When will a new employee receive their first salary?

The timing of a new employee’s first salary depends on:

• Their start date
• When they are fully onboarded
• The payroll cutoff for their country
• The local payroll cycle (monthly or semi-monthly)
• Whether off-cycle payroll is available in their country

Remote always prorates the first salary to reflect the actual days worked during the first month of employment.

Remote’s standard payroll cutoff is the 11th of the month at 11:59 PM UTC.

Important: Eligibility for your first payroll is driven by onboarding completion relative to the cutoff, rather than just your start date or the general pay schedule. If onboarding is not 100% complete before the local cutoff, the employee will typically not be included in that month’s payroll run.

Note: Some countries do not follow the main payroll cutoff due to their unique payroll processes.

• For a number of countries, the payroll cutoff is the 16th of the month
• In Bulgaria, the payroll cutoff is the first day of the month
• In Germany: The payroll cutoff for Germany date changes each month.
• Some countries operate on semi-monthly payroll cycles, which may have different cutoff dates.
• In most LATAM countries local labor laws require that team members are paid in the same month they start working.

In most countries on a monthly cycle, employees are paid once per month, usually on the 25th. However, whether you receive your first salary in the same month you start depends primarily on completing onboarding before the country-specific cutoff.

• Paid in the same month: If you are fully onboarded and your start date is on or before the payroll cutoff (typically the 11th or 16th, depending on the country).
• Paid by the 10th of the next month (Off-cycle): If you are fully onboarded and your start date is on or before the 24th, but you finished onboarding after the payroll cutoff.
• • Example: You are fully onboarded on September 15 and start working on September 17. Because you missed the 11th cutoff, you will receive your first salary on October 10.
• Paid at the end of the next month: If your start date is on or after the 25th, or you are fully onboarded on or after the 25th.
• • Example: You start working on September 28. You will receive your first salary at the end of October, covering days worked in both September and October.

Note: Not all countries with monthly payroll are paid on the 25th. (e.g., In Japan, pay day is the last working day).

Regional Specifics:

• Hong Kong: Hong Kong does not follow the standard off-cycle pay date of the 10th. Under Hong Kong labor law, payment must be processed within seven days of the end of the month. As a result, employees who start, or complete onboarding, after the payroll cutoff will receive their first salary on the 7th of the following month. If the 7th falls on a weekend or public holiday, the salary is paid on the last working day before the 7th.

In these countries, employees are paid twice a month: on the 15th and on the last working day of the month.

• Onboarded between the 1st – 11th: You will receive your first salary by the 15th of the same month (as long as you have started work).
• Starting work after the 15th: If you start after the 15th, you will receive your first salary by the end of the month for the days worked.
• Onboarded after the 11th: You will receive your first salary by the 15th of the following month.
• Onboarded after the 15th: You will receive your first salary by the end of the month or the following month.

Regional Specifics:

• Brazil: To be included in the first payroll run, employees must be fully onboarded by the 3rd business day. If completed after this, the first salary is paid in the second run of the month.
• LATAM Exception: Local laws often require payment in the same month work begins. Onboarding must be completed by the cutoff (around the 15th), or the start date will be moved to the first business day of the following month to ensure compliance.

In countries where off-cycle payments are not available, any employee who completes onboarding after the 11th (or the local cutoff) will receive their first paycheck in the following month's regular cycle.

Off-cycle availability changes from time to time. Refer to What is an off-cycle payment? for the current list of countries.