Consultant, Payroll

About Us

McDonald's has run its business in the UK since 1974 and currently operates over 1500 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, serving almost four million customers each day. McDonald's is one of the UK's largest private sector employers, employing over 170,000 people.

Department Overview

Here is the chance to join our well-regarded Payroll Team in the early stage of our new payroll landscape following our system migration to Zellis ResourceLink/HCM Air late in 2025. You will take a leading role in all upcoming payroll projects working directly with the Payroll Manager, Systems & Compliance Manager and Payroll Team. There may also be a requirement to work with the team to process the payroll for around 18,000 of our crew every fortnight along with 2 monthly payrolls for our salaried staff.

What Team will I be a part?

We have a very broad remit in Finance and are highly regarded, with the result that we have oversight of everything that happens across the business and Payroll is at the heart of this.

Who are my customers?

• McDonald’s UK Head Office
• Restaurants and Operations
• Government bodies and external organisations such as HMRC and external project partners

Duties

There isn’t a normal day in payroll as it changes every day. You could be supporting the fortnightly payroll one day and leading a project to cover the latest government changes the next. There will always be new things to learn and you will play a leading part in all new department projects. Your main duties will include:

• Review and document current and future payroll processes
• Work with the existing Payroll team to gain knowledge and understanding of the defined payroll requirements
• Take a leading role in all upcoming projects within the department
• Liaise with all relevant stakeholders at all levels
• Work with the team to ensure all team members are paid accurately and on time every time
• Provide a high standard of customer service to all internal and external customers
• Provide support to cross-functional teams as requested; both within the department and broader business to triage support issues
• Ensure integrity and security of all payroll data
• Maintain internal control procedures to safeguard the integrity of the company
• Assist with Year End processing for multiple companies

Qualifications

We will shortly be starting our journey to a new payroll software, so we need the ideal candidate to be up for a challenge and someone that really embraces change. Key attributes you will have are:

• Experience of working in a team
• Minimum 5 years payroll systems & software migration experience
• Comfort and experience of working in a fast-paced and changing working environment
• Experience and an ability to think outside of the box to solve problems
• Continuous improvement and curious mindset
• Knowledge of payroll and pension legislation and compliance
• Adherence to payroll and statutory deadlines to mitigate risk of penalties and delayed payments
• Be proficient with Microsoft Office software i.e. Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook etc.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, confidence, keen eye for detail, high level of accuracy, resiliency and passionate about both payroll and McDonald's
• Experience of system implementation projects
• Experience of ResourceLink/Zellis HCM payroll system
• Experience of ResourceLink Reporting Services (RRS)
• Experience of Power Automate
• Experience of process mapping payroll processes
• Experience of salary sacrifice schemes e.g. pension, cars (Desirable)
• Experience of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements within Payroll (Desirable)

Company Vision and Culture

Our Global vision is to build a better McDonald's and in the UK and Ireland we are working hard to be the UK & Ireland's best-loved restaurant company. McDonald's is defined by its culture. Our culture shapes and informs everything we think and everything we do. Our culture influences the way we interact with each other, and how we interact with customers, franchisees and suppliers. Our culture motivates and inspires us to attract and retain great talent, creating a positive, energising, exceptional working environment for us all. Our values drive our culture and shape our beliefs, our priorities and our actions. They influence the decisions we make, how we treat one another and how we show up as a brand to the world.

At McDonald's, we are People from all Walks of Life. People are at the heart of everything we do, and they make the McDonald's experience. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture that means people can be their best authentic self in our restaurants and offices, which helps us to better serve our customers. We have a strong heritage of diversity and representation within our communities, which we are proud of. The diversity of our people, customers, Franchisees and suppliers gives us strength. We do not tolerate inequality, injustice or discrimination of any kind. These are hugely important issues and a brand with our reach and relevance means we have a very meaningful role to play. We also recognise our responsibility as a large employer to continue being active in our communities, helping to develop skills and drive aspirations that will help people to be more aware of the world of work and more successful within it, whether with McDonald's or elsewhere.