MY CIPP
Being payroll
John Stonestreet ChCIPPdip, head of payroll and pensions, Essex Police and Kent Police, discusses the benefits of being part of the CIPP
Which benefits of CIPP membership appealed to you the most? The Advisory Service is brilliant. The updates are brilliant. Having the information come to you and not having to search for it. The formal training and the recognition from your peers. You can give to your organisation: they know you know what you are doing and trust you. If you have CIPP membership and potentially the qualifications as well, your organisation can trust you as can prospective employees. Getting regular updates from the CIPP Advisory Service, via News Online and by attending the events, the special interest groups, have all been brilliant for me. It’s allowed me to go back to my organisations with things they may not have been aware of where the potential impact of non-compliance could cost a lot of money and reputational damage. Tell us about a time when you or your department really felt the benefit of CIPP membership A while ago I was working at a recruitment agency which took the decision to implement a salary sacrifice scheme and to make all its agency workers employees which meant that we had to implement holiday pay, sick pay and all of the other employee rights. At the time I was an expert in a very narrow field, and I needed the broader knowledge; the CIPP and the qualification gave me the knowledge to be able to implement those. But if I had doubts, I would contact the Advisory Service who got to know me by name by the end of the project – I feel they were part of the team. I got all the credit, but credit should also go to CIPP.
For someone who is thinking about joining as a member, what would your advice be to them? It’s like having an expanded team behind you. It’s not just membership and the benefits that it gives you, but also the training, the networking and the events that makes being part of the CIPP valuable. It really does give extra tools in your toolbox to deliver a better service. It puts your mind at ease if you’re unsure of anything. The networking opportunities means you can contact people within your network who are in similar positions for support and guidance. Why is it important to you that you became a Chartered member of the CIPP? I have always had this drive to develop and improve professionally. Being a Chartered member has given me recognition, and my organisation more faith in me, that I am a professional. I wouldn’t have been able to that without the CIPP and Chartered membership.
If you would like to be part of the being payroll series, please email info@cipp.org.uk
Tell us about the day you realised CIPP membership was of real value to you
It was when I was applying for jobs and increasingly noticing that CIPP (or qualified) membership was essential. So, I was pleased that early in my career I took the step to push myself forward because these were really good jobs that I wouldn’t have been able to do without the CIPP behind me.
BE ACCURATE. BE THE UNSUNG HERO. BE RELIABLE. BE VERSATILE. BE PASSIONATE. BE PAYROLL.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | April 2020 | Issue 59 10
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