Reward
Delivering a payroll service is a role where you’re held completely accountable for the outcome i.e., is the pay correct? There are relatively few occupations where the expected standard is 100% accuracy. It’s a tough gig. It’s also why I love payroll. Deadlines must be adhered to, and standards must be high. Payrollers understand and have usually lived through the consequences of a mistake, a lack of understanding or poor communication. This is what makes us special. Payroll people give so much, they question the detail, they interrogate the compliance, because they understand the consequences. This payroll love story starts with a big mistake. An employee returned from maternity leave and reduced her hours to part time; unfortunately, her car allowance was not pro-rated. It was three years until the error was identified. The payroll administrator knew she needed to act quickly and communicate the issue with honesty. Within a day, the net overpayment had been calculated and the employee, her manager and her HR representative had been given a full update on the details. The payroll administrator, by showing honesty, empathy, and transparency, was also able to agree a repayment plan and took steps to stop any future overpayments in the impending pay run. Finally, she designed a report to run monthly, which could identify employees with changes in hours and additional allowances. I was the payroll administrator’s manager, and her responsiveness, empathy and pro-active thinking encompassed everything that I love about payroll, and the people that work in it.
Not many people enjoy change, and I would certainly put myself in that camp. Working for the same company for fifteen years, and on the same payroll system for the same amount of time meant that I had become the ‘go-to’ person in the team. I was the longest serving, and I knew the system inside and out (albeit it wasn’t the greatest system in the world). So, when the project started to replace the old system with a new one, I was a little terrified. The team were taken into a few workshop meetings to discuss our requirements, but other than that, we continued processing payroll as normal. Then, an invite appeared in the diary. Three days’ training on the new system in readiness for parallel runs. The training took place and I felt like nothing sunk in. Everyone else was writing notes, but I just didn’t get it. The dreaded day arrived; parallel runs were starting. I picked up my payrolls, opened the system and stared blankly at the menus in front of me. Cautiously, I worked through my first input. I asked so many questions and clicked the wrong thing a few more times than I care to admit to, but I did it. And then I did it again. The more I used the system, the more confident I became. When you’re working in payroll, change is inevitable, and I love payroll because I’ve been able to both challenge and surprise myself as to what I’m truly capable of. I guess I quite like change after all! Who ever thought tax could be romantic?! Well, it isn’t particularly, but this payroll love story focuses on a technical aspect of tax, available to certain married individuals or those in a civil partnership – the marriage allowance. The marriage allowance permits the transfer of up to £1,260 of a person’s personal tax allowance to their husband, wife or civil partner. This can result in a tax reduction of up to a maximum of £252 within the tax year. To qualify for this relief, one individual must ordinarily receive an income below the personal allowance, and their partner must pay income tax at the basic rate. In Scotland, the partner must pay at either the starter, basic or intermediate rate of tax. The personal allowance automatically transfers each year unless the marriage allowance is cancelled, which could happen where there is a change to income or when a relationship ends. The marriage allowance will be reflected either in an individual’s tax code or will be given when they send their self-assessment tax return. Each member of the couple will receive a new tax code to reflect the transferred allowance. It will end with ‘M’ for someone in receipt of the allowance, and ‘N’ for those who have transferred the allowance across to their partner. What better way to treat your beloved than with an increased tax allowance this Valentine’s Day…?!
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 77 | February 2022
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