Bristol, UK – 22 October 2026 –  Zellis, the UK and Ireland’s leading provider of AI-enabled HR, Workforce Management (WFM), pay and benefits solutions, has been identified as a Leader in the Overall market segment of the NelsonHall Payroll Services NEAT Assessment 2026. Zellis was also identified as a Major Player in the Multi-Country Capability Category.

NelsonHall is a global analyst firm that advises organisations on digital operations transformation. The company’s annual Vendor Evaluation and Assessment Tool (NEAT) for Payroll Services evaluates vendors on their ability to deliver immediate benefits and meet future client requirements. It then places them into one of four categories: Leaders, High Achievers, Innovators and Major Players.

Zellis was identified as a Leader in NelsonHall’s NEAT vendor evaluation for Payroll Services. NelsonHall highlighted Zellis’ deep payroll expertise and its ability to deliver a highly resilient and

fully-managed payroll service that scales to clients of all sizes and flexes to complex requirements. It also pointed to Zellis’ scale in the UK, where it pays around one in every six workers, and to its flexible managed service that includes gain share options, flexible service level agreements and payroll contact centre support for employee queries. The service supports both SMEs and large, complex organisations.

The assessment also noted Zellis’ recent investment in AI for payroll. This includes AI-driven anomaly detection, data checks at the point of entry and the Intelligent Payslip explainer, alongside the launch of ZellisONE, which brings HR, WFM, pay, talent and benefits together on one AI-enabled platform. ZellisONE is the foundation for Worklife Reinvention – Zellis’ approach to redesigning how real work gets done – with applied AI that is embedded in everyday scheduling, pay and approvals, and governed, explainable and designed for high-trust decisions.

Elizabeth Rennie, NelsonHall’s HR & Talent Transformation Research Director, said:

Zellis was identified as a Leader in the 2026 Payroll Services NEAT based on the breadth of its payroll service and extended offerings supporting all sizes of organizations; and in recognition of its deep UK and Irish payroll expertise with broad AI-led capabilities across anomaly detection, payroll insights and governance, pay slip explanations, and collaborative client solutions to drive accuracy, transparency, and efficiency.”

Commenting on the recognition from NelsonHall, Abigail Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer, Zellis said:

We’re proud to be recognised as a Leader and to have strengthened our position in this year’s NelsonHall assessment. It is a testament to the expertise of our people, the trust our customers place in us and our continued investment in innovation. We remain focused on combining reliable payroll, workforce management and benefits solutions with applied AI, keeping humans in the lead, to deliver exceptional employee experiences and redesign how work gets done for the people who keep the economy moving.”

The full report, NelsonHall Payroll Services NEAT Assessment 2026, is available now.

About Zellis

Zellis helps organisations unlock meaningful outcomes by creating exceptional experiences for their people. As the UK and Ireland’s leading provider of AI-enabled HR, Workforce Management (WFM), Payroll and benefits solutions, its solutions help pay one in seven people across the region.

In 2025, Zellis brought together the very best of Zellis, elementsuite and Hastee to deliver a single system for the modern workplace. Through Worklife Reinvention, Zellis is redesigning how work gets done, with AI embedded in everyday scheduling, pay and approvals.

Zellis was named Payroll Software Supplier of the Year at the Global Payroll Awards in 2024 and 2025 and was Highly Commended in 2026.

About NelsonHall

NelsonHall is the leading global analyst firm dedicated to helping organizations understand the ‘art of the possible’ in digital operations transformation. NelsonHall provides buy-side organizations with detailed, critical information on markets and vendors (including NEAT assessments) that helps them make fast and highly-informed sourcing decisions. And for vendors, NelsonHall provides deep knowledge of market dynamics and user requirements to help them hone their go-to-market strategies. NelsonHall’s analysis is based on rigorous, all-original research, and is widely respected for the quality and depth of its insight.

Media contact

Lauren O’Harrow, lauren@hardnumbers.co.uk, +44 (0)7864 874609