Confessions of a payroll manager “It’s a jolly holiday…if you remember to take it”
Another anonymous episode revealing the world of payroll featuring payroll avatar, Penelope Fortham (‘Penny’), who is payroll manager at the nation’s favourite biscuit makers Crumbitt’s Confections. O ne thing the pandemic has drawn attention to is the elasticity of time, as it doesn’t feel particularly measurable any more. Without my computer confirming the date and time in the bottom corner of the screen, I would struggle to pinpoint the month – let alone the day. With all the discombobulation around dates, annual leave (and the taking thereof) has become a mind-jam. Add to that the challenges of calculations for the coronavirus job retention scheme, overtime in the factory and sick pay for those self- isolating, and you’re looking at a team calendar littered with notes, sub-notes, red ‘sick’ stickers and yellow ‘holiday’ stickers. I confess, I’ve never been good at taking annual leave, even pre-pandemic. I simply forget about it and get swept up in the momentum of work. One minute I’m coming back to work from a long August weekend in Whitby and the next, it’s Christmas and I’ve worked four months without a break. Payroll is a process, and processes require forward motion. If you get too caught up in that, you’ve had it. It’s like trying to escape a wave that you’re already surfing. Easier to stay on the board and ride it than risk stepping off and getting a mouth full of seaweed. As per, I haven’t taken much annual leave in the past year and neither have
most of the team. Last week, we had a special team meeting to discuss the government changes to the Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (http://ow.ly/Aq6830rTzbT) that allows workers to carry leave between holiday years, and we agreed that payroll should be included in this. Upon reviewing the team holidays calendar, it was apparent that, apart from the odd day to look after my neighbour’s dog, I hadn’t taken any holiday this annual leave year at all. Although we’d agreed that some annual leave could be carried over, I decided it was probably time for a break, so I booked three days off for some relaxation time (none of which would be spent dog sitting for my neighbour). I almost felt naughty booking the time off and the fact that it was met with a call from Mr Crumbitt to check that I was alright was very revealing (and a bit embarrassing). I’m always harassing my team to get their holiday booked and to take time for self-care, but it appears I hadn’t been practising what I preach. Ever the organiser, before I left on the Friday afternoon, I briefed the team and gave them a colour coded list of handover items. I gave control to Tom, who relished being the boss. I also ensured the team were aware they would need to run the interface from the factory time and attendance machine while I was off. Monday morning felt peculiar (with a heart-pounding start when I woke in a panic thinking I’d missed my alarm, followed by that blissful ‘sink back under your covers’ moment when I realised I was on leave). I decided to take up my neighbour’s offer of use of her hot tub in the afternoon
and spent a blissful hour luxuriating in the bubbles with a prosecco and a Jilly Cooper. However, just as I’d mastered the art of holding my book in the air, having the bubbles on and sipping my drink every few seconds, my phone rang. It was Tom, sounding rather less than confident, informing me the interface wouldn’t pull through from the time and attendance. Too chilled out by my hot tub experience to get annoyed, I spent an hour on the phone guiding Tom through the process, step by step and gradually instilling a sense of calm. Turned out the whole issue had been caused by a missing backslash from a file name – the smallest things. Calm and harmony was restored – to the office – and to my neighbour’s back garden. Jilly Cooper was soaked through (as I’d dropped it in the tub when the phone rang) so I closed my eyes and appreciated not having anything to do – with the knowledge the team was sorted. In many ways being able to help my team added something positive to the day. Rather than feeling annoyed that I’d been interrupted, I was pleased I was able to help. In payroll, you can never fully switch off and that goes with the job. There have been many heroes over the last year or so, but I think we, of the payroll profession, can also feel proud that we have always remained on duty. Take care all – and TAKE YOUR HOLIDAYS. o o The Editor: Any resemblance to any payroll manager or professional alive or dead, or any payroll department or organisation whether apparently or actually portrayed in this article is simply fortuitous.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | October 2021 | Issue 74 50
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