Payroll Officer

Hulamin; Pietermaritzburg; On-site; ZAR 300,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

Hulamin in Pietermaritzburg seeks a Payroll Officer to manage end-to-end payroll operations with a focus on accuracy, governance and compliance. The role entails validating inputs, processing weekly and monthly runs, and coordinating with Finance on costing and reporting.

Success requires strong knowledge of payroll legislation, confidentiality, and the ability to cross-skill for peak periods. This is a full-time position based on-site in KwaZulu-Natal.

Qualifications

• Experience with weekly and monthly payroll processing and validations.
• Ability to perform payroll reconciliations and control checks.
• Knowledge of PAYE, UIF, SDL, EMP201/EMP501, IRP5/IT3(a), COIDA.
• Experience with time-and-attendance data governance and reporting.
• Strong confidentiality and stakeholder service orientation.

Responsibilities

• Process weekly and monthly payrolls within calendars and cut-offs.
• Validate inputs: engagements, terminations, rate changes, overtime, and deductions.
• Perform pre- and post-run reconciliations and resolve variances.
• Coordinate payroll costing interface with Finance and respond to queries.

Skills

Payroll processing

Payroll controls

Time-and-attendance governance

Stakeholder service

Tools

HRIS

Jarrison

Job description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Payroll Officer is responsible for the complex end of payroll operations, including payroll validation, reconciliations, controls, statutory and third-party obligations, the payroll costing interface with Finance, and time-and-attendance data governance. The role strengthens payroll resilience through documented procedures, cross-skilling and operational cover during peak periods, absence or transition.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

PAYROLL OPERATIONS AND PROCESSING

• Process and support accurate weekly and monthly payroll runs within agreed payroll calendars and cut-offs.
• Validate payroll inputs, including engagements, terminations, transfers, promotions, rate changes, overtime, allowances, benefits, deductions and garnishees, ensuring that approved supporting documentation is in place.
• Calculate and verify complex payroll items such as retrospective and back-pay, wage-agreement increases, final payments, leave pay-outs, overpayment recovery, ETI and tax directives.
• Review pre-run and post-run reports, investigate variances and resolve discrepancies before payment is released.

PAYROLL CONTROLS, COMPLIANCE AND GOVERNANCE

• Perform and evidence pre-run and post-run payroll control checks and reconciliations for every pay cycle.
• Prepare or review statutory submissions and third-party schedules, including PAYE, UIF, SDL, EMP201, EMP501, IRP5/IT3(a), COIDA, retirement and provident funds, medical aid, union dues, loans and garnishees.
• Maintain complete audit trails and apply segregation-of-duties and payroll authority requirements.
• Identify recurring errors, control gaps, payroll risks and potential fraud indicators, and accelerate these with recommended corrective action.

PAYROLL COSTING AND FINANCE INTERFACE

• Support payroll-to-general-ledger reconciliation and investigate costing, cost centre and allocation discrepancies with Finance.
• Provide labour cost, overtime and headcount data for variance analysis, budgeting and management reporting.
• Resolve payroll-related general ledger, bank and third-party payment queries within the month-end timetable.

PAYROLL SYSTEMS AND TIME-AND-ATTENDANCE GOVERNANCE

• Support the accurate flow of time-and-attendance data into payroll, including hours, overtime, shifts, public holidays and absences.
• Monitor Jarrison or equivalent exception reports and elevate unapproved, late, missing or anomalous clockings to responsible line managers.
• Assist with configuration, testing and validation of pay, overtime, allowance and shift rules, including parallel runs and payroll export checks.
• Investigate system-related payroll issues with HRIS, IT, Operations and external service providers, and maintain process documentation and control checklists.

EMPLOYEE AND STAKEHOLDER SERVICE

• Resolve payroll queries from employees, line managers, Human Capital, Finance, unions and service providers professionally and within agreed turnaround times.
• Explain payslips, deductions, tax, benefits, leave impacts and payroll corrections clearly and respectfully.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and elevate sensitive, disputed or precedent-setting matters to the Payroll Manager.

TRANSFORMATION, CAPABILITY BUILDING AND OPERATIONAL COVER

• Support payroll consolidation, pay-group migration, the Jarrison implementation, and the rollout of employee and manager self-service.
• Identify and eliminate duplicate checking, manual workarounds, recurring errors and post-pay corrections.
• Act as operational backup to the Payroll Manager during absence, leave or peak periods.
• Coach and cross-skill payroll colleagues, review complex or high-risk items, and ensure critical tasks are documented and can be performed by more than one person.

SAFETY, HOUSEKEEPING AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT

• Comply with Hulamin safety, health and environmental requirements and lead by example.
• Maintain secure, organised payroll records and confidential documentation in accordance with company policy and POPIA.