What is retro pay?
This basic question will allow the interviewer to gauge your level of experience and knowledge in payroll. It will also show the interviewer your ability to explain an accounting-related term in a way that anyone can understand. People can clearly explain concepts they genuinely understand, after all! Your response should be straightforward and to the point.
"Retro pay happens when an employee receives a pay increase. In this instance, there is a date the new rate of pay begins. Sometimes this is not communicated to payroll in time for the new paycheck cycle, so we 'retro pay' the employee for wages that should have been received at the newly updated pay rate."
"Retro pay is retroactive payment for a service or work, typically when payment is overlooked or an error takes place. Retro pay will correct the payment and make the change retroactive to the appropriate effective date."
Retroactive pay is a sum of money owed to an employee for work done in the past. This might occur after a mistake is made in payroll or if the employee did not complete a previous timesheet properly. It might also occur if an employee was promised a raise and the payroll department was not informed properly before a previous payroll was run.
