Week 53

When should an employer use “Week 53” in the payroll?

This happens when a pay day falls on 31st December or, in a leap year, on 30th or 31st December.  

"Week 53" occurs when there are fifty-three weekly pay days in the year:

• In 2020, employers who pay wages on either a Wednesday or Thursday will have 53 pay days, thus a Week 53

Thesaurus Payroll Manager will always offer a Week 53 option subsequent to the completion of Week 52. However, it should only be used (i.e. payroll input and payslips finalised for week 53) if, on completion of  week 52, there is a subsequent pay period within the same tax year.

What action should an employer take?

Thesaurus Payroll Manager automatically applies any USC cut off points, tax credits and cut off points on a Week 1 basis in the week 53 payroll, as per Revenue regulations.

Exclusion from Week 53 Concession

Please note:

If an employee's normal pay day has changed during this tax year or the preceding tax year, the additional USC cut off points do not apply.

You will therefore need to instruct the software if the additional USC cut off points are not applicable to an employee. To do this, go to:


Employees > Add/Amend Employees > Select the employee > Click the Revenue Details tab > Tick to
indicate exemptions/exclusions apply > tick to exclude the employee from the week 53 USC concession >
update to save the change.