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Payroll Guidance & Procedures

The two University payrolls are ‘Salaries’ (SALS) and ‘Variable Monthly’ (VAM) both of which are paid monthly. The University no longer has a weekly payroll. All information must be received within the Payroll Office before the respective cut-off dates.

SAL Payroll: Submit all paperwork to Payroll for processing before cut-off. Documentation that requires processing in HR (e.g. Request to Appoint) will need to be sent to HR before the cut-off date stated.

Both payrolls: any information / payments received after the cut-off date will be paid on a best endeavour basis and therefore are not guaranteed for inclusion in that run. Please note, submissions near to payroll cut-off could still miss the payroll due to internal post, therefore you are advised to submit payments at least one week before.

Unitemps: If an individual has a Unitemps post and then takes either a SAL or VAM post at any point in the tax year, even if only a ‘one off’, then the SAL or VAM post will become the lead contract and all payments will be made monthly. Likewise if an individual is paid through SAL or VAM and takes an additional Unitemps post then any Unitemps payments will also be paid monthly.

Forms: All non-electronic payroll submissions (e.g. certain overtime sheets, leaver forms, etc.) must be originals and have an authorised signature. All documents should clearly state the individual’s University number, name and, where appropriate, payment details (including pay element and cost code). As legislation changes, forms are also subject to change. Please use the latest versions of the forms. Previous versions should be destroyed - this is an Internal Audit requirement. Unsigned photocopies, faxes and emails will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Electronic Payment Requests: For departments that send us payments 'electronically' we have improved the response service. We will confirm receipt of the request and inform you that you should expect a further confirmation once the request has been processed.

You must contact the payroll department if you do not receive either the initial response or the processing confirmation.

Rates: All payment rates for time sheets must be taken from the appropriate grade of the University scales. Failure to use one of the published rates is liable to result in additional checks being required, potentially delaying the payment.

Advances: The university will not raise salary advances. The only circumstances in which a salary advance may be given are cases of absolute extreme financial hardship e.g. where an individual has just arrived from abroad and will have no funds until the next pay date.

All payments (e.g. overtime, responsibility payments) which miss the payroll cut-off date, regardless of fault, will be processed the following month. If an incomplete or incorrect payment submission is returned to the department before the cut-off date, the onus is on the department to return the payment submission to the Payroll Department in time for processing. Payroll will not retain a copy of the returned paperwork, in order to minimise the possibility of payments being duplicated.

New members of staff on SALS must ‘sign in’ before they can be paid (this includes individuals previously paid on VAM or through Unitemps). To be paid in the calendar month they need to have signed in before the cut-off date that month; any individual who signs in after the cut-off date will be paid on a best endeavour basis and therefore payment is not guaranteed. Any new staff that miss the cut-off date and are not paid in their initial month will be paid the following month with the appropriate back pay.

Leavers: Departments must notify HR immediately if a SALS member of staff is to leave the University, including all staff coming to the end of a fixed term contract. For VAM the appropriate leavers form must be completed and sent to Payroll. For both the SALS and VAM payrolls, where the individual leaves suddenly and the leavers form will not be received in time, please notify payroll immediately by email or telephone (details below) with details of the leave date, holiday entitlement (if known) and any repayments (e.g. relocation) and then follow up with a leavers form as usual.

Individuals not paid on the VAM payroll over the whole tax year will be automatically made to leave as at 31st March as per HMRC procedural requirements.

Immigration Policy:

  1. Everyone must provide suitable ID which must be accompanied by a signed 'Appendix B'. Please note that in certain circumstances more than one item of ID is required. In no circumstances is form P46 a suitable proof of National Insurance number.
  2. Every non-European Union individual has to have their ID rechecked on an annual basis regardless of whether the supporting ID has changed or not. Failure to recheck leaves the University open to prosecution, therefore payments will not be made until an individual's recheck is complete. The recheck ID should be sent to the Payroll Office together with a visa extension/renewal form.

HMRC and UKBA penalise companies with heavy fines in cases of non-compliance (e.g. incorrect taxation, verification of eligibility to work in the UK etc).

Additional information, common FAQs and in-depth guidance can be obtained from the Payroll website or by contacting the Payroll team in University House (2nd floor north) between office hours 9.00 am – 5.30 pm Monday to Thursday, 9.00 am – 4.30 pm Friday, by calling extension 74444, or by email to payroll at warwick dot ac dot uk