Earlier this year, the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) launched its very first payroll insights survey. They sent out three separate surveys for in-house teams, outsourced payroll teams and general payroll professionals.
The purpose of the surveys is to help build an understanding of how each form of payroll team functions, providing a guide as to how each works.
For companies with in-house payroll teams, it offered an opportunity to learn more about their role and responsibilities, but also how they are feeling and the current challenges they face.
What did the in-house payroll survey highlight?
The respondents of the in-house payroll survey offered valuable insights into their everyday work and what they find are their biggest challenges.
The key takeaways from the CIPP payroll insight survey for in-house payroll teams highlighted the popularity of online payslips with 87 per cent using an online portal to access payslips, with most companies running payroll on a monthly basis, usually around the end of the month.
In addition to this, the survey highlighted that the average cut-off timescale for changes on a monthly payroll is seven days. Another interesting take away is that a third of employers prefer a CIPP-qualified payroll practitioner working within their business.
The survey also highlighted some of the challenges payroll teams are managing with many citing tax code queries as a common task, with employees needing support. This was followed by underpayments or late payments and accessing their payslips digitally.
The respondents also offered insights into the type of benefits and methods they use when calculating payroll. The most common benefit offered was cycling to work, with 80 per cent saying this is a benefit offered.
This was closely followed by private health care at 78 per cent and death in service at 65 per cent.
Many payroll teams are still using the traditional P11D method to process benefits, with 70 per cent confirming they use this method. While 43 per cent said they exclusively use P11D and nothing else to process benefits.
28 per cent said they process benefits through both payroll and P11D, 18 per cent only using payroll and 10 per cent not having to report any processed benefits.
What were the biggest challenges highlighted in the survey?
With payroll teams having plenty of responsibility, the survey highlighted some of their challenges. The biggest challenge many said was processing payroll benefits.
There were other challenges highlighted including changes to payroll systems, National Insurance changes, legislation changes, employer costs and National Minimum Wage.
The survey provides fantastic insight into how payroll teams within companies are operating. It highlights their processes, challenges and how they manage queries from employees.
It also emphasises the importance of providing payroll teams with the tools to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. They are working hard to ensure your company meets its legal obligations and ensures staff are paid and all benefits are processed correctly.
At Moore Thompson, we understand that payroll has its challenges, but it’s your responsibility to ensure your payroll team has the tools they need.
We can support you and help you analyse your current processes, look at different payroll software and help you and your team understand their responsibilities.
Support your payroll team by getting in touch with our expert team who can help you make payroll simpler and effective.