Payroll Advisor

Cox Automotive UK Limited; Leeds; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Exclusive discounts

Cashback rewards

Peer recognition

Buy additional holidays

Birthday off (paid)

Well-Being Day

Charity Day

Career progression

Job summary

Cox Automotive UK Limited in Leeds is seeking a Payroll Advisor to manage end-to-end payroll for the UK & Ireland, using Dayforce to ensure governance and accuracy. You will handle new starters, changes, deductions, pensions and year-end processes, while maintaining data integrity and compliance.

The role requires a strong payroll background, knowledge of UK regulations, and a customer-focused approach to support stakeholders across the business.

Qualifications

• Payroll experience in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Solid knowledge of UK and Ireland payroll legislation, HMRC rules.
• Strong payroll reconciliations, variance analysis, and controls.
• Experience using an integrated HR/payroll system (Dayforce desirable).
• Advanced Excel, data analysis and reporting skills.
• Attention to detail with ability to spot discrepancies.
• Organised with ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Clear, collaborative communication with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Willingness to develop payroll qualifications.

Responsibilities

• Deliver accurate, timely payrolls end-to-end for UK & Ireland.
• Maintain payroll data integrity in Dayforce with proper approvals.
• Perform validations, reconciliations and control activities.
• Process starters, leavers, changes, overtime, bonuses, deductions.
• Administer pension contributions and benefits, salary sacrifice.
• Process family leave payments in line with statutory requirements.
• Support statutory reporting and HMRC submissions.
• Keep up to date with payroll legislation.
• Respond to payroll queries with a customer-focused approach.
• Collaborate with HR Central to resolve data and payroll issues.
• Produce payroll reports and MI for Payroll, HR, Finance.
• Maintain audit-ready records and governance.
• Support payroll projects and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Provide guidance and training on payroll changes.
• Safeguard confidential information under UK GDPR.

Skills

Payroll experience

UK payroll

Excel skills

Data analysis

Attention to detail

Organised

Communication

Customer-focused mindset

Continuous improvement

Collaboration

Tools

Dayforce

Job description

Accelerate your career with a company that leads the way

Overview

HR Operations is a key function within People Solutions, being the first point of contact HR Operations is a critical function within People Solutions and provides integrated support across the employee lifecycle. It brings together employee lifecycle administration and query management, Payroll, Talent Acquisition, HR systems, people data and analytics, governance, compliance and continuous improvement.

The function supports employees, managers and stakeholders across onboarding, pay and benefits, employment changes and offboarding. It is responsible for efficient, compliant and customer-focused services, including adherence to employment legislation, payroll regulations, Right to Work and immigration requirements, data protection standards and company policies.

The Leeds-based Payroll team forms a key part of HR Operations, working closely with HR Central, HR Business Partners, Finance and wider People Solutions colleagues to ensure UK and Ireland team members are paid accurately and on time. With Dayforce at the centre of payroll and people processes, the team maintains strong controls, high-quality data, clear audit evidence and effective governance while continually improving the service and team member experience.

Why Join Us & What's in it for You?

As a Cox Automotive team member, you'll have access to a wide range of benefits, including exclusive discounts, cashback offers and our brilliant peer to peer recognition scheme. And there's even more to enjoy:

• Option to buy additional holiday days
• Your birthday off every year - paid
• One annual Well-Being Day for you to relax and recharge
• One paid Charity Day to give back and support a cause that matters to you
• Opportunities for career progression across the Cox Automotive network

About The Role

Reporting to the Payroll Team Leader, the Payroll Advisor is responsible for the accurate and timely end-to-end processing of payroll for UK and Ireland team members. The role supports the complete payroll cycle, including new starters, leavers, contractual and pay changes, additional payments and deductions, statutory payments, pensions, benefits and year-end activity.

This is not solely a processing role. The Payroll Advisor uses Dayforce to strengthen payroll governance, compliance and control. The role validates payroll inputs and outputs, follows approved workflows and control points, maintains complete audit evidence, investigates exceptions and variances, and ensures payroll data is accurate, secure and appropriately authorised.

The role provides knowledgeable support to team members, managers and business stakeholders, keeps up to date with payroll legislation, contributes to reporting and insight, and identifies opportunities to simplify and improve end-to-end processes across Payroll and HR Operations.

What You'll Be Doing

• Deliver accurate, timely payrolls: Manage assigned payroll activities from input through to validation and finalisation, meeting payroll deadlines, service levels and quality standards.
• Own payroll data integrity: Maintain accurate employee and payroll records in Dayforce, ensuring all transactions are supported by the right evidence, approvals and workflows.
• Protect payroll accuracy and compliance: Complete validation checks, reconciliations and control activities, investigate discrepancies and resolve or elevate issues promptly.
• Manage the full range of payroll transactions: Process starters, leavers, contractual and pay changes, overtime, bonuses, allowances, deductions, attachments of earnings, statutory payments and ad hoc adjustments.
• Support pensions and employee benefits: Administer and validate pension contributions, salary sacrifice arrangements, holiday purchase, Cycle to Work and other relevant benefits schemes.
• Manage family leave payments: Accurately process maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental and neonatal care leave payments in line with statutory requirements and company policy.
• Support statutory reporting: Collate and validate Benefits in Kind data and contribute to P11D and other HMRC reporting requirements, where applicable.
• Keep up to date with payroll legislation: Apply current HMRC requirements, PAYE, National Insurance, statutory payment rules, pension legislation and relevant thresholds accurately and on time.
• Deliver an excellent payroll service: Respond to payroll queries from team members, managers, third parties and business functions with professionalism, clarity and a customer-focused approach.
• Partner with HR Central: Work collaboratively to ensure a smooth end-to-end employee lifecycle, resolving data, workflow and payroll issues efficiently.
• Turn payroll data into insight: Produce accurate payroll reports, management information and analysis for Payroll, HR and Finance, investigating variances and explaining key movements.
• Maintain robust controls and audit readiness: Keep clear, complete records of transactions, calculations, approvals, reconciliations and corrective actions, following governance, data quality and segregation-of-duties requirements.
• Support projects and change: Work with the Payroll Team Leader on audits, acquisitions, organisational changes, redundancy calculations, payroll projects and wider HR transformation initiatives.
• Champion continuous improvement: Identify opportunities to strengthen controls, improve Dayforce configuration, streamline processes and enhance the overall team member experience.
• Share knowledge and support implementation: Communicate payroll, legislative and system changes to stakeholders, contribute to guidance and training, and support the testing and implementation of payroll and HRIS updates.
• Safeguard confidential information: Handle sensitive employee and payroll data responsibly, maintaining confidentiality and complying with UK GDPR, data protection and information security requirements.

What We’re Looking For

• Payroll experience: Practical experience working within a payroll team, processing payroll accurately in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Legislative knowledge: A good working knowledge of UK and Ireland payroll legislation and HMRC requirements, including PAYE, National Insurance, statutory payments, pensions and payroll year-end processes.
• Strong control and compliance skills: Experience of payroll reconciliations, variance analysis, audit evidence and maintaining robust payroll controls.
• Systems confidence: Experience using an integrated HR and payroll system. Dayforce experience is highly desirable, particularly across workflows, data validation, reporting and system controls.
• Excel and data skills: Strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel, with the ability to analyse, reconcile and interpret payroll data accurately.
• Exceptional attention to detail: The ability to spot discrepancies, assess potential risks and take ownership of issues through to resolution.
• Organisation and prioritisation: A proactive, organised approach, with the ability to manage competing priorities, meet tight deadlines and maintain accuracy during peak payroll periods.
• Communication and collaboration: Clear, adaptable communication skills and the ability to build effective relationships with colleagues, managers, external providers and wider business stakeholders.
• A customer-focused mindset: A professional, resilient and solutions-focused approach, with sound judgement and the confidence to challenge incomplete, inaccurate or unauthorised information.
• A continuous improvement mindset: The ability to identify opportunities to improve processes, strengthen controls and enhance the payroll experience. Experience supporting projects, process improvements, system testing or HRIS transformation would be an advantage.
• A collaborative approach: Experience working within HR Operations, shared services or a wider People function would be beneficial.
• Commitment to development: A relevant payroll qualification, or the willingness to work towards one, would be advantageous.

We're Committed to Inclusion

We are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in all its forms. We are a place where you can be you.