Position: Payroll Specialist
Job ID: 187/181
Location: Southampton
Rate/Salary: £40000
Type: Permanent
HSB Technical Ltd is a specialist recruiter within the Power & Propulsion, Shipbuilding, Maritime Shipping, Energy and Subsea sectors – visit: (url removed) for a list of our vacancies. We have a number of permanent and contract vacancies for multiple businesses across the UK and overseas.
The below job description will outline this position of: Payroll Specialist
Typically, this person will be responsible for administering and processing the monthly UK payroll for salaried and hourly-paid employees, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and efficiency. This stand-alone role will manage the entire payroll function from end to end, introducing automation, self-service, and process improvements to streamline operations and reduce manual workload.
HSB Technical’s client is an established and well-regarded business entity.
Duties and responsibilities of the Payroll Specialist:
Manage all aspects of end-to-end payroll processing, including starters, leavers, contractual changes, overtime capture, holiday pay, statutory payments, and the production of payslips, ensuring timely submission of payments to the bank.
Maintain accurate timesheet data for hourly-paid staff, oversee pension administration (including auto-enrolment and salary sacrifice schemes), and process benefits such as private medical insurance, accident/sickness insurance, and government schemes like Cycle to Work and childcare vouchers.
Prepare, submit, and reconcile payroll reports for internal use and statutory requirements, including HMRC submissions (RTI, PAYE, tax codes, student loans), court orders, gender pay gap reporting, pension regulator data, and annual P60/P11D processing.
Lead payroll-related process improvement projects, focusing on automation, digitalisation, self-service, and reducing manual processes while ensuring compliance with payroll legislation and best practice.
Support HR and Finance teams with audits, compensation and benefits projects, and provide accurate analysis and reporting to assist business decision-making.
Qualifications and requirements for the Payroll Specialist:
Strong knowledge of UK payroll legislation, core processes, controls, and best practice, with experience using Sage 50 Payroll (or similar) and understanding of HR processes that impact payroll.
Proven experience managing payroll for 500+ employees, including both salaried and hourly-paid staff with varied pay rates and overtime.
Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, linked sheets) and proficiency in Microsoft Office; able to analyse, interpret, and present complex payroll data.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to explain payroll matters clearly to employees and liaise confidently with HMRC, auditors, and external providers.
Highly accurate, methodical, and detail-focused, with a continuous improvement mindset and experience in payroll automation and self-service initiatives.
Payroll or finance/accounting qualifications desirable.
Other Requirements:
Willingness to travel to other UK sites approximately twice per year.
This vacancy is being advertised by HSB Technical Ltd who have been appointed to act as a recruitment partner for this role