Payroll Administrator

Location: Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

The purpose of this role is to support to deliver a timely, accurate and robust payroll for Thales UK employees, working in conjunction with Thales’ payroll provider and our in-house team in order to support them to deliver the payroll. The role will involve the day-to-day administration tasks by following key processes and procedures, filtering and supporting with employee requests and queries and delivering a high standard of service and accuracy in relation to all payroll data.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

• Support daily payroll administration to ensure employee pay aligns with Thales UK policy.
• Collaborate with outsourced payroll provider to meet tight monthly deadlines for accurate payroll delivery.
• Manage end-to-end ownership of defined payroll processes.
• Provide accurate data to payroll provider and verify output quality.
• Adhere to payroll processes to deliver expected results.
• Assist with reporting and data collation for audits.
• Handle employee and HR payroll queries via case management system, meeting SLAs.
• Contribute to business through agreed metrics and KPIs.
• Uphold Company values and promote role‑modelling within the function.
• Collaborate within the integrated HR team to support business success.

What we are looking for

• Payroll or data‑driven environment experience
• Accurate, confidential administration background
• Familiar with case metrics and SLAs
• Skilled in Microsoft Office

Core Benefits

On offer is a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes:

• Performance‑related bonus
• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00
• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) plus opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata)
• 24 hours volunteering paid for
• Private healthcare (grade dependent)
• Pension scheme
• Life cover
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app
• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers
• Gym membership discounts

Security Clearance Requirement

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires Security Clearance (SC). It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities.

Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!