Payroll Assistant Job Edinburgh area,City of Edinburgh Scotland UK,Accounting

Location: City of Edinburgh

1. Job Details

Job Title Payroll Assistant

Hours 18 – 25 p/wk

Line Manager Payroll Manager

Department Payroll

Contract Type Permanent

Salary £28,329 (pro-rata for less than 39 hours)

2. About Thistle

At Thistle we believe in a world of inclusion, free of isolation and loneliness, where a health crisis doesn’t mean a life crisis. Our charity supports people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to see life differently, to lead good lives and achieve what matters most to them. We believe that everyone in Scotland should have access to our person‑centred approach to health and wellbeing.

3.

About the role

This role provides payroll processing support as part of the payroll team. The Payroll Assistant will be responsible for the correct and timely payment of salaries to employees, payments to HMRC and pensions and other payroll tasks.

4. Main Responsibilities

Working alongside the Payroll Manager to process and produce the monthly payroll for Thistle Foundation, check data entries with our HR team, and review sickness entries against our sick pay rules, calculate SMP, SSP and Enhanced Holiday.

To process timesheet import from Rota Management software and, where necessary input manual timesheets, in respect of overtime, sleepovers, on‑call payments, payments to pool staff, expenses and any other authorised payments.

To produce and email pay slips, P45 and P60.

To implement tax changes and student loans notified by HMRC.

Properly account for any other deductions from the payroll. Ensure payment of arrestment of earnings orders, pension contributions, employee benefits and other approved deductions to the appropriate authorities within required timescales.

To liaise, where necessary, with the various relevant organisations regarding PAYE, NIC, SSP, SMP returns and pension costs.

To prepare and maintain records for the admission of employees to the Thistle pension schemes.

To deal with employee payroll‑related queries, including liaising with colleagues, tax and government offices to resolve any such queries.

To check and verify the monthly payrolls, HMRC, pension payments and BACS for authorisation by authorised managers.

To produce appropriate reports as requested.

To provide year‑end tax reports, as per legislative requirement, to employees and HRMC.

To complete National Statistical returns with regards to payroll information.

To process payrolls for one other small organisation.

To continually review payroll processes for effectiveness and efficiency, recommend improvements to the payroll manager and implement changes when agreed.

To undertake other duties as may from time to time be determined by the Payroll Manager & Head of HR as being appropriate to the post.

5. Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Area Essential Desirable

Education, qualifications and training

National-5 Level Maths and English
Proficient in the use of payroll systems
Proficient in the use of MS Office including Word, Excel, and Outlook
A good understanding of payroll processes
A customer service approach to working with fellow employees
Excellent time management and organisation skills
Good standard of written and spoken English
Skilled in making decisions about own work, prioritising own workload and shared workload
Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines
Ability to communicate with various internal and external customers at all levels
Ability to take ownership of the tasks relating to the post and demonstrate responsibility for the correct completion of them
Ability to take initiative
Knowledge and experience of using Access Select Pay software

Experience

Experience in a similar payroll role
Demonstrable experience of building effective relationships with people
Experience of working to tight deadlines
Experience of working in the not‑ for‑profit or social care sector

Personal Qualities

At least 2 years’ experience of a similar role gained in a fast‑paced office environment
Willingness to engage with others across the organisation and develop good working relationships
Understanding that within a small team there is a requirement to be flexible in approach to duties, particularly during holiday periods
Ability to be a collaborative team player
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