27 biweekly pay periods in 2015? Can that be correct?

Question: I’m new to payroll. I just noticed that we will have 27 biweekly pay periods in 2015. How do we deal with this? How should we communicate this to employees?

Answer: There are no special rules that apply to the phenomenon of the 27th pay period. One option is to suppress benefit deductions for that 27th payroll. But since this might confuse employees, it is a good idea to let them know what’s going on.

For the period during which the deductions will be suppressed, drop everyone an email that explains that because of a quirk in the calendar, health, retirement and other voluntary deductions will not be made from the current check.

Most employees will understand this is a onetime adjustment and will be happy to get that extra check. But it’s guaranteed that someone won’t understand and will be in your office on payday wondering what is going on. For them, have the pay periods sketched out on a calendar.

(Editor’s note: Quirks like this remind us to dot our I’s and cross our T’s all year! Our step-by-step compliance guide to each pay period, month and calendar quarter of the upcoming year is a free and indispensable payroll checklist for pros. Download it here.)