Wednesday, so the American Payroll Association (APA) reported that some employees paid on either a Tuesday or Wednesday got an extra paycheck that year.
To compensate for the extra payday, some companies reduced salaried individual paychecks throughout the year to "pay" for the extra paycheck. And, explained APA, most salaried individuals are promised an annual salary, not a specific amount each paycheck.
However, nothing to worry about this year, paycheck-wise, according to SHRM, because the days repeated 53 times in 2012 are Sunday and Monday—unless, of course, your company is among the small number that issues paychecks on Mondays.
Extra paydays and leap years just don’t pose much of a challenge to employers that have their accounting and payroll systems in order,” Michael O’Toole, APA director of publications and government relations told SHRM. “Employees are usually paid for the workdays that they accrue during any given pay period, so the extra day in a leap year just isn’t that big of a deal. However, it can affect employers that operate with strict fiscal-year budgets, and this tends to be public-sector employers.”