Some people think all we do in NHS payroll is press a button and cash appears in people’s bank accounts on payday.
We now use a frequently-crashing human resources (HR) database with add-ons to enable payroll function, run by a company that also provides payroll services. No conflict of interest there, then.
This has changed my role significantly. I am personally responsible for the distribution of millions of pounds of public money: more than 2,000 salaries per month, paying domestic, portering, maintenance, clerical, nursing and medical staff, senior managers, chief executives and apprentices. I need a working knowledge of each set of conditions, pension regulations and pay scales.
HR and departmental managers make many changes in the database, but it is our responsibility to ensure they are applied correctly, working through huge reports to identify what has been changed, when and by whom.
Managers failing to inform HR of starters, leavers and changes, HR failing to act on them, or timesheets not sent to payroll cause stress and distress to staff. Payroll deal with the fallout: we get the upset or angry phone call; chase whoever is responsible; do the calculations; write to staff to explain. We’re not allowed to say who is at fault so they assume we are.
I’m currently setting up 42 new starters, closing down 19 leavers, checking 35 changes, and have three queries on overpayments (all caused by inefficient managers) but I can’t persuade HR or managers to provide the accurate information I need to resolve them, so I’m under pressure from the payees.
A colleague wants me to check and sign off his entire month’s work, thus making me responsible for it. I’m chasing HR to make changes and send paperwork. My email inbox is buzzing with new instructions and queries, my paper in-tray is overflowing despite being emptied an hour ago and my phone is ringing constantly as I’m covering for three part-time workers who don’t do Fridays
My senior managers chat about their holiday plans, the middle managers argue about football and the first line managers carry their workload. Their frustration can’t go up the line due to the culture of fear and blame, so comes down instead to the clerks – who then take it home with them and impose it on their partners.
Finally it’s time to go home – but we can’t leave as the hospital site is gridlocked. It will be an hour before we can go. We’d carry on working, but no-one will authorise an extension to core time so we won’t be paid.
A lady just called, sobbing. She has her maternity pay forecast but thought she’d be paid full salary for the duration of her year-long leave.
A leaver shouts at me because he’s sure he worked a particular month – in 1987 – and wants his money.
I have twice had callers threaten “to end it all” if I can’t arrange instant payment.
Frequently I deal with distress or aggression and the fault almost always lies elsewhere. Our service level agreement, however, prevents me from saying that their manager, HR, or they themselves created the problem. I’m just the person who is going to sort it out.
There’s no support: I was fourth in line in a manager’s bullying campaign. The solution? I was sent to a psychologist; the manager was not dealt with. I was threatened with disciplinary action for raising concerns over a bullied colleague, who has since resigned with no job to go to and hasn’t been replaced due to funding cuts. I now have a share of his workload too.
During recent industrial action, our trust warned of the potential dangers to patient care and the service generally, not just if we took strike action, but if we took our proper breaks and didn’t work for free.
There’s no let-up. We don’t have quiet days, we can’t wind down for weekends or for Christmas. We have to answer every phone call, so when a 9am caller rings back at 10am because his problem is not yet solved, he’s cross about it. What am I supposed to do? If I have to answer more than 100 calls in a day, there’s no time to deal with any of them.
I start each day with anti-depressants and hypertension medication, and end it wishing my working life had taken a different course. I have tried, but when you work in payroll it’s hard to persuade potential employers that you’re capable of anything more than pressing that magic button.
