Does your payroll come up to the mark?

Employers say they read the Employer Bulletin because it helps them to meet new payroll changes coming along, as well as reassuring them that they continue to get their day to day payroll obligations right.

We also recognise that there are many other things employers need to do as well as comply with HMRC obligations. We know it’s not easy and we are always looking at additional ways to reassure employers and point out where there is other support available.

So you might also find it helpful to test your processes against the Institute of Payroll Professionals’ new quality award, the Payroll Quality Partnership or PQP. This is intended for employers, bureaux/outsourcers, and public sector organisations wishing to demonstrate ‘Best Practice in the Development of Payroll People’.

Whilst we are keen to help employers get their payroll obligations right first time - by reducing errors and avoiding duplication - there are other benefits that companies can gain from encouraging excellence in payroll.

What are the Benefits of PQP?

PQP is designed to help:

  • improve payroll efficiency – and lower costs for the organisation
  • get more benefit from investing in training
  • link individual Payroll objectives to company business plans
  • Improve communication in the Payroll team, and between Payroll and other functions like HR and Finance
  • raise staff motivation and morale, and lower Payroll staff turnover and absence rates.

‘PQP is designed to help companies get the most benefit from their payroll function’ said Maurice Cheng, CEO of the Institute, ‘Payroll not only looks after one of the largest cost items – salary – in any organisation, it also tracks time and attendance, overtime, expenses, benefits, overpayments, differences in remuneration etc. A well trained and developed payroll administrator or payroll team can deliver real process and cost savings, ensure that compliance with legislation is actual rather than assumed, and help both the finance and HR teams work with real numbers when assessing workforce issues.’

How can your organisation receive the PQP award from the IPP?

For further information about the Payroll Quality Partnership and how it can help your organisation, please contact Liz Lay, at the IPP, or consult the IPP website.