HR & Payroll Specialist

Surya Hotels; England; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A hospitality group in the UK is seeking an HR & Payroll Specialist to ensure accurate payroll processing and support HR functions. This role involves handling employee relations, managing recruitment, and providing training. Ideal candidates will have payroll knowledge, excellent attention to detail, and experience using HR systems. The position offers a collaborative work environment with opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Employee Assistance Programme

Supermarket and retail discounts

Up to 50% off hotel stays

Bike to Work Scheme

Increasing holiday allowance

Qualifications

• Experience closing and checking rotas with accuracy.
• Confident in calculating estimates and explaining payroll matters.
• Exposure to HR lifecycle and payroll operations.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and check payroll including reconciliations and reports.
• Support managers with employee-related matters.
• Administer new starter packs and manage recruitment administration.

Skills

Knowledge of Payroll practices

Attention to detail

HR practices knowledge

Experience with multi-site operations

Tools

Fourth Hospitality

Sage

BambooHR

HiBob

Job description

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Can you stay calm while crunching the numbers? Do you have an eagle eye for matching hours to rotas? Ready for a role where you genuinely make a difference?


With over 550 team members and a payroll of more than £10 million, accurate records and well-managed rotas are vital to our success. We run monthly payrolls for both salaried and hourly paid teams and are now seeking an experienced HR & Payroll Specialist to join our growing HR team.


This is a genuinely blended role offering hands-on involvement in both HR and payroll. You’ll work closely with our HR Director, HR Advisers, and our external payroll bureau to ensure everything runs smoothly – from onboarding to payroll to employee relations.

This is an on-site/ in office role- based just outside Colchester, Essex. Travel to sites will be required occasionally.

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What You’ll Be Doing:

• Preparing and checking payroll, including weekly rota closures and reconciliations

• Cross-referencing rotas and reports, identifying discrepancies and ensuring accuracy

• Supporting managers with employee-related matters including welfare, development, and conduct

• Handling employee relations, including note-taking and drafting outcome documentation

• Administering new starter packs, offers, contracts, and updates on our HRIS (Fourth Hospitality)

• Managing recruitment admin: writing job adverts, screening CVs, and conducting first-stage interviews

• Coordinating Tronc/tip distribution with the Troncmaster

• Delivering or supporting workshops and team training on HR and payroll processes

• Supporting ongoing HR projects – from employee engagement to welfare initiatives


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What You’ll Bring:

• Sound knowledge of Payroll, HR practices and employment policies

• Understanding of SMP, SSP, SPP, pensions, Tronc, tax, live-ins, pro-rating, and payroll variations

• Experience closing and checking rotas, and previewing payroll reports for accuracy

• Confidence in calculating estimates and explaining payroll matters clearly

• Ideally, hospitality experience or exposure to multi-site operations

• Experience using systems such as Fourth, Sage, BambooHR, HiBob, or similar

• A proactive mindset with a keen eye for detail and process improvement


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What’s in It for You:

• Exposure to the full HR and payroll lifecycle, with scope to grow in both areas

• Support with professional development and qualifications

• Free, confidential Employee Assistance Programme for you and your family

• Access to earned wages in real time, plus financial and wellbeing tools

• Supermarket, retail, and bus fare discounts

• Up to 50% off hotel stays and dining across our venues

• Bike to Work Scheme

• Increasing holiday allowance

• Auto-Enrolled Pension

• Free on-site parking


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Who We Are:


We own and operate 15 hotels and venues across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, and Surrey, including well-known names like The Mill Hotel in Sudbury, Kingscliff Hotel in Holland-on-Sea, and The George Hotel in Colchester.


As part of the Flying Trade Group, a dynamic, international business with over 2,000 team members across 13 companies, we offer stability, variety, and opportunity. Our group spans industries from food manufacturing and leisure to construction and packaging.


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If you’re passionate about people and payroll and want to be part of a team that genuinely strives to evolve, we’d love to meet you.

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