Payroll Officer - Developmental Post

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Payroll Officer who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

You must be able to demonstrate attention to detail and be confident using Word, Excel and Outlook.

You must be able to work under pressure and adhere to strict deadlines, working as part of a team to ensure payroll meets both statutory and NHS terms and conditions.

Experience of Oracle or ESR is highly desirable. We would consider this as a trainee role on a Band 3 with promotion to Band 4 once certain competencies are met.

As a trainee for a minimum of 12 months, you would be keen to learn and expected to work towards achieving competency in the main responsibilities listed above. The majority of training will be targeted 'on the job' whilst working as part of the team. This position is ideal for school leavers, recent graduates, or career switchers eager to gain valuable experience in this field.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

Contribute to the provision of a comprehensive payroll service to employees of NHS organisations whose payroll is run by the Trust.

Work with other Payroll Officers and Team Leaders to ensure that staff are paid accurately and on time and to ensure a consistent approach to working practice.

Prepare and complete pay and deduction data entries ensuring correct authorisation by managers prior to processing ensuring these are made in line with the relevant legislation and Trust policies.

Validate and check data input made by Human Resource department / Workforce and advise accordingly. This includes starters / leavers / change of circumstances.

Once validated set up new starter bank account, tax code, National Insurance rate, and pension details/rate.

Maintain accurate records of sick/maternity leave/ parental leave / adoption leave, calculating reduced pay and sending written notice to Managers HR and employees when these apply.

Undertaking a range of manual calculations (PAYE, NI, SMP, SSP etc).

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification Qualifications / Training

• Minimum of 5 GCSEs including Maths & English at Grades 9-4 (A -C) or equivalent qualifications. OR GCSE in Maths and English and experience of working in a UK Payroll or Pensions department.
• ECDL

Previous Experience

• Sound knowledge of pay procedures and UK statutory legislation and experience of working in a payroll department.
• Experience of working in a large fast paced Payroll/Pensions environment.
• Experience of working in a shared Service environment

Skills

• Demonstrate ability to work on own initiative and have excellent organisational skills
• Impeccable attention to detail, excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work closely and effectively with staff at all levels within or outside the organisation.
• Manual Payroll Calculations in UK Tax, NI, Pensions and other statutory deductions.
• Intermediate skill level in Excel and Word including VLOOKUPs, Pivots, Mail Merges and Macros.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of NHS conditions of Pay, NHS Travel and Expenses Regulations, NHS Pension Regulations, Calculation of PAYE and NHS working practices.
• Be up to date with current statutory PAYE legislation.
• Experience of Oracle ESR system.
• Working knowledge in an NHS or local government payroll department.

Other requirements

• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion Role model our Trust values every day
• Maybe required to travel across sites.

When you apply

Please note we do not offer visa sponsorship for roles unless clearly stated in our adverts. This means even if you have the right to work currently but will require a new sponsorship to work for our Trust your application will not be considered.

Vacancies may close earlier than the advertised closing date where a high volume of applications are received. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out on the opportunity to join the Trust or develop your career with us.

While we recognise that AI can support in drafting an application, you are encouraged to clearly demonstrate your personal skills, experience and behaviours that align with the role, and this is usually best done in your own words. We reserve the right to review all applications for the use of AI tools and where this is inconsistent with our values and standards of behaviour your application may be rejected

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

King's Trust Support

If you're aged between 16 and 30 years-old, you can get FREE employability support from The King's Trust. The King's Trust will help build your CV and cover letter, offer advice and top tips for future interviews and support you with research about working in the NHS. Please contact Enquiries.H& for support.

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