Just the other month I received a direct deposit for a couple of articles I had written, and as I briefly looked it over, I realized I had been shortchanged about $200. I went back through my own invoicing system to confirm, and sure enough, the client was wrong. I emailed my contact to explain, sent over a copy of the invoice I had originally sent, and within about a business day, she replied with “Oh, sorry! We’ll get that corrected.” Which wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been closely paying attention. Although you might assume it’s the responsibility of a company to pay you correctly (and it should, of course), that’s only an expectation on your part—you need to validate too.
Take a little time to go through a full month’s pay. Look at hours worked or your salary. See if your deductions were handled properly, both company-paid ones as well as the benefits you’re responsible for. If you’ve made any changes recently, like a new address, direct deposit updates, a change in insurance or other benefits, or a 401(k) contribution adjustment, then you’ll want to review all of that. If any details are wrong, reach out to get it corrected as soon as possible.