The payroll job is an essential role of any company. If you work in payroll, your main responsibility is making sure that staff are paid their wages on time and correctly, hours are properly calculated and that taxes are correctly recorded. The majority of the work is handled by computer systems and software that can automatically calculate staffs details.

Payroll Duties

The payroll job description can be a very complex role in that calculations of pay, holiday entitlement, insurance deductions and tax deductions must be 100% accurate. Here is a list of some of the duties carried out in payroll:

Based on hours worked, holiday days taken and amounts deducted for taxes, health care benefits, pensions, maternity pay, sick pay and savings plans, the payroll department calculate employees monthly / weekly salaries.
Maintain accurate records for each member of staff. If there are changes in the employee’s circumstances, such as position, pay or hours that is noted as well. They also issue P45s and various tax forms.
Calculate any changes in payroll practices, such as a holiday that could change the normal pay day or end of the pay period.

Process BACS transfers so that employees can be paid direct into a nominated bank account and also produce and distribute pay slips.
As a Payroll Manager, your role would include jobs like supervising and training the payroll team, advising on tax and pay laws, creating policies and procedures and analyzing and reporting on financial data. The role could also cover other HR responsibilities, such as running employee benefits schemes and conducting equal pay reviews.
Training

Generally you would start you Payroll career as a payroll administrator, and work your way up to supervisor or manager level as you gain experience in the payroll field. You do not normally need a minimum level of qualifications, but you should be competent with maths. You may be able to get into payroll via an apprentice scheme, see www.apprenticeships.org.uk for more information.
Qualifications in bookkeeping or basic accounting would be an advantage; employers may prefer you to have GCSEs (A-C) including maths. You should also be computer literate particularly in using spreadsheets and databases.
It may help your chances of promotion to achieve a relevant payroll qualification, such as:
Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) NVQ Level 2 in Payroll Administration
International Association of Book-keepers (IAB) Certificates in Payroll or Computerized Payroll.
Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) Practitioner Certificate in Payroll.
You may have the opportunity to study for qualifications while you’re working, such as:
Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) NVQ levels 2 and 3 in Payroll Administration
Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) Practitioner Certificate in Payroll
International Association of Book-keepers (IAB) Certificate and Diploma in Payroll or Computerized Payroll.

Annual Income

Starting salaries are between £13,000 and £18,000 a year.
This can rise to between £20,000 and £25,000, with experience and responsibility.
Manager’s salaries can be between £18,000 and £40,000 a year, depending on your level of responsibility and the size of your team.
The hours of work are generally 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday and are office based.

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