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KenyaTax

Payroll

Salary bands and pay grade structure

Set pay grades with a minimum, midpoint and maximum, then check whether each employee sits below, inside or above their band.

Salary bands and pay grade structure template

Fair pay needs a structure. Define each grade with its minimum and maximum, and the workbook finds the midpoint and spread. List your staff and it shows where each person sits in the band, flags anyone below or above it, and counts how many are in each position so you can plan pay reviews.

HR officers and owners building a pay structure, accountants advising growing businesses, and managers preparing salary reviews.

What is included

  • Midpoint and range spread worked out for each grade
  • Band minimum and maximum looked up for each employee
  • Compa-ratio showing pay against the midpoint
  • Below, in or above band status
  • Summary with a chart of the three groups

Screenshots

  • Pay grades of Salary bands and pay grade structure
  • Staff against their pay band of Salary bands and pay grade structure
  • Employees by position in band of Salary bands and pay grade structure

How to use it

  1. On the Grades sheet, list each grade with its minimum and maximum monthly pay.
  2. On the Staff sheet, list each employee, their grade and their current monthly pay.
  3. Read the position in band and the status for each person.
  4. Use the Summary sheet to see how many are below, inside or above their band.

Templates are tools to help with your own records. They are not tax or legal advice. Check the figures against official sources before filing or paying.

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What the salary bands and pay grade structure does

Fair pay needs a structure. Define each grade with its minimum and maximum, and the workbook finds the midpoint and spread. List your staff and it shows where each person sits in the band, flags anyone below or above it, and counts how many are in each position so you can plan pay reviews.

Who it is for

HR officers and owners building a pay structure, accountants advising growing businesses, and managers preparing salary reviews.

How to use the workbook

  1. On the Grades sheet, list each grade with its minimum and maximum monthly pay.
  2. On the Staff sheet, list each employee, their grade and their current monthly pay.
  3. Read the position in band and the status for each person.
  4. Use the Summary sheet to see how many are below, inside or above their band.
  5. Save a copy under a new name for each month or year, so earlier records stay as they were.

What is inside

  • Midpoint and range spread worked out for each grade
  • Band minimum and maximum looked up for each employee
  • Compa-ratio showing pay against the midpoint
  • Below, in or above band status
  • Summary with a chart of the three groups

The workbook has these sheets: Instructions, Grades, Staff, Summary. The main table has the columns Grade; Minimum; Maximum; Midpoint; Range spread. Yellow cells are for you to fill in and grey cells calculate by themselves, so leave the grey cells alone. The example rows show how it works; type over them with your own entries.

Tips for getting it right

  • Base the bands on what you can pay and what the market pays for the same work.
  • Review people below the minimum first; it is a retention risk and a fairness issue.
  • A person above the maximum may need a role change rather than more pay.
  • Keep the structure confidential but make the rules clear to managers.

Why keep this record

Staff records go wrong in small, repeated ways: a figure typed twice, a deadline forgotten, a promise that nobody wrote down. A tidy workbook that everyone uses the same way removes most of those problems. It also gives you something to show an employee, an auditor or a labour officer when a question comes up months later, and it makes the next payroll quicker because the facts are already in one place.

Questions people ask

Do I need to know Excel formulas? No. Type into the yellow cells and the rest is worked out for you. The formulas are visible if you want to see how a figure is reached.

Can I add rows or change the layout? You can add your own columns to the right and your own notes. If you insert rows inside a table, copy the grey formula cells down so the new rows calculate too.

Will it work on my phone or in Google Sheets? Yes for viewing and typing, but dropdown lists and the charts look best in desktop Excel or LibreOffice.

Keeping it safe and up to date

Payroll records are personal data and tax records at once, so keep the file somewhere only the people who need it can open, and keep each month's copy for at least five years. Statutory rates such as NSSF limits and the Housing Levy change, so check the Rates sheet against the official source before you rely on a figure.

Read how to run payroll for a small business for the wider picture. Free calculators that go with it: Net to gross salary calculator, Minimum wage kenya. See more payroll templates or ask us for a custom one.

The workbook works in Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets. It is a tool to help you work out and record figures, not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it is not affiliated with the Kenya Revenue Authority. If something does not work as described, contact us and we will put it right.

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