My Shanghai payslip and bank transfer differ: check wages and deductions

Use the current Shanghai rule

The Shanghai wage-payment rule effective from 1 August 2026 requires a wage statement and addresses permitted deductions and wage payments. It replaces reliance on the older document’s original validity period. These are Shanghai rules for covered employment, not a nationwide calculation for every worker or contractor.

Match one period to one payment

Identify the payroll start and end, stated payday and transfers actually received. Request missing wage statements. Put basic pay, bonus, allowances, overtime and reimbursements on separate lines. If a payment is an advance or adjustment from a previous month, label it that way instead of counting it as the current month’s entire wage.

Ask what each deduction represents

For each deduction, record its label, amount, explanation and supporting document. Distinguish tax and personal contributions from a claimed loss, penalty or advance recovery. Ask whose instruction authorised it. A lower transfer alone does not show an unlawful deduction; equally, a vague “company rule” is not a calculation you can verify.

Prepare a reproducible wage query

Send a comparison of expected items, stated deductions and received payments, identifying the exact unresolved line. Keep the original statement and response. The paycheck-check tool can organise arithmetic, while the local human-resources authority or adviser can assess the rule and procedure. Do not treat a tool’s numerical difference as a legal award.

Arithmetic and deduction authority are separate

Add the stated gross items and subtract each listed deduction to reconcile the net transfer. Then check each deduction’s nature, basis and calculation. A total that reconciles is only an accounting match; it does not approve a disputed loss or penalty. Ask for the original authorisation or legal basis and the facts supporting the item. Any applicable limit needs checking under the current Shanghai rule rather than an unexplained company percentage.

Use a concrete example to test your query

Hypothetical arithmetic: gross wages of 8,000 yuan minus 500 of stated tax and contributions and 1,000 of disputed loss deduction reconcile to a 6,500 transfer. That equation does not establish that the 1,000 charge is lawful. Ask: “What facts and basis support this loss deduction, what limit applies, and can you show the calculation separately from ordinary statutory deductions?” Keep the original statement and transfer proof.

Next steps if the issue remains unresolved

If the item remains disputed, bring the wage period, calculation, employer explanation and payment records for local advice. Ask which wage complaint or dispute procedure applies and what time limit or preliminary step is required. Do not treat every route as interchangeable or presume an automatic extra multiple of the difference. Focus the request on the exact unpaid or deducted item and preserve any formal response.

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