Plurality in the workplace is also reflected in the payroll!

By María Fernanda Aguirre

Published: May 11, 2025

Human resources professionals, administrators and accountants already have precise guidelines and an official model for issuing payrolls.

But don't come to us with andronyms: there is not only one type of payroll! That's right: issuing payroll is much more than mechanically repeating, period after period, the same procedure. This is because the world of work brings with it particularities, singularities and differences.

🏳️‍🌈 Because diversity also takes over administrative processes, today Appvizer reviews with you the different types of payroll that coexist in the company and what situations make them fit.

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What is payroll?

The payroll is a business document where precise information is detailed with respect to:

The salary that a person receives for his/her work;
the withholdings to which this salary is subject (Social Security, taxes, etc.);
other benefits such as bonuses or bonuses received in addition to the base salary.

Although from one company to another and, even within the same company, there may be different types of payroll, there is a minimum information that every payroll must include.

Order ESS/2098/2014 of November 6, updated the model of individual salary receipt to be used by companies, so that the same includes the payments corresponding to:

The contribution base,
the withholding rate corresponding to the worker's and employer's contribution.

What are the types of payroll?

As we have already mentioned, the payroll that all workers receive is not necessarily the same in all companies. This is because, after complying with the minimum legal requirements, organizations are free to choose the payroll system that suits them best. Additionally, situations such as sick leave or extraordinary work lead to changes in the payroll that cause it to vary from month to month and from one worker to another.

Generally speaking, payroll can be classified by:

Periodicity of payment,
type of charge,
type of incidences.

Let us see, in detail, what each of these groups corresponds to.

1. Types of payroll according to their form of payment

The form of payment of a payroll refers to the payment periods established for issuing the payroll. Each company, depending on its convenience, can choose to handle one of the following types of payroll:

Weekly payroll

As its name indicates, this type of payroll is the one that is paid at the end of a work week. Depending on the type of agreement or contract that has been signed, it may be considered to have ended on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Biweekly payroll

In many companies, payroll is paid on a biweekly basis. That is, the monthly salary is divided in two to be paid in the middle and at the end of each month. Although the biweekly payroll is similar to the monthly payroll, the first fortnightly payroll does not usually include items related to social security and tax withholdings.

Monthly payroll

This type of payroll, perhaps the most widely implemented in most Spanish companies, generally contemplates a period of 30 days, although it is understood that it is adjusted to cases in which the month has 28 or 31 days. Payment is usually made between the last days of the month settled and the first five days of the following month, although this depends on each company.

In this respect, the Workers' Statute determines the following:

The liquidation and payment of the salary shall be made punctually and in documentary form on the date and place agreed upon or in accordance with customs and practices. The period of time to which the payment of regular and periodic remuneration refers may not exceed one month.

2. Payroll types according to type of personnel

A company's payroll system can also vary according to the positions present in the company. In this sense, the most common distinction between some workers and others at the time of paying the accrued salary can be classified as follows:

Executive payroll or payroll of personnel with senior positions.

This type of payroll, since it corresponds to the senior executives of a company, is generally confidential. It is only known to the person who pays and receives it, and may include additional benefits in relation to the position held.

General payroll

This is the payroll received by the company's general personnel. That is, all those positions that are not considered as executive positions, but are part of the corporate structure. These may include the positions of managers and managers, but are not considered as "senior management" or "executives".

The general personnel payroll is settled according to the type of position and the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

3. Special payroll types

As mentioned above, payroll incidents involve special processing at the time of settlement. In this respect, we can find the following classification.

Payroll with overtime

If, during the month, the person has performed extraordinary work (exceeding the normal working hours, working at night or working on public holidays), he/she is entitled, by law, to receive the corresponding overtime payments.

Payroll with prorated payments

Continuing with the subject of overtime, when overtime is paid to the employee each month, it is considered to be prorated. This means that the worker will be paid for the hours as they are worked and that they will not be subject to additional payrolls at the end of the year, for example.

Some companies usually make extraordinary payments twice a year: once during the summer and once at the end of the year. In this case, it is not a pro-rata payroll, but the employee receives 14 payrolls per year, instead of 12.

Payroll with sick leave

Payroll incidents are quite common. They may be due to:

Common contingencies: accident outside work or common illness;
occupational contingencies: accident at work or occupational disease.

In the case of illness, the payroll must reflect what the worker is going to receive in subsidies for the sick leave. Your regulatory base and the time you are on sick leave will be decisive for the calculation of the amounts.