Payroll deadlines are important

We must ensure that all pay related forms are submitted to the Employee Lifecycle Team (ELT) or Workforce Information Team (WIT) for Mid Mersey colleagues, within given deadlines. Can all managers please be reminded of these deadlines (below) to ensure colleagues are paid on time and correctly - a large proportion of forms are being submitted late. We have to follow these deadlines to ensure sufficient time is given for processing. A recent Mersey Internal Audit Agency audit using a sample from all divisions identified:

• Sample of 30 contractual changes, 24 missed the submission date and payroll deadline
• Sample of 30 leavers, 10 were completed after the leaving date.

Both of the above impacted on colleagues’ pay, as well as the Trust due to the number of overpayments made.

These are absolute deadlines but we would expect a leaver’s form to be submitted once a resignation has been accepted. Depending on band this should be 4, 8 or 12 weeks in advance. This would also be the time to begin the recruitment process, if appropriate, to ensure minimal disruption to the service.

Absences for colleagues on health roster should be extended beyond the pay period, before rosters are locked, to ensure the information sent to payroll is accurate. This means absences should be extended with an end date beyond the roster finalisation deadline to ensure the pay file extracted is correct and no end date is transferred to ESR incorrectly.

Also, roster owners must ensure bank holidays are always recorded in roster when colleagues are off (not working) as we have overpaid hundreds of colleagues due to bank holidays not being entered correctly in systems.

The impact of not adhering to deadlines means the following:

• Errors with colleagues pay

• Incorrect hours creating over or under payments
• Secondment/fixed term dates ended
• Enhancements or additional hours not paid
• On call payments not received
• Travel expenses not paid

• Increased pressure on ELT/WIT, finance and payroll to try to ensure payments are made
• Increase in advance requests which should only be used in exceptional circumstances (monthly pay only)
• Increase in submission of out of month adjustment forms (which are processed the following month)
• Increase in overpayments being made due to leaver forms being submitted late
• Increase in volume of calls and emails to payroll.

Whilst this can lead to incorrect payments it can also impact hugely on colleagues health and wellbeing, creating financial worry and anxiety. As an organisation that places great emphasis on mental health and wellbeing, we need to pay colleagues the right amount at the right time and ensure overpayments are kept to an absolute minimum.