Everything in this course comes together here. Numbers arrive from tills, rosters, managers and systems, and all of them are occasionally wrong. Being the person who notices, and who raises it without making anybody defensive, is worth more at work than being quick at arithmetic.
Do the rough version first. Before you check anything exactly, get a rough answer you trust. Round to easy numbers. If the exact figure is close to your rough one, it is probably fine. If it is nowhere near, there is something to find. This one habit catches almost every real error.
Then find the difference, not just the wrongness. "This is wrong" starts an argument. "I make it 40 hours and the slip says 42,5, so there is 2,5 hours between us" starts a check. Naming the exact gap tells the other person where to look, and it shows you have done the work.
Ask, do not accuse. Almost every wrong number is a mistake, and the person you are speaking to usually did not make it. "Can you help me understand this" gets a better answer than "this is wrong", and it costs you nothing.
Put it in writing if it involves money. A short message after the conversation is enough: what you asked, what you were told, the date. Not because you expect trouble, but because six weeks later nobody remembers, including you.
You are certain your payslip is R240 short.
What happens: Now the conversation is about your tone and about the word again, not about R240. Even when you are right, this makes it harder for the person to simply fix it.
What happens: Right. It names the exact gap, it shows your working, and it leaves room for you to be wrong, which means nobody has to defend anything. Payroll can check it in two minutes.
What if I ask and I turn out to be wrong?
Then you have learned how your pay is actually calculated, which is worth having, and you asked politely so no harm is done. Asking a reasonable question and being wrong costs almost nothing. Never asking, and being right, costs money every month.
I asked and nothing happened
Follow up once, in writing, referring to the date you first asked. If it still goes nowhere and it is about pay, the Department of Employment and Labour and the CCMA both handle pay disputes and advice is free. Keep your shift records and your payslips, because they are the whole case.
I do not want to be seen as difficult
Somebody who checks their own numbers calmly and asks clearly is not difficult. They are the person you promote to supervisor, because a supervisor's job is largely noticing when a number is wrong. Done in the way this lesson describes, this is the opposite of a risk.
Before you move on
- Get a rough answer before checking exactly
- Name the exact difference, not just that it is wrong
- Follow up in writing whenever money is involved
Check what you know
4 questions. Have a look at what this lesson asks.
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