Payroll Officer in Belfast

An exciting opportunity is open for a payroll officer to work with a defence sector client based in Belfast. The Payroll Officer plays a key role in the accurate and timely delivery of the Group's payroll services, ensuring employees are paid correctly and in accordance with statutory requirements and Company policies. The role is responsible for the end-to-end administration of allocated payrolls, maintaining payroll records, supporting pension administration, and ensuring compliance with all relevant payroll legislation. The post holder will utilise IRIS Payroll Professional, Staffology (HR and Time Attendance), and associated payroll systems to process payroll efficiently. Experience of SAP would be advantageous, particularly when working alongside Finance and wider business functions.

Key Responsibilities Accountabilities

• Payroll Administration
  • Take ownership of the end-to-end preparation, processing and administration of allocated weekly, fortnightly and monthly payrolls.
  • Ensure payrolls are processed accurately and within agreed payroll deadlines.
  • Maintain employee payroll records, ensuring all changes are accurately recorded and authorised.
  • Process starters, leavers, contractual changes, salary amendments and other payroll variations.
  • Calculate and process statutory and occupational payments including SSP, SMP, SPP, SAP and other family-related leave payments.
  • Accurately calculate holiday pay, overtime, bonuses, allowances and payroll adjustments.
  • Calculate final payments for leavers, including holiday entitlement and deductions, and issue P45s.
• Payroll Systems
  • Process payroll using IRIS Payroll Professional and maintain accurate employee records within Staffology.
  • Ensure effective integration between Staffology, payroll and time and attendance systems.
  • Support system maintenance, testing and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Experience of SAP or other ERP systems is desirable, particularly for payroll reconciliations and Finance integration.
• Compliance Statutory Requirements
  • Ensure payroll processing complies with HMRC legislation, employment law, pensions legislation and Company policies.
  • Import and apply HMRC tax code notifications, student loan deductions and other statutory updates via HMRC services.
  • Complete Real Time Information (RTI) submissions and other statutory returns accurately and on time.
  • Administer statutory deductions including Attachment of Earnings Orders (AEOs), Direct Earnings Attachments (DEAs), Child Maintenance Service (CMS) deductions and other court orders.
  • Ensure all payroll documentation is maintained in accordance with GDPR and Company data retention policies.
• Pension Administration
  • Administer workplace pension schemes, including Auto Enrolment, enrolment assessments, opt-ins, opt-outs and re-enrolment processes.
  • Liaise with pension providers to ensure contributions are submitted accurately and within required deadlines.
  • Maintain current knowledge of pension legislation and Auto Enrolment requirements.
• Financial Controls Reporting
  • Prepare payroll reports for Finance and management as required.
  • Calculate payroll advances and liaise with Finance regarding payments.
  • Reconcile payroll reports and identify discrepancies for investigation and resolution.
  • Support payroll reconciliations and month-end activities where required.
• Customer Service Stakeholder Support
  • Respond professionally and confidentially to payroll queries from employees, managers and external organisations.
  • Build positive working relationships with HR, Finance and operational departments to ensure accurate payroll processing.
  • Provide payroll advice and guidance to managers and employees on payroll-related matters.
• Team Support Continuous Improvement
  • Provide cover and support for other Payroll team members during periods of absence or increased workload.
  • Assist with internal and external audits by providing payroll documentation and supporting evidence.
  • Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, controls and efficiencies.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of payroll legislation and best practice.
  • Carry out any other reasonable duties commensurate with the role as requested by management.

Qualifications, Skills Experience

• Essential
  • Minimum of 2 years' experience processing payrolls across varying pay frequencies (weekly, fortnightly and/or monthly).
  • Experience processing end-to-end payroll in a high-volume environment.
  • Experience using IRIS Payroll Professional or a comparable payroll system.
  • Experience using Staffology (or a similar HR and Time Attendance system).
  • Strong working knowledge of UK payroll legislation, HMRC requirements and statutory payments.
  • Experience administering workplace pensions and Auto Enrolment.
  • High level of accuracy with excellent attention to detail.
  • Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including formulas, lookups and data manipulation.
  • Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to meet strict deadlines.
  • Strong communication and customer service skills.
  • Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and integrity.
• Desirable
  • CIPP qualification (or working towards).
  • Experience using SAP or another ERP system.
  • Experience of payroll reporting and reconciliations.
  • Knowledge of collective agreements or payrolls within a unionised environment.
  • Experience working within a manufacturing, engineering or industrial environment.
  • Continuous improvement mindset with experience of identifying efficiencies within payroll processes.