REWARD
LM: The answer to this question isn’t really a one-size-fits-all outcome. In my early career, I had a mixture of both types of learning. There are several factors which need to be considered. The main one being what an individual’s learning preference is, but also the surroundings they find themselves in. I was extremely fortunate in my early career to have mentors who were passionate about the profession and were willing to dedicate the time to ‘showing me the ropes’. Having people in place like this makes the ‘on the job’ learning so much easier. This may not always be the case for people though, and although you may be able to learn the basics of your role, gaining the full appreciation for the profession may be harder. When completing my first apprenticeship, the knowledge I gained really helped me acquire a much better understanding and appreciation for all my ‘on the job’ learning I had completed up to that point. Payroll as a profession started to become clearer to me. While I think ‘on the job’ learning is always going to be required in most roles, as someone who has undertaken three professional payroll qualifications, I can’t emphasise enough the knowledge this has given me and the subsequent opportunities that have arisen from this. How do we dispel the myth that payroll’s ‘boring’? LJ: I actually don’t think people believe payroll is boring. They just don’t understand it. And when we don’t understand something, we avoid it. The secret isn’t making payroll ‘sexy’; it’s making it simple. The moment someone understands how their payslip connects to their ability to rent their first flat or get a mortgage, it clicks. That’s when payroll becomes deeply personal and very exciting. It’s not just about tax codes and deductions. It’s more about freedom, opportunity and milestones. We need to connect payroll to real human stories. It’s not about the numbers on the page; it’s about what they unlock in people’s lives. When you frame payroll like that, there’s nothing boring about it. There’s magic in every payslip if you know where to look.
“Once you’ve gained a deep understanding of the profession, it’s then in your own power to enhance your career, and the ceiling can be as high as you want it”
LM: It’s a common stereotype that payroll is a ‘push the button’ function. This was once verified to me by a director at a previous employer saying to me “I always thought payroll was easy?” I’ll forgive them because the job is misunderstood by so many people. It’s imperative that, as payroll professionals, we continue to bang the drum about the importance of the function and highlight its dynamic and engaging aspects. Showcasing the impact of payroll demonstrates what a crucial role it is. Emphasising the skills required to navigate complex regulations, queries and systems demonstrates how much variety there is to a role in payroll and removes the idea that each day in the industry is the same and ‘mundane’. I feel that targeting people at schools or recruitment events and showcasing the career paths available in payroll can go a long way. Success stories can provide inspiration to others to join the profession. If payroll was so boring, these people (including myself) wouldn’t have stayed in the profession as long as they have or work as hard as they do, to achieve these career milestones. Why’s it so important there’s a broader understanding of payslips across the working population in general? LJ: Payslips might look like a jumble of numbers, but they’re actually one of the most powerful documents in someone’s life. I’ve met loads of people who are confused by theirs, and that confusion can cost them. When people understand their payslips, they’re more likely to spot errors, ask the right questions and take control of their finances. They understand their tax code, how much is going into their pension and what deductions are being made. That’s not just empowering; it’s protective. The more we understand something, the more we can improve it. Better awareness leads to better decisions, whether that’s switching to a better pension plan, chasing up missed overtime or budgeting for the month ahead. Ignorance
might feel easier in the short term, but it comes at a long-term cost. A broader understanding of payslips is really a push for financial literacy. And that benefits everyone. LM: Almost everyone goes to work for one reason – to get paid. So why wouldn’t people want to make sure they understand their payslip? Most of the battle is encouraging people to look at their payslips in the first place. A lot of the time people will only look at their payslip when they think something is wrong. While it is payroll’s responsibility to ensure your pay is calculated correctly based on the information they have, that information provided to them may not always be correct. The sources for this information vary from internal to external, and it’s impossible for payroll to know if all the different elements are correct. You, as an individual, have a responsibility to check those different elements of your payslip, such as your gross salary, tax code, student loan category, etc, are correct. Not checking these elements can potentially lead to long-term overpayments or underpayments. Regularly checking your payslip will give you an understanding of what you should be expecting to see, meaning you’ll be able to easily identify when something doesn’t look quite right. Not only does this help you as an individual, but it will also certainly help your payroll department to rectify any issues as quickly as possible. Why do you think people should learn about payslips, tax and National insurance (NI) from a younger age? LJ: We can’t expect young people to care about something that doesn’t yet impact their day-to-day lives. That’s the challenge. So, what if we made it relevant now? Imagine if every student received a small monthly reward for attending school – say £5, increasing each year. But to unlock it, they’d need to read a payslip and answer a few questions about tax, pensions or NI. Suddenly, they’d be learning through
PROFESSI NAL in Payroll, Pensions and Reward
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June 2025 | Issue 111
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