Salary advances: what the law says and how to keep the books straight

In restaurants and shops, salary advances happen almost weekly: “Can I get 500 for rent?” Giving is easy; tracking is hard. Here is what the law says about advances and how to set a policy that helps staff without messing up the books.

What the law says

Article 101 of the 2019 Labour Code:

• Advances follow terms agreed by both sides and carry no interest.
• Employers must advance pay for civic-duty absences of a week or more, up to one month’s pay.
• Employees taking annual leave get an advance of at least the pay for those days.

What a good advance policy covers

1. Limit: e.g. up to 50% of pay already earned.
2. Frequency: once or twice a month.
3. Cut-off date: which pay period late-month advances are deducted from.
4. Who approves, who pays: separate the two.
5. How it is deducted: as its own line on the payslip.

Common mistakes

• Cash from the till with no record.
• Approved but not paid, or paid but not marked — deducted twice or not at all.
• Deducted in the wrong period.
• No limit.

Track advances on the phone

In CTAS Work, staff request advances in the app and pick the pay period. You set the advance policy and limits; managers approve and the payer records the payment. At payroll close, advances appear on the right payslip and the close screen warns about approved advances not yet paid. Download CTAS Work.

For reference only, based on the 2019 Labour Code.