Payroll Assistant

Location: Southend-on-Sea (Predominantly Remote)
Salary: Competitive (dependent on experience)
Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm, Monday to Friday (30-minute unpaid lunch)
Working Pattern: Flexible on working days with only two office visits per month required.

We are seeking an experienced Payroll Assistant to join a busy payroll team, working closely alongside the Payroll Manager to support the end-to-end processing of three payrolls covering approximately 900 employees.

This is an excellent opportunity for a payroll professional who can confidently manage all aspects of payroll administration and processing, while supporting an upcoming system migration from Sage 50 Payroll to an IRIS payroll platform in February.

• Assist with the end-to-end processing of three payrolls for approximately 900 employees.
• Accurately process starters, leavers, employee changes and contractual amendments.
• Calculate and process overtime, additional hours, sickness, statutory payments and deductions.
• Administer pension schemes, including enrolments, opt-ins, opt-outs and pension refunds where required.
• Process salary adjustments, retro payments and payroll corrections.
• Ensure payroll data is maintained accurately and updated in a timely manner.
• Support the Payroll Manager with payroll checks, reconciliations and reporting.
• Liaise with employees and managers to resolve payroll-related queries.
• Assist with year-end procedures and statutory reporting requirements.
• Support the transition from Sage 50 Payroll to the new IRIS payroll system, helping to ensure a smooth implementation.
• Maintain compliance with HMRC legislation, pension regulations and company policies.
• Produce payroll reports and assist with audit requests when required.

• Previous experience working within a payroll position processing high-volume payrolls.
• Strong understanding of end-to-end payroll processes.
• Experience calculating overtime, additional hours, statutory payments and payroll adjustments.
• Knowledge of workplace pensions, including pension refunds and auto-enrolment requirements.
• Confident handling payroll queries from employees and managers.
• Excellent attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and payroll reporting.

• Experience using Sage 50 Payroll.
• Experience with IRIS Payroll software.
• Previous involvement in payroll system implementations or migrations.
• Understanding of HMRC legislation and payroll compliance.

• Predominantly remote working with only two office visits per month.
• Flexible working arrangement.
• Opportunity to be involved in an exciting payroll system migration project.
• Work within a supportive and collaborative payroll team.
• Long-term opportunity with a well-established organisation.

This role would suit a hands-on Payroll Assistant who is comfortable managing payroll processes from start to finish and enjoys working in a flexible, largely remote environment.