Benefits & Payroll Administrator in Cardiff

Eurofins Forensic Services (EFS) is the largest forensic service provider in the UK and Europe. We are part of Eurofins Scientific, which is an international life sciences company, providing a unique range of analytical testing services to clients across multiple industries, to make life and our environment safer, healthier and more sustainable.

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

    Essential

    • 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

    Desirable

    • 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.
    • 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

    • 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
    • Cycle to Work scheme, tech scheme & volunteering days
    • Holiday trading (buy/sell) scheme
    • Refer a Friend scheme
    • Free on-site parking (site dependant)