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After accepting an offer and beginning to work it is noticed that the weekly pay (before taxes) on the pay stub is not the same as the amount mentioned in the offer letter. The actual weekly pay is around 2% less than the weekly amount stated in the offer letter.

Work is in the U.S. and the discrepancy was not noticed until 4 months after the start date. Should this be raised as an issue?

If yes (and this might be unanswerable here), should it be raised to a supervisor, the recruiter, HR, or payroll?

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You should point this discrepancy out to your manager so he or she can resolve it quickly. Best to approach this as "I'm sorry I just noticed this, but I think there has been a mistake with my salary." Don't assume it was intentional, give them a chance to make it right.

If for some reason they don't rectify this (including any back pay you are owed), I think I would go to the recruiter next on this one.

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    It would help to bring a copy of the offer letter to the discussion along with the pay stub. Note in some organizations, your immediate boss does not know how much you make or are supposed to make, so ti may be best to simply go to HR with this. Assuming it is an honest mistake is the best approach by far though. – HLGEM Feb 25 '16 at 23:17
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    "Assume good faith". (Until you know otherwise :p) – Sobrique Feb 26 '16 at 16:04
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    I would also recommend going directly to the department which handles payroll, and operate under the assumption it was an honest/careless mistake unless there is reasonably strong evidence otherwise (e.g. strong resistance to making it right). It might also be a misunderstanding on your part, e.g. with a pre-tax deduction contributing to a retirement plan or similar. In that case as well, payroll is best positioned to figure out what's going on and explain it to you (or fix it). – WBT May 15 '19 at 21:59
  • This once happened to me the other way around. HR were happy to find out and rectified immediately. Let's hope this works just as well :D – bytepusher Jul 1 '20 at 22:25
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It can't hurt to go to your manager or HR and say, "Hey, maybe I'm misunderstanding this, but I thought I'd be gettng $xxx per year, which I think is $yyy per week, but my paycheck is $zzz. Am I missing something?"

Check first that it isn't something like being paid every two weeks vs being paid twice a month...

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  • I am 100% sure the amount is different. The offer letter clearly states $xxx per week and the pay stub clearly indicates weekly base pay $yyy. The pay-period is bi-weekly and the weekly base pay is exactly half of Gross Earnings (before taxes) on the same pay stub. – Bones Feb 25 '16 at 23:03
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    This is stil the most polite way to challenge them. – keshlam Feb 26 '16 at 1:50
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I would always advice to catch up with manager and try solving things up with him/her. I've always seen manager as a first instance of contact in difficult manners (and I find it as one). Also, I would make sure that case is not neglected by either manager nor human resources, as it could possibly make you think of whether you agreements with your employer are being taken seriously. I once have been in similar but not the same situation and neglecting things by my superiors made me stop being so positive for organization as a whole, even if only particular individuals were the ones to fail.

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Should this be raised as an issue?

Certainly. If you aren't receiving what you were promised, you should raise the issue. It was probably an honest mistake, and you should approach this issue as such.

If yes (and this might be unanswerable here), should it be raised to a supervisor, the recruiter, HR, or payroll?

Start with your boss. He/she will likely refer you to HR and/or payroll to correct the situation, or will explain why it is already correct (perhaps).

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