Temporary Payroll Assistant up to 31/03/2023
 
Purpose of the Post:
•Ensure that the people of Gwynedd are at the heart of everything we do.
•Post holder is responsible for the checking and verifying of all documentation received by the Payroll Office, referring back to source where necessary and correcting errors and anomalies where appropriate. Assists team members to ensure all input is promptly and accurately entered into the system and assists the Payroll Supervisor to produce the final payroll payments.
 
 
Responsibility for functions . e.g. staff, budgets, equipment
None
 
 
Main Duties:
•To assist the Payroll Supervisor and Team Members in ensuring all work of the team, and when required from time to time the work of other teams, is carried out to the requirements of the Council, the standards laid down by the Payroll Manager and the general needs of the Council’s workforce.
•To set up and maintain complete and accurate employee records, in accordance with the standards laid down and the information made available and ensure full use is made of the record to make payments to employees and complete all necessary reports and returns as required of the Unit.
•To receive, verify and input all relevant and authorised information received from the Council’s outlying offices and managers. Fulfil all post input and post payroll production checking processes as laid down in the payroll procedures and those imposed on an ad hoc basis from time to time.
•To acquire an intermediate understanding of the Councils terms and conditions of employment, together with relevant occupational pay policies with regards to items such as sickness, child-related absences, and unpaid leave, and how these need to be considered in conjunction with relevant statutory equivalents.
•To develop and maintain an intermediate understanding of the relevant statutory schemes - as laid down by central government - with regards to calculation and payment during periods of sickness, maternity, paternity, or adoption (together with shared and additional entitlements, where applicable). To advise departments and individuals of their rights and obligations during such absences and ensure that any statutory reporting on such items is completed accurately and in a timely manner.
•To develop an intermediate understanding of the regulations and processes that dictate any statutory deduction from pay (currently defined as tax, national insurance, student loans, and court orders) and how to correctly calculate these deductions.
•Ensure compliance with Auto Enrolment legislation which obliges all employees to be assessed for enrolment into a qualifying pension scheme. Payroll Assistants are expected to understand the criteria for assessment, apply an assessment at the prescribed trigger-points, operate in accordance with the results of these assessments, ensure all relevant information relating to these assessments is accurately entered onto the payroll system, and communicate the outcome of these assessments to the employees in the prescribed manner and within defined timescales.
•Ensure accurate pay records and additional personal information exists within the payroll system in order to generate electronic data files for reporting to HMRC for Real Time Information (RTI) purposes. Any anomalies highlighted during the production of such reports must be thoroughly investigated and addressed in order to ensure that accurate and timely submissions are sent to HMRC.
•Develop an intermediate understanding of the regulations surrounding the occupational pension schemes offered by the Authority (currently the Local Government Pension Scheme [LGPS] and Teachers’ Pension Scheme [TPA]). Assess employee records, as well as any changes to these records, in order to ensure membership of said schemes is regulated in accordance with legislation and that all deductions from pay are assessed at the correct level, recorded accurately within the payroll system, and reported regularly and correctly to the relevant administering body.
•To acquire and maintain a thorough working knowledge and understanding of the use and operation of the payroll and travel systems and ensure such use complies with statute, the requirements of the Council, the Payroll Manager and the rights of the employees.
•To carry out post payroll activities in accordance with the procedures laid down and any ad hoc tasks imposed from time to time. Will also ensure all adjustments to previous payrolls are dealt with accurately, advances and repayments cleared within agreed timescales and all control sheets are completed accurately.
•To develop and maintain a close working relationship with the relevant officers and managers from within the Council’s Services in order to resolve queries and ensure an efficient and timely payroll process.
•To respond completely and accurately to all queries and questions put by employees or their representatives in respect of their pay whether by phone, face to face meeting, e-mail or other correspondence. In addition the post holder will respond to all other correspondence and queries as they arise and within the standards laid down. Must be able to judge level of query and to refer it to the Payroll Supervisor only where this is appropriate.
•To inform management, if necessary confidentially, of any errors, omissions, anomalies and improprieties in payments claimed or made.
•Responsibility for self-development.
•Ensure compliance with Health and Safety rules in the workplace in accordance with the responsibilities noted in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Council’s Health and Safety Policy.
•Operate within the Council’s policies in relation to equal opportunities and equality.
•Responsible for managing information in accordance with the Council’s information management guidelines. Ensure that personal information is treated in accordance with Data Protection legislation.
•Commitment to reducing the Council’s carbon emissions in accordance with the Carbon Management Plan, and to encourage others to act positively towards reducing the Council’s Carbon Footprint.
•Undertake any other reasonable duty which corresponds to the salary level and responsibility level of the job.
•Responsibility to report any worry or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused
 
Special Circumstances . e.g. the need to work unsociable hours, special working arrangements etc.
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Only an outline of duties are indicated above, in order to give an idea of the level of responsibility entailed. This job description is not exhaustive in detail, and job duties may change from time to time without changing its fundamental nature and level of responsibility.