8,500 NHS workers left unpaid after payroll error

Thousands of NHS staff in the north-east of England were not paid on Friday because of a payroll error, having to wait until after the weekend to receive their salaries.

A spokesperson for the trust said the situation was down to a “human error” and that "the finance team is contacting all the main banks to explain our error and ask them to honour the routine transactions of staff accounts and where possible, waive any charges. However, if staff incur bank charges as a result of this delay the trust will honour them.”

This announcement did not seem to make up for the issue however, with one nurse telling the BBC how she had to spend hours rearranging various direct debits and standing orders, saying “it’s a total domino effect. If I don’t get paid till Monday then everything gets paid late.”

This situation further highlights the vital importance of ensuring your practice’s payroll processes are up to date and efficient. Although the staff in this situation would still be getting paid, the fact that they would have to wait until after the weekend may have caused some major financial issues for those involved.

If you are looking to improve the efficiency of your practice payroll to avoid this sort of situation, why not look at our GP payroll software? IRIS GP Payroll was designed by GPs for GPs so can handle the specific demands of GP payroll schemes, including NHS pension schemes. Visit the IRIS GP Payroll page to find out more or to download a free trial.

IRIS GP Payroll