Feature insight - payroll software implementation
on the third floor. There were neither mini computers nor visual display units at the time, as this was still the age of the mainframe computer housed in special buildings and environments. Processing was by ‘batch’ and it was essential that scheduling of work was observed and met even at bank and public holidays including Easter, Christmas and the new year. BR’s three mainframe computers I recall were located in Crewe, Derby and Doncaster. The data was transmitted to these via telecommunication equipment located in the DICs, using papertape created during the R&V process. The very structured source documents for the data were supplied by the payroll teams. Data input error messages were sent to DICs via teletext machines. The vast majority of BR staff were paid weekly in cash, on Thursday or Friday. A few were paid four-weekly via automated credits transfer. Implementation of BR’s national payroll system (NPS) meant standard long, narrow printed payslips replaced handwritten slips. For those paid weekly a tear-off stub indicating the payment method served as a receipt when collecting their wages. Most weekly-paid employees collected their wages from their workplace, but a few could enter in their weekly timesheet a paypoint code indicating where they wanted to collect their payslip and cash wages on the next payday. Other functionality served to automatically withhold a payslip and the cash to a later payday if the employee was indicated as on holiday for the week in question. The NPS also produced detailed cash analysis requirements based on those being paid on the next payday. Rounding of cash net pay operated to bring the odd pence up to 50p. (A ‘feature’ of the NPS arose when an employee moved onto four-weekly pay frequency: rounding still occurred in the last weekly payment. It was a year or more before this programming ‘feature’ was corrected with recovery of the last rounding amount actioned.) Initially, those paid four-weekly received a single payslip. Though this was not a problem for many employees, it was difficult to reconcile the values shown in the payslip where the employee had variable hours etc (e.g. frequent overtime, working shifts, paid higher rates for some hours). It made sense therefore to provide
four-weekly staff with four adjoined payslips – one for each week.
automatically enrolled. Implementation of BR’s NPS was sensibly spread over many months. This is unsurprising as the implementation teams visiting depots and stations had to train staff, perform checks to ensure accuracy of data, and collect and submit year to date cumulative values for income tax, sickness absences etc. In the DICs it was important the right levels of resource were also available, particularly as some of the staff solely engaged in payroll processing at large stations and depots were scheduled to transfer to the DICs. The planning involved must have been extensive. The first timesheets for those stations and depots moving onto NPS were subjected to close checking on receipt at the DIC. Any discrepancies would be pursued by the implementation teams, who worked closely with DIC staff. There were stories of payroll ghosts across BR. The NPS served to exorcise fraud. For some reason that I cannot recall I worked on the timesheets of relief signalmen. There were only seventy or so of these in the central division, but extending their timesheets took me about a day from late Monday morning. It took this long as the relief signalmen usually worked/claimed long hours and were often entitled to higher rates of pay when working in signal boxes that controlled high levels of train traffic as these required more skill and knowledge. It was also common for these relief signalmen to cover several boxes each week, claiming travel time and/or lodging allowance and expenses. Another aspect of extending these timesheets is that all the correct cost centres had to be located and used. Over time I acquired knowledge of the relevant rates and cost centres for various boxes, but to apply the correct nationally agreed terms and conditions (e.g. spoilt food allowance, minima for Sunday working, etc) I relied on a handbook published annually by the National Union of Railworkers. There was little in the way of guidance from BR itself. (This was I think a formative first time for me in the comprehension and application of the technicalities of employment rules and law.) Some but not all of the relief signalmen Two memorable events Lost time
It is remarkable looking back to think that, for a long time, payroll timesheets, notifications, and payslips were sent in tough bags sealed only with Velcro that anyone could open. These coloured coded bags were conspicuous, but there were many of them in transit between the DICs and the depots and stations every day. ...timesheets, notifications, and payslips were sent in tough bags sealed only with Velcro that anyone could open Where weekly-paid staff moved to the four-weekly pay frequency, they would receive in their last weekly payment an advance (a loan) of two weeks’ net pay. This was because it was better the employee received pay for the weeks before the next payday and also because the payroll processing cut-off meant only two weekly timesheets would be included in that next four-weekly calculation. Recovery of the advance was automatically spread over the ensuing thirteen paydays. There were hundreds of voluntary deductions in operation; some were national, some regional or only local in availability or relevance. With computerisation each was allocated a code and operational rules defined e.g. non-payment, accrual and collection of arrears, reducing balances etc. Ledgers that had been maintained at depots and stations for recording contributors, the amounts and frequency, were the source for identifying the weekly amount and deduction code applicable to employees to enter in the NPS record. Sometimes research was undertaken to ensure the right code etc had been used. Several pension schemes operated. For many years these were available only to salaried staff from age 21 but the British Rail pension scheme which replaced them was open to all staff. It was a condition of employment for employees to be
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Issue 49 | April 2019
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
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