Bristol, UK, 26th June, 2026 – Zellis, the leading provider of AI‑enabled HR, Pay and Workforce Management software and services to organisations across the UK and Ireland, has been shortlisted for three awards at the 2026 CIPP Annual Excellence Awards, recognising its work helping customers manage complex payroll operations with greater accuracy, confidence and control.

The nominations span three of the programme’s most competitive categories: Software Product of the Year, Payroll Service Provider of the Year and Project of the Year, reflecting the support Zellis gives organisations that need to pay large, diverse workforces accurately and on time, often in highly complex environments.

The CIPP Annual Excellence Awards are the longest-running independent awards in the payroll profession, recognising organisations and teams that are improving how payroll, pensions and rewards are delivered for employers and their people.

Recognition across technology, service and delivery

The Software Product of the Year shortlisting reflects continued progress in how Zellis is evolving payroll through AI-enabled, real-time technology. Moving away from traditional batch processing towards continuous calculation gives payroll teams earlier visibility, stronger control and greater confidence in outcomes.

For Payroll Service Provider of the Year, the nomination recognises Zellis’s delivery of high-volume, complex payroll services, including its work in partnership with British Airways. Supporting environments of this scale requires consistent accuracy, strong governance and the ability to manage operational complexity without disruption.

The Project of the Year nomination highlights Zellis’s role in delivering major payroll transformation programmes, working closely with customers to modernise legacy environments while maintaining pay continuity throughout. These programmes – focusing on our work with the University of Lincoln for this award – go beyond system replacement, helping reshape day-to-day payroll operations, improve resilience and reduce manual effort.

Taken together, the shortlist reflects the breadth of what Zellis delivers as part of its focus on worklife reinvention: helping organisations that power the UK and Ireland economy to modernise HR, payroll, scheduling and workforce operations so managers and workers can do real work with less friction and more confidence.

A reflection of customer partnerships

Each nomination is built on close collaboration between Zellis and its customers. From ongoing managed payroll services to time-critical transformation projects, the work recognised here is rooted in partnership and a shared focus on outcomes for payroll teams, managers and workers.

Abigail Vaughan, CEO of Zellis commented:

“We’re proud to see this work recognised across multiple categories. Each shortlisting reflects a different part of how we support our customers, whether that is through continuous product innovation, reliable service delivery or helping organisations transform how payroll operates. That combination is what matters most to organisations running complex payrolls at scale.”

The winners will be announced at the CIPP Annual Excellence Awards ceremony in October 2026.