REWARD
What can I do to help people’s understanding of payroll and reward?
Karen Beckett BA (Hons) ChFCIPP, head of payroll and benefits, Dorset HealthCare University National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust provides useful ideas on how we can start to help people to understand their pay, and how we should take responsibility for this as we’re the ones equipped with the knowledge and expertise to help
C an you remember your first happier when I received my first pay packet. It was paid in cash in a brown envelope with writing on the front (I’m showing my age). What was written on the brown pay packet, I couldn’t tell you, as the only thing I was concerned about was that figure at the bottom of the pay packet – the all-important net pay. “As payroll professionals, we should be proud and willing to shout out what we do and what we know” payday? I was so excited to have started my first job and even My first job wasn’t in payroll but in retail, and at that point I didn’t understand income tax, the meaning of a tax code or National Insurance (NI) as I’m sure many others didn’t and still don’t today. Today, the cash payments and, in most cases, the cheque payments are gone. How things have moved on! Payments are made directly to bank accounts and, providing the net pay in the bank account is what people expect, many people won’t
“Every day, we must work within the restrictions of hundreds of pieces of legislation along with the company’s terms and conditions of service”
look at their payslips (which are now mostly electronic), let alone understand it. As payroll professionals, we can help people understand their payslips so they can ensure they’re receiving the correct pay each pay period. But how can we get that understanding and knowledge to all our employees, particularly if they’re in multiple locations? The knowledge of payroll professionals is extensive and wide-ranging. We now have responsibility for pensions, staff benefits and expenses as well as payroll. As payroll professionals, we should be proud and willing to shout out what we do and what we know. Here are some ideas of what we can do to promote our knowledge and the profession. Start closest to you We can start with our family and friends. Do they know what you do every day in your role as a payroll professional? In most cases, they’ll probably think you might do some data input on a computer. Then, at the end of the month, you (or someone in your team) presses the magical button which
processes the payroll and gets everyone paid. As anyone working in the profession will know, it isn’t that simple. Every day, we must work within the restrictions of hundreds of pieces of legislation along with the company’s terms and conditions of service. We’re required to know statutory regulations in detail as well as meeting compliance requirements. No two days are the same which makes the payroll and reward profession interesting, but this probably isn’t how family and friends will see it. Take time out to ask your family and friends if they understand their payslips. The initial response is likely to be yes, they do. But I’m sure if you challenged them to explain a certain element of their payslip, they would be unable to do so in full. You could take the opportunity to share your knowledge and skills by explaining their payslip to them. It might even show that they’re not paying the correct amount of tax, for example. And it will show them that payroll is more complex than they ever thought it was. If you explain a payslip to someone just starting out in their career, it
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2024 | Issue 100 48
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