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⚡ Source: ReedRef: 56895124

Payroll Assistant

Pure Resourcing Solutions·East Suffolk, Suffolk·Posted 2 weeks ago
🏢 On-site💰 £32-34k/year
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Job description

Original text imported from Reed

Payroll Assistant
12-months FTC
On-site working, with flexibility.

This role sits at the heart of the business, ensuring colleagues are paid accurately and on time while supporting the Payroll Manager with day-to-day operations and upcoming system changes.
If you enjoy a mix of routine payroll work, problem-solving, and helping to shape new processes, this one will suit you well.

The Role:
  • Preparing weekly and monthly payrolls
  • Calculating overtime, increments, and additional pay
  • Managing the Time & Attendance system
  • Providing payroll data for monthly management reporting
  • Managing payroll in-boxes and responding to queries promptly
  • Supporting the implementation of a new payroll system (Sage)
  • Helping document new processes and ways of working
  • Handling ad-hoc payroll tasks as needed

The person:
  • Previous payroll experience 
  • Good working knowledge of Sage
  • Solid understanding of tax, NI and payroll legislation
  • Confident Excel skills
  • Experience in bookkeeping or accountancy (helpful but not essential)

To apply, please submit your CV or contact Caroline Meeson at Pure.
SpeedCV AI

Key skills

AI-extracted from the job advert

Must-have skills
Payroll experienceSage payrollTax legislationNational InsuranceExcel
Nice-to-have
BookkeepingAccountancy experience
Soft skills
Problem-solvingAttention to detailCommunicationAdaptabilityTime management
SpeedCV AI

Application advice

5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.

1

⭐ Highlight your Sage payroll experience prominently as this is specifically mentioned for the upcoming system implementation

2

📊 Quantify your payroll experience: "Processed weekly payroll for 150+ employees with 99.8% accuracy"

3

🎯 Emphasise your Excel skills with specific examples of payroll calculations and reporting you've created

4

🌐 Mention any experience with Time & Attendance systems as this is a key responsibility

5

🤝 Show problem-solving examples where you've handled payroll queries or supported system changes

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Suggested CV bullets

3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.

How to tailor your CV

Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:

  • Processed weekly payroll for 180 employees using Sage, achieving 99.9% accuracy rate and zero late payments over 18 months
  • Led Time & Attendance system integration, reducing manual data entry by 65% and improving overtime calculation accuracy
  • Implemented new payroll reporting processes, delivering monthly management reports 3 days earlier than previous schedule

Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.

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Letter preview — tailored to Pure Resourcing Solutions

Dear Hiring Manager,

Pure Resourcing Solutions' Payroll Assistant role combines my passion for accurate payroll processing with the exciting challenge of Sage system implementation. My experience with payroll legislation, Time & Attendance systems, and Excel reporting aligns perfectly with your requirements for this 12-month transformation project.

My background in payroll operations has equipped me with the technical skills and problem-solving approach needed to ensure colleagues are paid accurately while supporting system changes. I understand the critical importance of payroll deadlines and have consistently delivered error-free processing even during periods of change.

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SpeedCV AI

Interview questions

10 questions generated from this advert.

Technical

  • How would you calculate statutory sick pay for an employee with varying hours?
  • What are the current National Insurance rates and thresholds for 2024/25?
  • How would you handle a payroll discrepancy discovered after payment has been made?
  • Explain the process for implementing auto-enrolment pension contributions
  • How do you ensure GDPR compliance when handling payroll data?

Behavioural

  • Tell me about a time you had to meet a tight payroll deadline under pressure
  • Describe a situation where you had to explain a complex payroll issue to a colleague
  • Give an example of when you identified and resolved a payroll error
  • How do you prioritise multiple payroll tasks when everything seems urgent?
  • Tell me about a time you had to adapt to a new payroll system or process
SpeedCV AINEW

STAR answer examples

Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.

1Question

Tell me about a time you had to meet a tight payroll deadline under pressure

During our year-end processing, our payroll system crashed 2 days before the monthly deadline for 220 employees. I immediately contacted our IT support while manually calculating priority payments for 45 temporary staff who needed payment that day. I worked with the Payroll Manager to prioritise permanent staff by department, processing 175 salaries within 18 hours once the system was restored. We delivered all payments on time and I created a backup manual process template for future emergencies, which proved valuable during subsequent system updates.
2Question

Give an example of when you identified and resolved a payroll error

I noticed that overtime rates for 12 warehouse staff were calculating at standard rate instead of time-and-a-half during my monthly reconciliation. The error had been occurring for 6 weeks due to incorrect Time & Attendance system configuration. I immediately flagged this to management, calculated the £2,400 underpayment, and processed supplementary payments within 48 hours. I then worked with IT to reconfigure the system rules and created a monthly overtime rate audit checklist, preventing similar errors and saving approximately £14,000 annually in potential underpayments.

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