Payroll Specialist

• Own end-to-end UK payroll processing for a portfolio of Sona customers across multiple pay frequencies, covering standard and mid-complexity clients
• Manage payroll queries through the support desk, providing fast, proactive updates and resolving within SLA
• Process statutory payments, court orders, standard holiday pay calculations, Alabaster reviews and NMW checks
• Handle workplace pension auto-enrolment, contributions, reconciliations and submissions
• Upload, reconcile and submit payments across BACS, Faster Payments and SEPA
• Manage payroll journal uploads and reconciliations
• Manage HMRC filings (FPS, EPS) and year-end processing
• Escalate disputed or mis-allocated PAYE cases to the Senior Payroll Specialist or Payroll Manager
• Build client relationships, attend client meetings when needed and flag product bugs to Engineering
• Identify process gaps or improvements and support Payroll Assistants and Senior Payroll Specialists
• Work in a fast-growing startup payroll bureau scaling from approximately 15,000 to 22,000 monthly payslips

Requirements

• 2+ years hands-on experience processing multiple UK payrolls independently
• Experience within a bureau or outsourced payroll environment is a bonus
• Good working knowledge of UK payroll and tax compliance, including tax calculations and filing and payment requirements
• Confident managing a busy queue of support tickets
• Strong organisational skills and clear written and verbal communication
• Comfortable in Excel (VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, concatenation) and Google Suite
• Methodical and accurate under volume, and quick to flag issues
• CIPP or equivalent qualification is a bonus
• Exposure to Irish payroll (PAYE, PRSI, USC) is a bonus
• Confidence using AI tools in day-to-day work is a bonus

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in end-to-end UK payroll processing, including statutory payments, HMRC filings, and payroll reconciliations. Proficient in managing payroll queries and building client relationships while ensuring compliance with UK payroll and tax regulations.