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KS3 · Year 7 / Year 8 · Lesson plan

Understanding your first payslip

A classroom-ready 50 minutes lesson plan with starter, main, plenary, differentiation, SEND adaptations, EAL support and assessment criteria. Free to use, no login.

Key Stage
KS3
Year group
Year 7 / Year 8
Age range
11–13
Duration
50 minutes
Subject
Maths / PSHE / Citizenship
Cost
Free

Learning aim

Pupils can identify the four key parts of a UK payslip (gross pay, deductions, net pay, year-to-date totals) and explain what each one shows.

CURRICULUM National Curriculum links

RESOURCES What you'll need

LESSON Lesson structure (50 minutes)

Opening
HOOK
Display an unlabelled payslip on the board. Ask: "If you got this with your first wages, what would you look at first?" Take 3-4 suggestions — most will say "how much did I get". Then reveal the headline gross figure (e.g. £1,800) and the net figure beneath (e.g. £1,500). Ask: "Why are these different? Where did £300 go?"
Direct teach
TEACH
Walk through a real-style payslip section by section. Build the language: Gross pay (the headline figure before anything is taken), PAYE / Income Tax (the slice going to government to fund schools, NHS, roads), National Insurance (a separate tax that funds State Pension + NHS), Pension contribution (if auto-enrolled), Student loan (after university), Net pay (what reaches the bank), Year-to-date (running totals across the tax year, April-April). Use a £1,800/month example throughout.
Pupils apply
GUIDED
Pupils work in pairs with a sample payslip and four highlighters. Highlight: green = gross, red = deductions, blue = net pay, yellow = year-to-date totals. After highlighting, they complete the "Decode the payslip" worksheet — for each labelled section, write what it shows in their own words.
Stretch / depth
CHALLENGE
Display: "Sarah's gross pay is £2,000/month. Her tax is £180 and NI is £88. What's her net pay?" Pupils calculate £1,732. Then a tougher one: "Sarah's friend Ben earns £1,500/month gross. His tax is £36 and NI is £24. Why is Ben's tax so much lower than Sarah's?" Discuss: the first £12,570/year of pay is tax-free (Personal Allowance), so Ben has less above the threshold. Build the idea that tax is based on income above an allowance, not on every pound earned.
Close
PLENARY
Each pupil writes one sentence on their mini-whiteboard: "On a payslip, the most important number to look at is ___ because ___." Share three answers. Final question: "If you start a Saturday job, what figure should you check on your payslip first — gross or net?" (Net — that's what you actually receive.)

DIFFERENTIATION Adapting for all learners

Support (working below ARE)

Use only the £1,800/month example with pre-labelled sections. Pupils explain in their own words what each labelled section shows rather than identifying themselves. Provide a vocabulary card with pictures.

Stretch (working above ARE)

Calculate the missing deduction when given gross and net (e.g. gross £2,000, net £1,600 — what's deducted in total?). Then: "If Sarah gets a £1,000 pay rise, will her take-home pay increase by £1,000? Why or why not?" Discuss marginal rates.

SEND SEND adaptations

For pupils with dyscalculia: use round numbers only (£2,000/month, £200 tax, £100 NI) and provide a calculator. For pupils with autism: provide a structured step-by-step decoder card listing each section in order. For visually impaired pupils: use enlarged payslip handouts with high contrast.

EAL EAL support

Pre-teach vocabulary with images: "gross", "net", "deduction", "PAYE", "tax", "NI", "pension", "year-to-date". Display each word with its plain-English equivalent. Sentence frame: "The gross pay is ___. After deductions of ___, the net pay is ___."

ASSESSMENT Assessment criteria

Pupils can: (1) identify gross, net and at least one deduction on a payslip; (2) explain in one sentence why net is less than gross; (3) calculate net pay given gross and total deductions for a worked example. Exit ticket: one quick calculation on a mini-whiteboard.

HOME Homework pack

Four activities to confidently read a UK payslip. ~30 minutes.

Payslip glossary

What pupils do: Define these 6 payslip terms in plain English: Gross pay, Net pay, Tax code, Income tax, NI, Pension contribution.

Expected output: A 6-row vocabulary table.

Marking guidance: 1 mark per definition. 6 marks total.

Reverse engineering

What pupils do: A payslip shows: Gross £2,000, Tax code 1257L, Income tax £190, NI £80, Pension £60. Calculate the net pay. Show working.

Expected output: A net pay calculation.

Marking guidance: 2 marks for correct method, 2 marks for £1,670 net.

Payslip red flags

What pupils do: Write 3 things to check on every payslip. For each, explain what to do if it's wrong.

Expected output: A 3-row "check and act" table.

Marking guidance: 2 marks per check + action. 6 marks total. (Examples: tax code matches HMRC; hours match contract; pension contribution at agreed rate.)

Extension (optional)

What pupils do: Find a real (or sample) payslip online. Annotate it with arrows showing: gross pay, tax code, income tax line, NI line, pension line, net pay. Add 1 question you would ask payroll if anything looked odd.

Expected output: An annotated payslip image with a question.

Marking guidance: Up to 6 marks for accurate annotation and a thoughtful question.

Family discussion prompt (safeguarding-aware)

Ask a working adult: "What's the first thing you check on your payslip each month?"

SAFEGUARDING Classroom safeguarding

Note for teachers: Use only fictional names and amounts. Do not ask pupils about their family's wages, parents' jobs, or whether their family struggles financially. If a pupil mentions family financial difficulties, accept neutrally and follow safeguarding procedure outside the lesson.

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