Position: Payroll Officer
Location: Lambeth Town Hall, 2 Brixton Hill, Brixton, SW2 1RW
Start Date: ASAP
Contract Duration: 5+ Months Hybrid – office attendance required at least 2–3 days per week
Working Hours: 35 hours per week
Pay Rate: PAYE: £23.51 per hour
Job Responsibilities
- Support the delivery of an accurate, efficient and timely payroll service
- Ensure staff are paid correctly and in line with legislation, regulations and Council policies
- Act as a first point of contact for payroll queries from employees, schools, Council departments and external organisations
- Process payroll changes including starters, leavers, pay awards, increments and manual payments
- Administer statutory and contractual payments including:
- Maternity pay
- Sick pay (statutory and occupational)
- Parental pay
- NI-related benefits and PILON
- Apply PAYE, National Insurance and pension regulations accurately
- Manage pension administration for schemes including Teachers' Pension, LGPS, NHSPS and auto-enrolment
- Check and validate payroll data received from HR, schools and internal teams
- Identify and resolve payroll discrepancies and anomalies to reduce overpayments and errors
- Respond to and resolve service desk queries within agreed timescales
- Produce documentation for HMRC, the Contributions Agency and other statutory bodies
- Issue payslips, P45s, P60s and related correspondence
- Support financial reporting, audits and statutory returns (e.g. NFI)
- Provide clear, accurate advice on payroll matters including tax, NI, SSP, SPP and student loans
- Liaise with internal departments, external bodies and legal representatives when required
- Check colleague work to ensure accuracy and compliance
- Support continuous improvement of payroll processes and systems
- Promote equality, diversity and inclusion across all payroll activities
- Carry out additional duties appropriate to the role and grade
Person Specification
Must-Have Requirements
- Proven experience working in a payroll administrator role within a customer-focused environment
- Strong knowledge of PAYE, HMRC regulations and payroll legislation
- Experience applying tax, National Insurance and pension rules within payroll processing
- Experience using payroll systems in a public sector or similar environment
- Ability to handle complex payroll queries and resolve issues effectively
- Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
- Ability to manage workload under pressure and meet strict deadlines
- High level of accuracy and attention to detail
- Good ICT skills, including Microsoft Word and Excel
- Ability to build effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders
- Relevant payroll experience or equivalent professional qualification
Nice-to-Have Requirements
- Experience working within a local authority or public sector payroll environment
- Experience with Oracle payroll systems or similar platforms
- Experience delivering presentations or payroll support sessions
- Knowledge of multiple public sector terms and conditions (e.g. NJC, Teachers, Soulbury)
- Experience supporting system improvements or process development
Job Reference: OR107302
Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 5 months
Pay: £23.51 per hour
Application question(s):
- Are you confident in applying PAYE, National Insurance, and pension regulations within payroll processing? Please explain your experience.
- Have you worked with public sector pension schemes such as LGPS, Teachers’ Pension, or NHSPS? If yes, please specify.
Experience:
- payroll administrator: 1 year (required)
Licence/Certification:
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
