Featured Occupation – Working in Payroll
Payroll clerks, supervisors and managers work as a team to administer their organisation’s payroll and ensure that every member of staff is paid the correct amount on the right date. A payroll clerk’s duties may involve checking time sheets and clock cards to see how many hours each employee has worked, calculating amounts of pay and making deductions to cover repayments such as salary advances or student loans. A payroll supervisor oversees the work of a payroll team and trains new staff, and a payroll managers responsibilities include managing the work of a number of payroll teams.
Payroll staff usually work around 37 hours a week, Monday to Friday. They may work overtime at busy times, such as the end of the financial year. They are usually office based and spend most of the day sitting at a desk using computers, calculators and the telephone. More senior staff spend some time attending meetings.
Salaries range from around £14,000 to £40,000 a year.
A payroll clerk, supervisor or manager should:
- have good numeracy skills
- have good computer skills
- be discreet when handling confidential information
- have leadership and management skills (managers and supervisors)
- be able to understand and interpret complex information (managers and supervisors)
- be interested in working with figures.
Opportunities exist throughout the UK. Large organisations, such as local authorities, retail chains, manufacturers, airlines, financial institutions and the NHS, often have their own payroll departments. There are also opportunities in payroll bureaux, which offer payroll services to other organisations.
Although there are no minimum qualifications for this kind of work, many employers prefer applicants with GCSEs (A*-C), including English and maths. The Diploma in business, administration and finance may be relevant for this area of work and apprenticeships may be available.
Entrants learn through a combination of on-the-job training and internal and external courses. Qualifications include NVQ Levels 2/3 in payroll administration, BTEC Advanced Certificate in payroll techniques, BTEC Advanced Award in payroll procedures and NVQ Levels 2 to 4 in financial services.
With experience and qualifications, payroll clerks may become supervisors and managers. More experience and responsibility may be gained by moving to a different organisation.
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