Payroll Specialist in Darwen

About the role

We're looking for a Payroll Specialist to join our People & Culture team. This is a hands‑on payroll processing role where you'll support the delivery of the monthly UK payroll, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time. Working closely with HR colleagues, managers and our external payroll provider, you'll process payroll transactions, maintain employee records and respond to payroll queries while ensuring compliance with UK legislation and company policies.

Responsibilities

• Processing new starters, leavers and contractual changes, ensuring all documentation is complete and accurate.
• Preparing, validating and submitting payroll information to our external payroll provider.
• Reviewing payroll reports and checking payroll data before approval.
• Preparing overtime, holiday pay, statutory payments, salary changes and other payroll adjustments.
• Processing statutory and voluntary deductions, including pensions, salary exchange, union subscriptions, staff sales, private mileage and other payroll deductions.
• Processing sickness, maternity, paternity, adoption, parental leave and unpaid leave in line with company policies.
• Maintaining accurate employee records within our HR and payroll systems.
• Supporting National Minimum Wage compliance checks.
• Assisting with payroll reporting, month‑end activities, tax‑year end processing, P11D administration and regulatory reporting.
• Producing payroll reports for HR, Finance and managers as required.
• Acting as the first point of contact for payroll queries, providing a professional, accurate and timely service to employees and managers.
• Supporting employee over‑payment recovery in line with company policy.
• Providing administrative support to the wider People & Culture team during busy periods and team absences.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a payroll processing or payroll administration role.
• Good understanding of UK payroll legislation, statutory payments and payroll processes.
• Experience working with payroll and HR systems.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong numerical skills.
• The ability to manage multiple priorities while meeting strict payroll deadlines.
• Strong communication and customer service skills with the confidence to respond to payroll queries.
• Good organisational skills and the ability to work collaboratively within a team.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office applications.

Benefits

This is a great opportunity to join a supportive People & Culture team where you'll play an important role in delivering an accurate and efficient payroll service. If you're looking for a varied payroll role where you can build on your experience and contribute to a collaborative team, we'd love to hear from you.