It’s always interesting to get a little snapshot of other people’s lives which is why, from time to time, we like to feature some of our team in our Day in the Life Of… feature. If you’ve ever wondered what someone who works in the Payroll department gets up to on a daily basis, now’s your chance! We asked our Payroll Manager Jane Dunn to take us through her typical day at work.
6:45 Woken by alarm. Up for breakfast, calling to my daughter Bridie on the way to ensure she is awake and getting ready for 6th Form. I always ensure I have breakfast – I function better that way – then back upstairs to shower and get dressed, shouting a time check to Bridie as I pass her room!
7:45 I usher Bridie out of the door to catch her school bus – she is 17, but that’s being a mum for you!
8:00 Leave for my journey to work which can be unpredictable at times. Today the traffic is really slow locally, probably due to the high winds. Thankfully by the time, I reach the A10 the traffic has reduced and I make it to work arriving 5 minutes late. The Directors at HB are more than understandable and know that a little give and take about these things works well.
9:05 I always make a point of saying good morning to everyone and then make a quick pit stop for a cup of tea.
9:10 My first task, as always, is to start the day looking through my emails, answering any queries that I can straight away. Those that need more time to look through historical data are put to one side so that I can review the day’s schedule – in Payroll, it is imperative that the clients’/HMRC reporting deadlines take priority.
9:45 I start working on today’s payrolls – January can be a busy month for changes as many clients use this month for salary increases. Today’s clients fall into this category, but otherwise, their payrolls are relatively straightforward, with just the addition of automatic enrolment pension assessment administration to be completed.
12:10 An email query arrives asking about paternity leave and pay entitlement. I am at a good point in between payrolls to answer the email, so I make a quick check to ensure legislation hasn’t changed, and then send a response.
12:30 Back to processing payroll.
1:00 I always tend to take my lunch break between 1-2 and try to pop out to stretch my legs and get some fresh air – a proper break from the office refocuses the mind… and I do enjoy a little bit of retail therapy from time to time.
1:50 Back a bit earlier today I have a client coming to the office which is good for me as a lot of my communication with clients tends to be either by email or phone, so I do enjoy meeting face-to-face.
2:00 The meeting starts and we have a little catch-up on family and Christmas, then it is down to business and we discuss how I can meet the payroll reporting needs of the client – I offer an example of a report and the client feels it could work well. We agree to run with the change for February. Further discussions follow regarding the forthcoming automatic enrolment pension changes in April.
4:00 Payrolls from earlier in the day are sent out to clients. I do a quick check to make sure all reporting to HMRC has been completed for all clients with today as their deadline.
4:30 A last-minute call with a client about a change for an EPS submission to HMRC and it is sent.
4:40 I begin work on a historical review of PAYE liability for a client, following correspondence received from HMRC.
5:05 Switch off and start the journey back home.
