South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust

Payroll Officer

The closing date is 01 April 2026

Job summary

37.5 hours per week

Are you an organised and detail-focused individual with a passion for payroll and delivering a high-quality service? Do you take pride in getting things right and improving processes for the benefit of colleagues? If so, we would love to hear from you. We have an exciting opportunity for a Payroll Officer to join our friendly and supportive team.

As a Payroll Officer, you will: Deliver a high-quality payroll service to a large and diverse workforce Process payroll transactions accurately and efficiently in line with NHS terms and conditions Resolve payroll queries, providing clear and professional advice to staff Support data quality and contribute to continuous service improvement We are looking for someone who: Has strong organisational, administrative, and IT skills Has good communication skills and a customer-focused mindset Has experience of payroll processes (ESR knowledge and NHS terms and conditions are desirable but not essential)

Informal enquiries to Andrew Burke, Payroll Manager, 07341 782024.

All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to have their up-to-date flu vaccination to protect staff and patients.

Main duties of the job

You will manage and prioritise your own workload, working independently and using initiative to resolve complex payroll queries and escalate issues where appropriate. You will maintain accurate employee records throughout the employment lifecycle, including starters, leavers, and contractual changes, ensuring correct pay for all elements such as overtime, unsocial hours, sickness, maternity, salary sacrifice, allowances, and deductions. You will work collaboratively within the team, providing cover for colleagues and supporting the training of new starters. You will apply knowledge of payroll legislation, including income tax, National Insurance, and statutory payments (eg SMP, SPP), and interpret NHS terms and conditions alongside local policies and procedures.

At the time of advertising, this role does not meet the minimum requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor candidates to work in the UK. For this reason, we are unable to sponsor anyone for a skilled worker visa for this role.

We are happy to accept applications from candidates who can prove their right to work in the UK or via alternative visa routes. Such applications will be considered alongside all other applications.

About us

We are a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental health and learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and are the lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.

Our mission is to help people reach their potential and live well in their communities, we do this by providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employ staff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make a difference to the lives of service users, families and carers.

We encourage and welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we value diversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Being a foundation Trust means were accountable to our members, who can have a say in how were run. Around 14,300 local people (including staff) are members of our Trust.

Join us and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improving the mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet and help each year.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.

We do reserve to right to close vacancy before the advertised closing date if necessary, so please apply as soon as possible.

Date posted

18 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9378-QA01456

Job locations

Kendray Hospital

Doncaster Road

Barnsley

S Yorkshire

S70 3RD

Job description

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

The postholder will provide a comprehensive and efficient payroll, pensions, and expense payment service to employees of South West Yorkshire Partnership Foundation Trust and its customers. The postholder will manage their own workload within agreed deadlines and will delegate tasks to the Payroll Clerks as appropriate. The postholder will have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the various terms and conditions of service and employment policies and will be conversant with current PAYE, national insurance and NHS Pension Scheme regulations.

KEY RESULT AREAS:

1. To be responsible for the processing of monthly payrolls in accordance with relevant policies, procedures and terms and conditions of service. This will essentially include:

Inputting of payroll data to the Payroll and Human Resources systems

Verifying output to source documents (including contracts, offer letters, HRS Forms, etc)

Validation of payroll and pension records

2. To analyse and interpret complex payments (for example, following pay awards, organisational change, re-gradings, etc). Investigate pay queries and analyse detailed data to identify errors and discrepancies. Inform individuals of overpayments and negotiate how monies are recovered.

3. To create and maintain spreadsheets for the analysis and presentation of earnings, deductions, arrears payments, etc.

4. To maintain pension records; including dealing with those joining and leaving the pension scheme. Prepare membership and benefit statements as required and liaise with the pensions agency in connection with members records; earnings; benefits; transfers and preservations, etc.

5. To advise staff on maternity entitlements and calculate statutory and occupational maternity pay in accordance with the Trust Policy and HMRC regulations. Accrue arrears on pension contributions and certain deductions and liaise with the employee on the recovery of the underpayments.

6. To maintain accurate sickness absence and entitlement records for each employee. Advise the employee and manager of any half and no-pay situations and maintain a deemed pensionable pay record as necessary.

7. To advise staff and managers on entitlements to unsocial hours payments, overtime, travel expenses, subsistence allowances and sick pay, etc. Instruct staff and managers on the maintenance of records and completion of claim forms and returns and advise budget holders where claims appear incomplete or erroneous.

8. To deal with correspondence from the HM Revenue & Customs, Department of Work & Pensions and Local Government regarding employee earnings and benefits.

9. To communicate effectively (in person, by telephone, via e-mail or by letter) with managers and staff at all levels within the Trust. Maintain confidentiality at all times and have an awareness of data protection legislation.

10. To participate in the induction and training of the Payroll Clerks and new members of staff. Represent the HR/Payroll Department on the Trusts induction day as required.

11. To check that time sheet, expenses claims and HRS forms, etc, have the appropriate level of approval by reference to the authorised signatory lists.

12. Verify previous NHS Service for new starters.

13. To provide cover for other colleagues within the Human Resources Payroll Department as and when required.

14. To undertake further training as deemed necessary to fulfil the duties of the post.

15. To undertake project work and participate in meetings at the request of the Payroll Team Leader and Payroll Manager.

Trust Values

The Trust is committed to ensuring the highest standards of care and treatment and expects that all staff treat people e.g, service users, their carers, relatives, friends, colleagues, visitors etc, with dignity and respectat all time. The post holder must all time act in accordance with the Trusts Values:

We put the person first and in the centre

We know that families and carers matter

We are respectful, honest, open and transparent

We improve and aim to be outstanding

We are relevant today and ready for tomorrow

Families and carers matter

Safeguarding:

Report any concerns regarding the safety or wellbeing of children, adults service users, members of their families etc, in accordance with Trust Policy.

Prevent and respond appropriately to abuse and understand own role in this by undertaking Safeguarding training.

Trust policies and commitments to be read in line with the relevant Trust Policy:

All staff employed by the Trust must comply with the Trusts policies and procedures, undertake appropriate training required for their role and commit to:

ensure they are aware of the Whistleblowing Policy and how they raise concerns;

maintain confidentiality, in line with the Trusts Confidentiality Policy and Code of Conduct;

understand their personal responsibilities with regards to data quality for any information which they create, use or process in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and Trust Data Protection Policy;

comply with the provisions of The Trusts Health and Safety Policy and Protocol. Ensuring their own safety and that of colleagues, service users and visitors. Know the action to be taken in the event of a fire and must undertake fire training annually;

receive supervision in line with the Trusts Supervision Policy and an annual Appraisal in line with the Trusts Appraisal Policy, during which mandatory, role specific and personal development needs should be identified and agreed;

understand their responsibilities under the Trusts Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy and ensure that they adhere to the provisions of the policy;

recognise, respect and support the equality diversity of staff, colleagues, service users, carers and the public. Contribute to a working environment which promotes and responds positively to difference and diversity;

ensure they carry out their duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 years, as issued under Section 11 of The Children Act 2004, by being familiar with and adhering to Trust safeguarding policies and participatingin relevanttraining;

comply with their professional responsibilities to develop their practice and deliver care through a Clinical Governance framework (i.e. CPD, Audit, Supervision);

demonstrate, through practice and practical understanding, the importance of the continual development of individual, team and service wide quality improvement;

abide by relevant codes of professional practice, with the organisation taking action when codes of conduct are breached;

work flexibly to meet the needs of the service/organisation, whilst working within a culture of progressive employment practices and commitment to the Investors in People (IiP) Standards.

adhere to the Trusts smoke free policies, which prohibits smoking anywhere on Trust grounds;

being socially responsible by complying with measures that support the Trust in reducing or offsetting our environmental impact;

Identify and report risks, hazards, incidents, accidents and near misses promptly;

In addition to the Trusts own responsibilities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance, for your safety, ALL staff (and contractors) are responsible for ensuring their work adheres to this Code in the delivery of safe patient care.

This job description is an outline of the main duties of the post. The postholder will be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the band as directed. The content of this post will be reviewed in consultation with the postholder when necessary and in line with the service developments.

For full details of the role please see the supporting documents attached.

We are aware that an increasing number of applicants are using AI technology to generate responses on NHS Job application forms. We strongly discourage this and will conduct a thorough screening process before selecting candidates to progress to the next stage. If you are using AI to enhance your application, please disclose this in your NHS Jobs application form.