Assistant HR & Payroll Officer

Herts Legal Service - Hertfordshire County Council; Stevenage; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

Hertfordshire County Council in Stevenage is seeking an Assistant HR & Payroll Officer to join the Payroll Team. You will be responsible for accurately processing payroll transactions, handling deductions, tax codes, and pension information for around 30,000 employees across our client base.

The role requires knowledge of PAYE, NI, pensions and payroll legislation, and candidates with HR background but limited payroll experience may not meet requirements.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of payroll legislation and practices (PAYE, NI, pensions).
• Excellent administrative skills with high attention to detail.
• Ability to organise and prioritise your own workload.
• Good communication skills; proficient with Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Experience with payroll processing and handling tax code notifications.

Responsibilities

• Process payroll-related transactions accurately, including deductions and tax codes.
• Handle pension-related enquiries and provide pensionable pay information.
• Respond to complex pay queries; maintain knowledge of tax, NI and pensions.
• Assist with lease car deductions and associated charges.
• Provide excellent customer service to internal clients.

Skills

Payroll legislation

Administrative skills

Workload management

Communication

Microsoft Office

Data entry

Tools

SAP

Job description

Job Introduction

Job Title: Assistant HR & Payroll Officer

Starting Salary: £27,694 opportunity to progress to £31,022 per annum

Hours: 37

Location: Stevenage - 2 days a week Tuesday and Wednesday/Hybrid

Contract Type: Fixed Term - 6 months

Directorate: Resources

About The Team

Join our dynamic Payroll Team as a Payroll Specialist and play a key role in delivering exceptional payroll services to Hertfordshire County Council and a range of valued clients. This role forms part of an experienced team, who work in a fast-paced environment and are dedicated to delivering the payroll service to approximately 30,000 employees across various companies. You’ll not only help deliver this important service, but you’ll also be encouraged to spot and suggest ways we can make our processes even better.

About The Role

In this role, you will be responsible for the accurate processing of a range of payroll-related transactions, and statutory deductions. This includes administering lease car deductions and associated charges, processing HMRC tax code notifications and student loan deductions, and handling pension-related enquiries, providing accurate pensionable pay information as required. You will also respond to complex pay queries, therefore an understanding of tax, NI and pension is essential.

A strong understanding of payroll legislation and practices is essential, including PAYE, National Insurance, pensions, tax, and statutory deductions. Previous payroll experience is required, and applications from candidates with a predominantly HR-focused background and limited payroll experience are unlikely to meet the requirements of the role.

About You

Essential criteria:

• A strong understanding of payroll legislation and practices.
• Excellent Administrative skills with attention to detail
• Ability to organise and prioritise your own workload
• Good communication skills
• Use of Microsoft applications, including word and excel knowledge
• Good keyboard and data entry skills

Desirable Criteria

• An understanding of integrated HR/Payroll applications (SAP) would be desirable
• Knowledge of local government terms and conditions would be an advantage.

This is a great opportunity for someone to enhance their existing Payroll knowledge in a Local Government environment with a diverse range of terms and conditions. This is the perfect role for an organised, pro‑active individual, with strong payroll skills looking to work in a fast paced, deadline driven environment.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 7. Please locate the job profile here: Job profiles: Business support services

To hear more about this opportunity please contact [e-mail] for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: TBC - interviews to take place in person only.

Secondment

This role is open to secondments for eligible employees who work for HCC. If you wish to apply on a secondment basis, you must have your line manager’s approval before submitting your application. You will be asked to confirm this within your application form. If you are not eligible for a secondment (e.g., you are currently on a fixed‑term contract that would end before this positions ends) or you indicate that your manager cannot support a secondment, your application will be considered on a fixed‑term contract basis instead.

Additional Information

We are changing

Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly‑created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

English Fluency

The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.