When do salary increases take effect?

All salary increases must take effect from the 1st of the following calendar month. This policy ensures compliance with local labor laws and aligns with payroll and invoicing processes.

Note: These rules apply only to salary increases that affect payroll. Changes that do not impact payroll, such as job title updates or contract end dates, can be submitted and implemented at any time.

Effective Date Requirements

Clients may choose the effective date of a salary increase, but it must be set to the 1st of the next month.
Earlier effective dates, including retroactive or mid-month changes, are not permitted.

Example:
If a salary change is submitted on July 11, the earliest effective date would be August 1.

This is due to:

Legal restrictions in many jurisdictions prohibiting backdated salary changes
Payroll system limitations that prevent retroactive adjustments
The need to finalize salary changes before monthly payroll and invoicing begin

Key Timelines

Task	Deadline	Notes
Salary increase	Must take effect on the 1st of the following month	No backdating or mid-month effective dates allowed
Bonus to cover earlier period	Submit by the 15th	Optional, used if compensation is needed for time before the increase takes effect
Expenses and one-time payments	Submit by the 15th	Included in the current payroll if submitted on time

Backdating Is Not Permitted

Salary increases cannot be backdated under any circumstances. To maintain compliance and ensure accurate payroll and invoicing, all increases must be scheduled from the start of the next month.

If compensation is needed for the period before the new salary takes effect, clients may submit a non-recurring bonus instead. This must be submitted by the 15th of the month to be processed in that month’s payroll.

Find a step-by-step guide on how to submit non-recurring bonuses here: How to add a payout (non-recurring income) for employees? : Horizons Help Center

Platform Behavior

The platform enforces effective dates of the 1st of the following month for salary increases
Backdated salary changes are not supported
Supplementary invoices are not issued for retroactive salary adjustments
Invoicing for bonuses and variable pay occurs between the 5th and 15th of each month

What Can Be Changed at Any Time?

The following changes do not affect payroll and can be submitted at any time:

Job title
Job description
Reporting line
Contract end date

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Payments