Added To The Payroll Crossword Clue

By: Five Letter Words | Last edited: May 08, 2025

Working on the "Added to the payroll" clue from the May 08, 2025 New York Times Mini Crossword? We've found the exact 5-letter answer you need. For a more engaging solving experience, we've created interactive tools to enhance your crossword journey. Use our letter-by-letter reveal feature, or browse our carefully developed hints—including word patterns, alternative clues with the same solution, or detailed explanations to guide your thinking. We've also simplified navigation between related clues from this puzzle. Ready to conquer this employment-themed crossword challenge? Let's discover the answer together!

Crossword Answer:

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About This Clue

The May 08, 2025 New York Times Mini Crossword featured the clue "Added to the payroll" with the answer HIRED. This clue asks solvers to identify the action that results in someone being placed on a company's payroll. When a person is HIRED, they officially become an employee of an organization and are added to the system that manages regular compensation to workers—the payroll. The clue efficiently captures the employment relationship through the administrative lens of payroll management, highlighting the formal inclusion that occurs when someone is brought onboard as an employee.

Employment and Payroll Context

The term "payroll" refers to the list of employees who receive compensation from a company as well as the actual process of paying employees. When someone is HIRED and added to the payroll, they become part of the formal employment structure of an organization, entering into a relationship that typically includes regular compensation, tax withholding, and potentially other benefits. The hiring process has evolved significantly over time. Historically, being "added to the payroll" might have meant having your name entered into a physical ledger. Today, it involves adding an employee to sophisticated digital human resources management systems that track compensation, benefits, taxes, and other employment-related information. The payroll process itself encompasses several key components: - Employee onboarding and collection of tax and banking information - Calculation of gross wages based on hours worked or salary agreements - Deduction of taxes (federal, state, local) and other withholdings - Processing of employee benefits contributions - Distribution of net pay via various methods (direct deposit, checks, etc.) - Creation and maintenance of payroll records for accounting and legal compliance When someone is HIRED, they trigger this entire administrative framework, becoming part of the organization's regular financial obligations. The phrase "added to the payroll" thus serves as a practical euphemism for employment, focusing on the administrative and financial aspects rather than the more abstract notion of joining a workforce or team. In contemporary business language, being "on the payroll" clearly distinguishes employees from contractors, consultants, or other workers who might provide services to a company without being formally employed by it. This distinction carries significant implications for taxation, benefits eligibility, and employment protections, making the status of being "on the payroll" an important legal and financial designation.

NYT Mini Crossword Tips

When approaching a clue like "Added to the payroll" in the NYT Mini Crossword, it's helpful to focus on the specific action being described. This clue is asking for the verb that describes the action of putting someone on a company's employee list for payment. The phrase structure suggests we need a past tense verb, as "added" indicates a completed action. Common employment-related past tense verbs that fit five letters include HIRED, NAMED, and TAKEN (as in "taken on"). Of these, HIRED most directly connects to the concept of payroll, as it specifically refers to employment. The clue uses a passive construction—someone is "added to the payroll" rather than actively joining it—which aligns with the perspective of the employer who does the hiring. This subtle clue construction guides you toward thinking about the employer's action (HIRED) rather than the employee's experience (like BEGAN or JOINED). One helpful tip for this type of straightforward definitional clue is to mentally substitute your potential answers into the clue and see if it makes logical sense. If someone is "HIRED," would they be "added to the payroll"? Yes, these concepts connect directly. In Mini Crosswords, clues are often relatively direct, and this is a good example. There's no wordplay or misdirection here—just a clear synonym/definition clue where "Added to the payroll" and HIRED effectively describe the same action from slightly different angles. Remember that when a clue uses a passive voice construction like this, it's often looking for a past participle form of a verb (ending in -ED), which can help narrow down your options if you're stuck.

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