Gross pay is your total earnings for the period before anything is taken off. Net pay — sometimes called take-home pay — is the amount that actually reaches your bank account.
What sits in between
| Deduction | Ireland | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | PAYE (20% / 40%) | PAYE (20% / 40% / 45%) |
| Social insurance | PRSI | National Insurance |
| Additional charge | USC | — |
| Pension | Occupational / PRSA | Auto-enrolment |
Why your net pay changes every week
If your hours vary, so does your gross — and because tax bands are cumulative, a heavy overtime week can push part of your pay into a higher band. The following quieter week often corrects itself. Comparing net pay week-to-week without comparing hours is the most common reason people think they've been underpaid.
The quick sanity check
Divide gross pay by hours worked to get your effective hourly rate, then do the same for net pay. If your gross rate is stable but your net rate has fallen sharply, look at the deduction lines rather than the total.