Payroll Story

Believe it or not, Payroll plays a vital part in our employee engagement. 

As a team they make a big contribution to the day to day smooth running of the Council. We all expect to get paid, on time.

Our payroll team continuously works together to ensure deadlines are met and the payroll runs smoothly. As in any department, sometimes hiccups can occur, but the team are on hand to make sure they are handled efficiently in the appropriate way.

That’s not bad for a small team who pay 5000 members of staff.

The pandemic brought new challenges to the team. In 2020, The Welsh Assembly Government paid all NHS staff our Social care workers a £500 bonus payment and a 10% increase payment for frontline staff. These all had to be made as separate payments, adding extra work and pressure on the team. But, as always, they stepped up to the plate and got the job done.

This year, local elections meant an extra 200 people were set up on the payroll system as well as an additional position for 150 existing staff members. The team pulled together, working long hours and weekends to make sure everyone was set up and paid correctly for election duties.

Working agilely has been a big change for the team. Payroll manager Sarah Jeanes says, ‘at first I wasn’t sure, and I wanted the team in the office, but it wasn’t an option. I have definitely changed my thinking. My team know what is expected of them and I trust them to do the work they have to do. They know they can contact me and I will always be there to support them, no matter how busy we are. It can be tricky at times, especially when we are dealing with an emotive subject such as pay. Working through issues and supporting my team face to face is important to me it takes more effort, but it can work. I would like to see the team back in the office at some point though, maybe adopting a hybrid approach to suit each individual and the business needs’.  

As well as all of this payroll are now a paperless team, aligning with our digital strategy.