What happens if I change worker wages mid-cycle?

Purpose

This article explains what happens when you change a worker’s wage in the middle of a pay or bonus cycle. It covers what updates automatically, what doesn’t, and why Protiv handles it this way.

When To Use This

Use this when you want to:

• Update a worker’s wage during an active pay period

• Understand why old bonus statements didn’t change

• Explain wage changes to a worker or manager

• Avoid payroll or bonus confusion

Before You Start

Before changing wages:

• Make sure you’re clear on when the new wage should apply

• Understand which statements are already paid versus still open

• Confirm you have permission to update worker wages

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 — Understand what is affected

When you change a worker’s wage mid-cycle, Protiv treats statements differently depending on their status.

• Future bonus statements

  Any new statements created after the wage change will use the updated wage. All calculations moving forward are based on the new rate.

• Paid statements

  Paid statements do not recalculate. Base wage, bonus rate, and effective wage stay exactly as they were when the worker was paid. This protects financial history and audit accuracy.

• Open statements

  Open statements can recalculate wages, but only if something on the statement changes, like adding or editing a line item. Simply changing the wage does not automatically update open statements.

Step 2 — Know how wages are calculated

Each bonus statement stores three wage metrics:

• Base Wage
  The average hourly wage based on time worked during the statement period.

• Bonus Rate
  Bonus earnings divided by total hours worked.

• Effective Wage
  Base wage plus bonus rate. This is the worker’s true hourly earnings.

These values are saved on the statement to preserve accuracy over time.

Step 3 — Know when recalculations happen

Wages recalculate automatically only when:

• A new statement is created

• Line items are added, changed, or removed on an open statement

• A statement’s status changes (open, paid, or void)

Changing a worker’s wage alone does not force a recalculation on existing statements.

Examples

• A worker gets a raise on Wednesday. Statements created after Wednesday use the new wage. Monday and Tuesday’s paid statement stays unchanged.

• An open statement exists when the wage is updated. If a bonus line item is later edited, the wages recalculate using the current logic.

Common Mistakes & How To Fix Them

• Expecting old statements to update automatically
  Fix: Paid statements are locked to protect financial records.

• Thinking a wage change updates everything instantly
  Fix: Only future statements and modified open statements recalculate.

• Confusion from workers about different effective wages
  Fix: Explain that effective wage reflects earnings at that time, not today’s rate.