A bonus or a new pay rate is missing from your paycheck

Last updated: September 21, 2026

Applies to: workers who were promised a bonus, a shift differential, or a pay increase that has not shown up. This covers US W-2 employees and independent contractors alike.

Summary: Ascen pays what your assignment tells us to pay. Bonuses, differentials, and rate increases start with the client or the staffing partner that placed you, so if one has not reached your check, the change usually has not reached us yet. Check your pay stub and your assignment documents first, then ask your staffing partner to send the change through.

Where a bonus or a raise actually comes from

Your rate, and anything added to it, are set on your assignment by the client and your staffing partner. Ascen is the employer of record: we run payroll against the rate and the hours on the assignment. So when a manager tells you about a bonus for a holiday shift, a differential, or a raise effective next month, that is a genuine commitment, but it becomes payable only once it is recorded on your assignment with us. Nothing reaches your paycheck until it does.

Check these before contacting anyone

  1. Look at the pay stub itself. Extra amounts often appear as a separate line rather than folded into your hourly total. Open your Paychecks page at app.ascen.com. See Where to find and view your paychecks and pay stubs and Understanding your US pay stub: earnings, taxes, and deductions.

  2. Check the pay period. A change agreed mid-period usually lands on the following check rather than the current one, and an approved raise applies from its effective date, not from the date you were told about it.

  3. Check your assignment documents. A rate change normally means new paperwork for you to sign, and an unsigned document is a common reason a new rate has not taken effect. Open Documents in the left-hand menu. See Where to find your documents and Why am I being asked to sign new documents for a new assignment?.

  4. Confirm the hours were approved. Unapproved hours are the most common cause of any pay that looks wrong.

Holiday and premium pay are a separate thing

A client bonus for working a holiday is not the same as holiday or premium pay, which follows your assignment terms and the rules for your work location. Holiday and premium pay explains what is owed and when.

Who to ask

  • Your staffing partner, if the bonus or rate change has not been sent to us. Ask them to submit it with the effective date. This is the fix in most cases.

  • Ascen at support@ascen.com, if the change is already on your assignment or you have signed a document for the new rate, and the payment is still wrong. Send the pay date, what you expected, and what you received.

If hours are missing rather than a rate being wrong, start with your pay stub and then contact us, since pay corrections are ours to make even when the underlying instruction came from someone else.