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Payroll administrator

Be responsible for preparing and processing the payroll for employees within an organisation.

Also known as: payroll clerk, payroll officer

About skillsGetting in

About the job

Salary

Source: National Careers Service

Weekly

£423

Entry level

£673

Experienced

Monthly

£1,833

Entry level

£2,917

Experienced

Yearly

£22,000

Entry level

£35,000

Experienced

30,400

people are currently employed

Low growth

No change in number of jobs in 5 years

These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics

What it's like

Payroll administrators are responsible for processing peoples wages.  In this job, you’d create, store and maintain employee payroll records which details things like their attendance or timesheets, as well as the hours they work and the pay grade they’re on.

Mainly working on a computer, you'd keep records up-to-date to make sure all employees are paid the correct amount on time.

It's important to be very thorough in this kind of work and incredibly organised and timely as they work to strict deadlines. It's also necessary to have to have good numeracy and ICT skills.

What you might do:

  • Prepare and process monthly or weekly payroll for employees

  • Keep payroll records for each employee with up-to-date and accurate information

  • Review any approved expenses or overtime pay that an employee may be entitled to

  • Update employee records with any changes that might include maternity pay, sick pay or new work patterns that might affect their pay

  • Communicate any payroll updates or changes to managers or colleagues

  • Answer staff queries about their pay slips and resolving any issues where possible

  • Create financial reports

  • Calculate tax and national insurance and process salaries accordingly

  • Issue employees with their P45, tax forms and any other necessary documents

Hours

Working hours can vary, but usually full-time hours will be Monday to Friday and around 37-40 hours per week. This might change depending on where you work or who you work for, or during busier periods such as Christmas.

Environment

You'll usually be office based and the size of the team you're part of will depend on the size of the business you work for.

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Top skills

Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!

It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.

Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:

  • understanding
  • analysing
  • reliable
  • time management
  • developing a plan
  • sorting
  • attention to detail
  • working with numbers
  • problem solving
  • written communication

Your skills are important

Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.

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Getting in

Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.

You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.

Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.

Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:

  • Accounting

  • Administration and Information Technology

  • Business Management

  • Information and Communications Technology - ICT

  • Mathematics

  • Skills for Work: Financial Services

  • Applications of Mathematics

There are no fixed entry routes to this job but most employers would prefer a selection of subjects at National 4/5 or above level including maths and English.

Most employers look for relevant experience - this could be gained through college or university courses such as NQ, HNC, HND in business, accounting or finance, or through work based experience and qualifications.

Not all employers list specific qualification requirements but they might ask for relevant (usually work based) experience that demonstrates a range of transferable skills.

Having or working towards professional qualifications in IT or finance, such as AAT qualifications (Association of Accounting Technicians) are highly valued.

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