In payroll jobs your role is to get pay out accurately and on time. You can either work within a company’s finance department or for a firm that provides payroll services.

Payroll managers manage and train their payroll teams. They also write up policies and procedures, share advise on tax and pay laws, analyse and report on financial data and manage the use of computer systems. Payroll jobs might include HR tasks, for example, running employee benefits schemes and equal pay reviews.

If you work in a smaller company, you might also be tasked with general payroll administration duties. Admin could include the processing and issuing pay, deducting tax and national insurance, processing holiday, sick and maternity pay, working out overtime, and pay increases.

At administrator level, your work may also include checking employees hours worked, creating new staff records and issuing P45s or other tax forms. In some jobs, you might also be tasked with basic admin tasks like filing, photocopying and typing.

Expected work hours

When working a full-time job, you’ll be doing a 35-40 hour week, 9am to 5pm. During busy times you can be asked to do overtime. Part-time roles, job sharing, flexitime and temporary work may also be possibilities.

Payroll jobs are office-based, and so you will spend the majority of your time behind a desk at a computer.

Skills and Abilities

To work in payroll jobs you should:

• Have the natural or learnt ability to motivate and lead a team
• Have good maths and Information Technology skills
• Have developed oral and written communication skills
• Have an organised and systematic approach
• Be a logical person with problem-solving abilities
• Have accuracy and attention to details
• Have good time management skills and be able to meet deadlines
• Work in a team
• Have respect for private information and be honest.