Payroll & Benefits Administrator — Forensic Services in Cardiff

We are looking for a detail driven and customer focused Payroll & Benefits Administrator to join our HR team supporting Seren Laboratory Services (SLS) and Lextox, as well as providing wider benefits support across the UK Forensic Business Line. This is a newly created role, offering an exciting opportunity for someone to truly make it their own, shaping processes and driving improvements to enhance benefits delivery across the business. You will play a key role in ensuring accurate, compliant and timely payroll and benefits administration, while acting as a trusted point of contact for employees, managers, and external providers.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Payroll
  • Prepare documentation and complete system updates in an accurate and timely manner for two monthly payrolls and one weekly payroll, for submission to the third-party payroll provider, including:
  • New starters (HMRC New Starter Checklists and/or P45s)
  • Changes to salary and allowances
  • Leavers (including holiday pay, benefit recoveries, PILON, redundancy payments)
  • Zero-hours and variable pay
  • Bonus and incentive payments (annual and ad hoc)
  • Overtime and on-call payments
  • Unpaid leave and sickness
  • Parental leave (Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared Parental, Ordinary Parental Leave)
  • Statutory notifications and statutory payments
• Managing the monthly payroll checking process and obtaining approval from senior leadership/finance prior to finalisation.
• Responding to and resolving payroll queries, escalating to the third-party provider where required.
• Supporting HMRC and PwC audits by providing required payroll data and documentation.

• Employee Lifecycle
  • Manage payroll-related aspects of the employee lifecycle, including:
  • Payroll setup and benefits enrolment for new starters
  • Processing leavers (final pay, benefits cessation, recovery of outstanding balances)
  • Managing contractual changes affecting pay and benefits
  • Maintaining accurate employee records across HR and payroll systems
  • Managing payroll and benefits queries through shared HR inboxes
  • Recording and filing sickness notifications and medical certificates, with escalation of SSP/half pay triggers or absence concerns where appropriate.
• Benefits Administration
  • Administer and promote employee benefit schemes across the UK Forensic Business Line, including:
  • Benefits platforms (e.g. Reward Gateway, Perkbox, Benenden)
  • Pension administration, including auto-enrolment compliance
  • Salary sacrifice schemes and associated payroll deductions
  • Maintaining accurate records and ensuring timely processing of changes
  • Acting as first point of contact for employee benefits queries
  • Supporting annual renewals and enrolment cycles
  • Liaising with external providers to resolve issues and maintain service standards
  • Administering P11D and PSA data collection
• Additional Duties
  • Processing third-party invoices
  • Providing ad hoc HR administrative support to the wider HR team

Qualifications

• Proven experience in payroll administration (in-house or outsourced)
• Strong working knowledge of UK payroll legislation (PAYE, NI, statutory payments)
• Experience administering employee benefits and pension schemes
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Experience using HR, payroll and benefits systems
• Payroll or HR qualification (e.g. CIPP, CIPD)
• Experience supporting multiple business units or legal entities
• Experience using benefits platforms such as Reward Gateway or Perkbox

Person Specification

• A proactive, positive ‘can do’ attitude with a demonstrable commitment to delivering a quality service.
• Remains calm under pressure and can appropriately prioritise tasks in a fast paced environment.
• Ability to work flexibly by demonstrating excellent organisational skills and strong attention to detail.
• Demonstrate initiative to identify and suggest areas for improvement relating to working practices, policies and process.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with both internal and external customers.
• Operates in a sensitive and confidential way and within given timeframes.
• Demonstrates the Eurofins Forensic Services company values; Customer Focus, Quality, Competence & Team Spirit and Integrity.

Additional Information

• Due to the sensitive nature of our work, this role will require the successful candidate to achieve NPPV3 + Security Clearance (SC). To be eligible, you must have 5 years’ continuous UK residency.
• As part of the vetting process, you’ll be asked to provide information about your background, including your employment and address history, financial circumstances and details of close family or partners.
• These checks are carried out to ensure individuals accessing police data, systems and sites are trustworthy and suitable for the role.
• Factors such as criminal convictions, financial difficulties or associations that may pose a risk could affect your ability to gain clearance. However, each application is assessed on an individual basis, and honesty throughout the process is essential.
• Please note: Vetting is carried out by an external police vetting service.
• Drug and alcohol testing may be required before you start and during your employment.
• Ongoing employment is subject to maintaining the required level of clearance.

What We Offer

• We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, including:
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays (rising to 30 days with length of service)
• Company pension scheme with up to 6% employer contribution
• Life assurance (3x salary)
• Health Cash Plan & Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced family leave and sick pay
• Perkbox benefits, discounts and wellbeing support