Football may be set to come home, but payroll still has to go out, so what would a last-minute World Cup win bank holiday mean for processing schedules, pay dates and payroll teams? We asked Zellis Chief Service Officer, David Crewe, and Zellis Service Delivery Director, Linda Pemberton, for their thoughts.
If, and when, England go all the way and lift the World Cup, celebrations will no doubt continue long after the final whistle has blown. Sore heads will be commonplace, replay clips will be on a seemingly endless loop and the open top bus will be booked. Plus, there’s the not insignificant likelihood of a bonus bank holiday on Friday 24 July – a key payroll processing day for many.
“Normally, you’ve got 12 months to prepare for a bank holiday and you can bring payroll calendars forward and work with the wider business.” explains David Crewe, Chief Service Officer at Zellis. “In this situation, planning has effectively gone out of the window because there simply isn’t the time.”
With the proposed bank holiday a non-processing day for the banking system, any payroll due on Friday 24 July will need to be paid on Thursday instead, meaning the same work has to be completed in a shorter timeframe. For many payroll teams, whether running weekly, fortnightly, monthly or even lunar payrolls and expense runs, the potential date could create a significant pressure.
However, there’s no need for payroll teams to suddenly be stocking up on South American Malbec and cheering on Argentina, or cooking up tapas ahead of supporting Spain in the final. Instead, there are several steps payroll teams can take to plan for and deal with any potential short notice day off.
What should payroll teams be thinking about?
1. Check your payroll calendar
Most payroll calendars were agreed months ago, with processing schedules, approvals and cut-off dates built around known paydays and bank holidays.
If a bank holiday is introduced at short notice, a payroll due to be completed on Friday may need to be processed a day earlier, reducing the time available to collect data, validate changes and secure approvals. Revised dates must be agreed quickly.
2. Get payroll data in early
David’s advice is simple: “Organisations need to get data in as early as possible. There’s a clear need to bring cut-off dates forward where possible and process information in real time rather than letting things build up.
“The earlier payroll teams receive the information they need, the more flexibility they have if timelines change unexpectedly.”
3. Communicate early and often
Linda Pemberton, Service Delivery Director in the Zellis Managed Services team says that communication is one of the biggest priorities.
“If employees are going to be paid a day earlier than usual, they need to know. Not just the good news that they’ll be paid earlier, but the impact that will have on overtime and shifts worked, for example.
“Payroll teams should also engage with managers and anyone responsible for submitting payroll data to make sure revised deadlines are understood.”
4. Consider Faster Payments
For some organisations, Faster Payments could provide additional flexibility.
Unlike Bacs, which operates on a three-day processing cycle, Faster Payments can provide a much shorter route to employees’ bank accounts.
“It may be something organisations want to consider on this one-off occasion,” says David. “You effectively give yourself additional time to process, review and sign off payroll before payments are made.”
5. Don’t compromise on quality
A shorter processing window should never mean lowering payroll standards.
Checks and controls exist for a reason, and they become even more important when teams are working under pressure.
As David puts it: “No one will forgive you for paying them wrong, even if England win the World Cup.”
6. Think beyond payday
Even organisations not paying staff on 24 July could still be affected.
With payroll teams themselves enjoying the day of celebration, a lost processing day can create pressure on payrolls scheduled for the following week, while annual leave, resource planning and workload management may all need reviewing.
7. Plan ahead for all scenarios
Resource planning is another important consideration. A shortened payroll window doesn’t reduce the amount of work that needs to be done, and many in-house payroll teams have limited capacity to absorb additional pressure at short notice.
As David points out, organisations should be asking themselves some practical questions now: Do we have the right payment options available? Do we need additional support? What happens if key team members are unavailable? The earlier those conversations take place, the easier it becomes to respond if a bank holiday is announced.
8. Consider supplementary payrolls
Linda highlights the possibility that some organisations may need supplementary payroll runs if late-arriving data misses a shortened processing window.
A quick reminder on FPS submissions
One area that often causes confusion is HMRC reporting.
If employees are paid early because of a bank holiday, employers should still use the employee’s normal contractual payday when submitting their Full Payment Submission (FPS).
HMRC guidance is clear that employers should enter the usual pay date, even if employees are paid earlier because the regular payday falls on a bank holiday. Using the normal pay date helps avoid unintended consequences for benefits calculations, including Universal Credit.
Come on England!
While an extra bank holiday remains speculative at this stage, and England still need to bring it home, it pays to plan ahead.
Zellis’s payroll specialists are already considering the potential impact of a short-notice bank holiday and can support customers with payroll planning, payment options, communications and contingency arrangements. Whether that’s reviewing payroll schedules, exploring Faster Payments, accessing payroll advisory expertise or simply providing extra pairs of hands during a busy processing period, support is available if it’s needed.
For now, though, there is no need for payroll professionals to start cheering on the opposition for the sake of their payroll calendar. After all, opportunities to win a World Cup don’t come around very often.
