ON September 7 to 11, we will be celebrating National Payroll Week.

Its aim is to raise the profile and awareness of payroll in the UK and provide payroll professionals with a week to highlight the importance of their role and how they also benefit organisations through strategic decision making related to overall reward and remuneration.

Let’s be honest, at a time when there are so many people worthy of praise and a huge 'thank you' for their amazing contribution during this pandemic, why should the payroll profession be worthy of recognition?

As we know, 2020 has been a challenging and unprecedented year for all employees and employers up and down the country. This year has seen the expertise, commitment and adaptability of the profession under a spotlight like never before. Keeping the nation paid during a time of crisis is essential to the UK economy, which is why the government designated payroll professionals as key workers.

Payroll professionals are used to dealing with new legislation every year but 2020 has been ‘off the scale’. The government introduced the Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in record time and, as a consequence, due to the constant changing nature of the situation this meant that clarification on many of the finer details took slightly longer to finalise. Payroll professionals were burning the midnight oil, reading and interpreting the latest guidance only to find it had been updated the following day.

The Garbutt + Elliott payroll team has shown exceptional commitment, guiding its clients through the minefield that is furlough, providing them with reassurance and support through these challenging and difficult times - they have done themselves and the profession proud.

So there you have it, next time you receive your pay packet, spare a moment to think about all those payroll professionals who, despite all the current challenges, have ensured that your wage has been calculated correctly and paid on time.

Should you require assistance around payroll or the Job Retention Scheme, please contact Sarah Ashton, Partner at Garbutt+Elliott - sashton@garbutt-elliott.co.uk who will be happy to help.