Payroll Assistant

Payroll Assistant – Education, Tutoring & Social Work

Location: Loughton
Salary: £18 PH
Hours: 37.5 HRS Per Week (5 Days) – 6 Month Contract Only
Reports to: Payroll Manager / Finance Manager

About the Role

We are a fast-paced recruitment company specialising in the education, tutoring and social work sectors. Due to the high volume of workers we support, we are looking for an organised, accurate and proactive Payroll Assistant to join our busy payroll team.

This is a hands-on role supporting the processing of payroll for many temporary and contract workers. You will work closely with our recruitment and operations teams, managed service vendors and local authorities to ensure hours are received, checked and processed accurately and on time.

The successful candidate will ideally have previous payroll or payroll administration experience and be confident working with large volumes of data. Experience using Merit Payroll Software and/or managed vendor systems for submitting hours to local authorities would be highly advantageous.

This is also a great opportunity for someone who wants to develop their payroll knowledge and, over time, become confident in independently running payroll from start to finish.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist with the weekly/monthly processing of payroll for a high volume of education, tutoring and social work workers.
• Accurately input and maintain worker payroll information and booking details, including setting up new worker bookings and ensuring all relevant information is recorded correctly.
• Check and process timesheets and hours worked, ensuring information is complete, accurate and submitted within required deadlines.
• Work with managed service vendors and local authorities to ensure hours are submitted correctly and within deadlines.
• Process leavers/finishers accurately and ensure all necessary records are updated.
• Respond promptly and professionally to payroll queries from workers, consultants, clients and internal teams, investigating discrepancies and resolving payroll issues quickly.
• Assist with payroll checks and reconciliations before payroll is finalised, ensuring all information has been reviewed for accuracy.
• Ensure all required payroll reports are produced and checked.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure payroll information is kept up to date.
• Work closely with recruitment and operations teams to resolve missing information, discrepancies and other payroll-related issues.
• Assist with ensuring compliance with relevant payroll legislation and processes.
• Support the payroll team with general administration and other payroll-related tasks as required.

Payroll Knowledge

The ideal candidate will have a good working knowledge of, or be keen to develop their understanding of:

• PAYE and income tax.
• National Insurance (NI).
• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP).
• Holiday pay and payroll deductions.
• Starters and leavers, including the correct recording of new starters and finishers.
• Timesheet and payroll processes, including the importance of accurate and timely processing.

You don't need to be an expert in every area from day one, but you should have a good understanding of payroll principles and be keen to build your knowledge.

Systems & Skills

Ideally, you will have:

• Experience using Merit Payroll Software or a similar payroll system. Experience working with managed service providers/vendors and submitting hours to local authorities.
• Strong Excel and data-entry skills, with excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• The ability to work confidently with large volumes of data.
• Good organisational skills and the ability to manage deadlines effectively.
• The ability to prioritise effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to resolving queries.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to work independently while also being a strong team player.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who is accurate, reliable, organised and quick to respond.

Our payroll environment is busy and high-volume, so you will need to be comfortable working to tight deadlines and dealing with a variety of queries throughout the day. Attention to detail is particularly important, as even small errors can have a significant impact on workers' pay.

The right person will also be someone who wants to learn and progress. Initially, you will support the payroll function, but as your knowledge and confidence develop, you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for the payroll process.

Development of the Role

The long-term aim is for the successful candidate to become confident in running payroll independently, including:

• Setting up new bookings and workers correctly and ensuring all payroll information is recorded accurately.
• Checking and processing hours and ensuring timesheets are complete and accurate.
• Ensuring starters and finishers are recorded correctly.
• Carrying out payroll checks and reconciliations before payroll is finalised.

- Running and reviewing all required payroll reports.

- Dealing with payroll queries and resolving discrepancies professionally and efficiently.

- Ensuring payroll is processed accurately and on time.

- Taking ownership of the payroll process from start to finish.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with a strong payroll administration background who wants to develop their skills and take the next step towards becoming a fully independent payroll professional.