Payroll Specialist

Lawhive; City Of London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A cutting-edge legal tech firm based in London is seeking a proactive Payroll Specialist to manage the complete payroll process. You will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy and timely delivery of payroll while supporting the finance month-end close. Ideal candidates will possess strong payroll expertise and an understanding of UK payroll rules. The role offers an opportunity to work in an innovative environment with significant impact across the company.

Benefits

Meaningful early-stage equity

33 days’ annual leave

Pension contribution via Nest

20% off legal fees

Top-spec equipment

Regular team building activities

Qualifications

• Experience managing end-to-end payroll in a fast-growing environment.
• Confident in managing payroll operations.
• Solid understanding of statutory payments and benefits.

Responsibilities

• Manage the full monthly payroll cycle with accuracy.
• Support month-end close through payroll journals.
• Lead salary reconciliations and variance analysis.

Skills

End-to-end payroll management

Attention to detail

UK payroll rules knowledge

Strong Excel skills

Education

AAT Level 3 or 4

CIPP qualification

Tools

HiBob

PayFit

Job description

About Lawhive

Our mission is to make the law accessible to everyone.

The legal industry is built on technology and process that hasn’t been updated in hundreds of years - that's why we've reinvented the entire model from the ground-up with our own bespoke AI operating system at the core.

Lawhive is a regulated law firm with an AI-native platform built to amplify expertise and revolutionise the way people practice law, leading to exceptional outcomes for clients and lawyers.

Lawhive Labs is how we bring this vision to life. It's our frontier lab that combines top engineering, design, AI and legal talent from around the world, joining forces to build the future of law.

We’re backed by top-tier investors including Google Ventures, Balderton Capital and TQ Ventures and in December 2024 we secured $40M Series A funding round to facilitate international expansion and to grow our team, representing one of the five largest Series A rounds in Europe for 2024.

We’re headquartered in London and in 2025 successfully launched in the US…and we’re just getting started.

Finance at Lawhive

We are a lean, high-impact finance organisation operating across the UK and US group structure - the engine room that keeps Lawhive moving with precision as we scale a first-of-its-kind global AI-native law firm. We partner deeply with every part of the business: product, engineering, legal operations, hr, talent, and the exec team. Our mandate is simple: build world‑class, audit‑ready, scalable finance architecture that can support hyper‑growth and international expansion.

The next 12‑18 months will bring some of the most challenging and meaningful work you’ll do in your career. We’re focused on:

• Designing and embedding the financial systems, controls and reporting infrastructure required for a multi‑entity, multi‑jurisdiction group (UK, US) on the path to audit and global scale
• Building real‑time, decision‑grade data - from cashflow to margins to unit economics - ensuring the business can make fast, high‑quality decisions as we grow revenue and deploy capital
• Transforming acquired entities into a single, unified finance ecosystem with tight working‑capital discipline and deep operational control
• Implementing automation and intelligent workflows across payables, payroll, client‑money compliance, tax, FP&A and revenue accounting to unlock leverage across the business
• Partnering with leaders to shape strategy, investment decisions, and the future of AI‑enabled legal services

If you want a finance role where the bar is high, the problems are real, and the impact is visible across the whole company - this is it.

Role Overview

We are looking for a proactive Payroll Specialist who can take full ownership of the end to end payroll process at Lawhive. You will manage monthly payroll preparation, updates, reconciliations, and work closely with both Finance and People teams to ensure accuracy and timely delivery.

Alongside running payroll, you will support the finance month‑end close through payroll journals, salary reconciliations, and core controls. This role suits someone with strong payroll expertise who is also confident providing dependable support across key accounting tasks when needed.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Operations

• Manage the full monthly payroll cycle with accuracy and timely delivery
• Maintain employee payroll records and handle payroll queries
• Gather and validate monthly changes, including starters, leavers, adjustments, and bonuses
• Apply statutory rules correctly across maternity, paternity, parental leave, SSP, SMP, and SPP
• Prepare and post payroll journals and support month‑end processes
• Complete pension reconciliations and manage enrolment checks
• Lead salary reconciliations, variance analysis, and support year‑end tasks, including P11Ds
• Produce payroll reports for HR, Finance, and management
• Maintain strong internal controls, ensure GDPR compliance, and drive process improvements

Finance and Controls

• Prepare and post monthly payroll journals, including gross pay, deductions, employer costs, pensions, and PAYE/NI
• Reconcile all payroll‑related balance sheet accounts
• Support month‑end close through accruals, variance analysis, and validation of payroll‑related P&L movements
• Maintain audit‑ready documentation with the Finance team
• Provide support with ad hoc finance tasks such as invoice processing, bank reconciliations, or data checks
• Assist in implementing new systems and embedding scalable, automated payroll and finance workflows

About You

• Experience managing end‑to‑end payroll, ideally in a fast‑growing or startup environment
• Strong attention to detail and confidence managing payroll operations
• Solid understanding of UK payroll rules, statutory payments, pensions, and benefits
• Strong Excel skills, including lookups, pivots, and reconciliations
• Experience preparing payroll journals, supporting month‑end, and completing payroll reconciliations
• Organised, reliable, and able to take initiative in a fast‑paced environment
• AAT Level 3 or 4, payroll qualifications such as CIPP, or equivalent finance grounding preferred
• Experience with HiBob or PayFit is a plus but not required
• Someone who enjoys payroll and wants a broader remit contributing to a scalable finance function

Interview process

• Introductory call with our Talent team
• 1:1 with your hiring manager
• Practical skills assessment
• Values interview with one of our Founders
• We offer!

UK Benefits:

💰 Meaningful early‑stage equity at one of Europe’s fastest growing startups

✈️ 33 days’ annual leave (25 + bank holidays) plus your birthday off

💰 Pension contribution via Nest

💷 20% off legal fees through Lawhive

💻 Top‑spec equipment - MacBook/Windows

⛳️ Regular team building activities and socials!

Diversity at Lawhive

At Lawhive, we know that diversity of thought is critical to delivering outlier outcomes. As such, we’re always working hard to ensure we build a diverse, inclusive team, and as we scale, we’ll only ever increase the focus we apply to this.