Introduction
Local authorities employ a wide variety of staff working in
different jobs. Some work full time basis, others on a part-time or
jobshare basis. They may be paid weekly or monthly and some may
work several hours of paid overtime or be in jobs in which car
allowances, shift allowances, unsocial hours, stand by and/or bonus
payments are made. They may choose to join a pension scheme and
have the contributions deducted from their pay.
The payroll department has to ensure that they are all paid
correctly and that all the records connected with their pay are
kept up to date. In addition, a council may operate a payroll
system for locally-managed schools, using information supplied by
school administrators.
Work Environment
Payroll officers work indoors, in offices within council
buildings. Most of their work is done seated at their own desks and
using computer terminals. They may attend meetings in other offices
and in other buildings.
Daily Activities
Payroll officers manage a team of payroll clerks or assistants.
Their job is to allocate work to different members of the team and
to supervise their work to make sure that payroll data is
completed, checked and inputted - in time to meet the council's
date for paying its employees each week/month. (Councils normally
have regular day of the week on which employees receive their pay
packets or a date toward the end of the month on which salaries are
paid in to bank accounts and staff given a payslip.) The
payroll team check timesheets showing how many hours staff have
worked, work out any bonus, overtime and other payments, calculate
deductions made for income tax, national insurance and pension
contributions and prepare pay slips, showing all the information.
They also ensure statutory and occupational sickness details are
processed.
Payroll officers are also responsible for making sure that all
employees receive any annual pay increases due to them and that
records are kept of the annual wages cost to each council
department. They produce statistics for department heads and
managers as and when required. They liaise with the
recruitment and personnel departments in order to know when
employees are joining, leaving or retiring - and make sure that all
their pay entitlements are met.
Skills & Interests
Payroll officers need to be:
- good supervisors - able to delegate work to other
people;
- competent in the use of IT systems;
- accurate and methodical;
- able to work on own initiative and within a team;
- well organised, with powers of concentration, the ability to
pay attention to detail - and to prioritise work in order to meet
deadlines;
- knowledgeable about national and their own council's terms and
conditions of service for different jobs, plus national insurance
and income tax regulations.
They must be able to respect confidentiality of information. For
example, they must not discuss employees' salaries or personal
affairs. (Sometimes they may be required to deal with Attachment of
Earnings Orders or Judgement Debts made by the courts and ensure
that the amount of money in question is deducted from the
employee's pay and paid to the court office.)
Entry Requirements
Educated to NVQ II or equivalent with some evidence of further
professional development. However, many entrants have higher
qualifications. You will also be required to having working
knowledge of payroll issues and experience of teamwork in a
pressurised environment. Previous experience involving the use of
computerised payroll databases is required.
Future Prospects & Opportunities
A small council might employ one or two payroll officers
responsible for a small team of two to three assistants. In a
large council there might be two to three principal or senior
payroll officers, eight or nine payroll officers and 20 or more
payroll assistants. Future opportunities could involve
progression to a payroll manager role.
Further Information & Services
Association of Accounting Technicians www.aat.co.uk
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals http://www.cipp.org.uk/
You may find further information about this area of work through
Careers Wales (www.careerswales.com/) or
in your local library, careers office or school careers
library.