London - Payroll Officer

JKS Restaurants are seeking a Payroll Officer to join their team. The successful candidate will be friendly, personable and passionate about all things food and drink. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Payroll Officer looking for a new role in an award winning, critically acclaimed group.

The Payroll Officer is responsible for the accurate and timely delivery of payroll across a defined portfolio of brands. Working as part of a dedicated brand finance team, the role owns end-to-end payroll processing and ensures payroll data is complete, accurate and aligned to financial reporting requirements.

The role plays a key part in supporting labour cost control by providing reliable payroll data, reconciling payroll to rotas and ensuring outputs feed cleanly into management accounts and forecasting. It also acts as the primary point of contact for payroll queries across sites, HR and external providers.

This is a hands-on role in a fast-paced, multi-site environment, suited to someone with strong attention to detail, a solid understanding of payroll principles and the ability to manage high volumes of data accurately.

Payroll Processing & Delivery

• Process payroll end-to-end for employees across assigned brands
• Ensure payroll changes (e.g. salaries, tronc, deductions) are accurately reflected and processed on time
• Prepare payroll inputs, including tronc calculations and supporting schedules
• Deliver payroll in line with agreed timelines, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time

Reporting & Analysis

• Ensure rotas are completed on a weekly basis and prepare weekly staff cost reports for assigned brands
• Reconcile payroll to rotas, identifying and explaining variances to support monthly reporting
• Prepare and maintain tronc reports and supporting schedules
• Maintain payroll-related trackers, including staff advances and adjustments
• Liaise with HR and Operations to ensure payroll inputs are complete and accurate

Reconciliation & Controls

• Support reconciliation of payroll and PAYE balance sheet accounts, ensuring discrepancies are identified and resolved.
• Perform regular checks to ensure accuracy and completeness of payroll records.
• Maintain organised and well-documented payroll records to support audit and review processes.

Compliance

• Ensure payroll is processed in line with UK legislation, including PAYE, NI, auto-enrolment and statutory payments
• Stay up to date with payroll and tax regulations and apply changes where required
• Support statutory reporting requirements, including P11
  
  Ds, HMRC queries and surveys
• Assist with implementation of tronc legislation and maintain supporting documentation
• Apply NMW/NLW updates and other regulatory changes

Stakeholder Management & Support

• Act as the main point of contact for payroll queries from employees, site teams and HR
• Provide guidance to site managers on payroll processes and queries
• Support payroll systems (e.g. S4) for assigned brands
• Liaise with external providers to resolve issues and maintain smooth payroll operations
• Escalate payroll issues, risks or discrepancies to the Financial Controller where appropriate

Key Deliverables & Value-Add Expectations

• Accurate, on-time payroll processing for all team sites with minimal corrections required
• Strong understanding of each brand’s tronc and service charge arrangements, reducing errors and queries
• Timely and accurate labour cost data to support management accounts and forecasting
• Weekly rota reconciliations and staff cost reports delivered to the finance team on time
• Responsive and reliable support to site managers on payroll-related queries
• Payroll processes delivered in line with HMRC, auto-enrolment and tronc legislation requirements

Progression Expectations

• Build confidence in delivering payroll accurately and on time with minimal supervision
• Develop a stronger understanding of payroll processes, controls and compliance requirements
• Improve ability to identify and resolve discrepancies in payroll and rota reconciliations
• Strengthen understanding of how payroll data supports management accounts and labour analysis
• Build effective working relationships with site teams, HR and finance, becoming a reliable point of contact for payroll queries
• Demonstrate improved efficiency and organisation in managing payroll processes and deadlines

Essential

• Experience in payroll administration
• Good understanding of UK payroll legislation (PAYE, NI, auto-enrolment)
• Experience using payroll systems (e.g. S4, Sage Payroll, Fourth or similar)
• Strong attention to…