Here to Help: How to ensure your payroll won’t stop during COVID-19

Across the country, COVID-19 cases are increasing every day, placing a huge emphasis on business continuity.

At some point during the pandemic, the likelihood is that you or someone you know will be absent as a result of COVID-19.

To ensure there is as little impact on your business as possible, you need to prioritise preserving key functions such as payroll.

The risk of relying on one or two people to run your payroll

Every payroll department could face challenges, but those that rely on one or two people to run their payroll are particularly at risk.

It poses the question, what will you do if there is no one to run your payroll?

Who will pay your workforce?

The risk of losing IT support

Servers, software and technology all play a huge role in conducting payroll.

Usually, IT is on hand to resolve any technical issues your payroll team may face, saving the day when your computer is unresponsive or the server has gone down.

Zendesk found that internal IT support teams on average receive 492 tickets a month.

But if your IT department is absent or severely understaffed, who will resolve your technical issues during critical times?

What is the knock-on effect of missing payroll?

There are a few severe consequences associated with missing your payroll, such as unknowingly placing financial pressure on employees and also reducing the engagement of your workforce.

This is further emphasised when you consider that 74% of employees face financial stress and 39% have missed work due to finances.

Additionally, with payroll year end quickly approaching, you could be looking at quite a harsh fine if you’re unable to report on FPS to HMRC.

How can you ensure your payroll doesn’t stop?

The best way to eliminate single points of failure and to ensure your employees will be paid accurately and on time is to outsource the responsibility.

By outsourcing your payroll, you’re entrusting it to a large bureau that has significantly more payroll staff than your business.

You can be confident that a payroll team will be there for you week in, week out, ensuring reliable payroll processes in uncertain times.

We’re here to help

Utilising our 40 years of experience in running payroll, we transformed our extensive knowledge into our BACS-approved Managed Payroll service.

IRIS Managed Payroll utilises a highly experienced, CIPP-accredited payroll team that are there for you when you need it most.

We ensure you’re always compliant with your legislative responsibilities while also ensuring your employees are paid accurately and on time to maintain high levels of engagement and productivity.

Our service aims to bring certainty in uncertain times, providing confidence that our team will ensure your payroll isn’t impacted by COVID-19.

For more information on outsourcing your payroll check out our A to Z Guide and to learn more about our Managed Payroll service, click here.

Stephanie Coward

Managing Director, HCM

Stephanie Coward is Managing Director for HCM at IRIS, where she leads the strategy, innovation and growth of the organisation’s HR and payroll portfolio. She is responsible for positioning IRIS as a trusted partner to HR professionals and ensuring its solutions support the evolving needs of modern workforces.

With more than 25 years’ experience in the technology sector, Stephanie brings deep commercial and operational expertise, with a passion for improving the employee experience through technology.

Stephanie is committed to advancing IRIS’ HCM offering and helping organisations build more resilient, empowered workforces.