Payroll contingency is a crucial service for organisations facing unexpected disruptions. Ever-changing circumstances can make payroll processing extremely daunting at times. Zellis Payroll Assistance Service (PAS) is on hand to support teams during emergencies and unplanned or planned absences, helping to keep employees paid accurately and on time.

Payroll problems: a major issue

The impact of delayed or inaccurate pay on employees’ financial wellbeing and motivation is not to be underestimated. From missed rent and mortgage payments to pressure on buying essentials, the knock-on effects can do real damage to both their financial situation and the employer-employee relationship.

Sometimes, disruptive events like the cyberattack on the Irish Health Service Executive put payroll delivery at risk. That’s when organisations may need the support that the Zellis Payroll Assistance Service offers.

Zellis Payroll Assistance: help when you need it most

Zellis has a history of helping organisations when unforeseen events impact the delivery of their payroll. The Payroll Assistance Service is a flexible solution available to our customers for either emergency or planned situations. The service can be of benefit when a key payroll person goes on long-term sick leave or maternity leave, for example.

Charlotte Claridge, Head of Payroll Assistance and Application Management Service at Zellis, explains:

“The Payroll Assistance Service gives our customers that hands-on support at times when organisations need it most. Our fully trained experts in both payroll and HCM Cloud can guide and advise, and even roll up their sleeves to get stuck in with completing payroll processes, working as an extension to our customers’ in-house teams.

Charlotte added, “With our skills and knowledge, we have the ability to react quickly to their situation and requirements too, with little notice. This also means our customers don’t need to source external temporary staff, as we can quickly take the lead on their payroll for a short period of time. We know the UK and Ireland payroll landscape inside and out. This gives our customers assurance that we’re there if they need us – and that we’re a safe pair of hands.”

Financial wellbeing people want more help from employers

Dedicated support in challenging times

Charlotte acknowledges that companies can feel nervous when someone steps away from their payroll team, which is why she aims to dedicate one payroll expert (or more if required) from the Zellis Payroll Assistance Service as a main point of contact during the term of the service. This allows the company to develop a trusted relationship with our team from the outset.

Unexpected disruptions, such as cybersecurity incidents, can have a major impact on employers, whether that’s a loss of internal systems at peak payroll processing times or vital internal payroll data. Our Zellis Payroll Assistance Service has supported customers with as little as a few hours’ notice to deliver their regular payroll on schedule, and continued to assist them until they were able to complete in-house again. This brings a measure of stability during what can often be worrying times. Scenarios that we’ve provided for include unplanned sick leave, VPN failures, cyber-attacks and staff resignations.

Contingency planning for business continuity

Building on the emergency payroll support service is the Payroll Cyber and Contingency Service. Whether affected by a loss of site, people, location, or IT, processing of payroll accurately and on time can be a challenge, which is why Zellis is ready and able to help during these difficult times. Charlotte continues:

“You can be confident that in the event of a disruption, you have support available from HCM Cloud payroll experts who will take over and keep payroll running as part of the service. It gives our customers assurance that there is assistance readily available in those uncertain times. It’s a service that you hope you never invoke, but it can form part of your business continuity plans and provide you with that extra layer of assurance and peace of mind.”

“You can be confident that in the event of a disruption, you have support available from HCM Cloud payroll experts who will take over and keep payroll running as part of the service. It gives our customers assurance that there is assistance readily available in those uncertain times. It’s a service that you hope you never invoke, but it can form part of your business continuity plans and provide you with that extra layer of assurance and peace of mind.”

Flexible support for diverse needs

Zellis Payroll Assistance Service currently helps a large number of our customers across all industries, number of employees and complexity. Service levels vary from light touch (more advice and guidance-based) through to the payroll cyber and contingency service. The latter sees Zellis step in to deliver payroll in an emergency.

The flexibility of the Payroll Assistance Service means that customers can use the resource to work around their key deadlines. It could be an hour one day, and a full day the next, for example, as we understand payroll never stands still. This allows our customers to maximise their investment and gain support when it’s most needed.

The feedback speaks for itself:

“Our experience with PAS has been exceptional. The Zellis team has been an absolutely fantastic support to my team. Compared to all other payroll support systems that I have previously experienced, Zellis PAS is by far the very best.

Customer

“PAS support is excellent and their knowledge is great”.

Customer

Industry-leading expertise

With over 60 years of experience in payroll and HR, Zellis works with leading organisations in the UK and Ireland, recently winning awards including Payroll Software Supplier of the Year (Global Payroll Awards 2024), Best Payroll and HR Provider (The Rewards 2024), and Software Product of the Year (CIPP Annual Excellence Awards 2024). We bring our expertise and experience to support organisations when they need it most.

“When a company doesn’t know what to do in those worrying or uncertain situations, we know exactly what we need to do to deliver the payroll service to their employees. We’re confident in our abilities and have a proven track record of delivering an exceptional service over the years. Customers always ask how we remain so calm, but it’s what we do and love in Zellis Payroll Assistance!”

Charlotte Claridge, Head of Payroll Assistance and Application Management Service at Zellis
Learn more about Zellis Payroll Assistance Service here.