With no shortage of important dates in 2024, having a tool for managing them pays off.
That’s why we created a 2024 payroll calendar compatible with iCal, Outlook and Google Calendar. Download it for easy access to the dates all HR and payroll managers should know. Our calendar comes packed with:
- holidays
- compliance deadlines
- resources to enhance HR strategy
Use our calendar to help stay on top of 2024 pay periods, too! For even more support, here’s a refresher on the most common pay schedules.
How many pay periods does 2024 have?
The total pay periods your company has in 2024 depends on how often employees get paid. For example, most businesses (43%) operate on a biweekly pay schedule, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Weekly pay periods come in a “close” second at 27%.)
Let’s look at the four most common options — and a fifth that’s gaining momentum — to help you further ace payroll in 2024.
Weekly
With a weekly pay schedule, employees get paid — you guessed it — every week. For companies that process payroll all year, this structure will produce 52 paydays in 2024. If you pay employees on Monday or Tuesday, however, this will result in 53 paydays due to the leap year.
While overshadowed by biweekly structures in most cases, weekly schedules tend to be most popular in businesses with less than 100 employees. In fact, roughly a third of companies employing 10-99 people reported using weekly pay periods to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Biweekly
The bulk of companies using a biweekly schedule will have 26 pay periods. If you pay employees on Jan. 5, they’ll receive two paychecks a month except for March and August, when they’ll earn three. If your first pay period falls on Jan. 12, employees will likely receive their extra paychecks in May and November.
Semimonthly
On a semimonthly schedule, pay periods usually end on the 15th and 30th of each month. This results in 24 — not 26 — pay periods total. And remember, “semimonthly” isn’t the same as “biweekly.” At least not all the time.
This doesn’t mean semimonthly employees come out short, either, but they may have two checks that encapsulate more than two weeks’ worth of work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found this structure to be half as popular as biweekly schedules (19.8%) and most common in:
- education
- health care
- professional and business services
Monthly
Employers with monthly pay periods pay their employees once per month. This typically falls on the last day of each month and yields 12 pay periods per year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found only 10.3% of businesses pay their people on monthly basis. This structure is most often reserved for the financial services industry and high-salaried employees, according to Indeed.
Daily
Certain employers see the need to pay their people as they earn their wages — which could be every day. Doing so helps companies support employees who need greater flexibility to navigate inflation and other challenges.
With an easy-to-use tool to simplify the process, employers empower their workforce without risking compliance and giving HR a massive administrative burden.
DISCLAIMER: The downloadable calendar, associated dates and all other information displayed herein is for general informational purposes only. Accordingly, Paycom does not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the information. The information is provided to you on an as-is basis, with no assurance of completeness, accuracy or timeliness of the information and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. It does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal or other professional advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation.
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