Conference Notes

Conference introduction and welcome

Neil Hollister, CEO The Payroll Centre and Luke Broadhurst, CEO Reward Strategy, kick off the conference proceedings

The future of payroll

Ken Gurr and Richard George present the conference opening session. With over 75 years of payroll expertise between them, Ken and Richard will guide the audience through the latest issues and challenges facing professional payrollers.

From Employee Satisfaction To Customer Success; payroll’s pivotal role during global changes, digital transformation and the age of privacy

Karen Penney,Vice President Payment Products, Western Union Business Solutions

As organisations navigate today’s world of political upheaval, trade tensions and digital disruption, the payroll function is tasked with maintaining consistency for employees, while transforming itself to deliver to the highest regulatory standards. This keynote will talk about the importance of holistic payroll policies to promote talent retention and company reputation. We will also talk about how Finance and Treasury departments can innovate to achieve efficiencies and manage payments in a way that reduces risk and impacts the bottom line.

The Ireland Payroll Update with Tim Kelsey

In 2019, The Republic of Ireland moved into Real Time Information. We look at Reporting and outcomes for the change along with challenges and an update on Irish Payroll processes and procedures

Managing a Global Workforce in an ever-changing world

This session will look at EQ Global, their history, services and clients and will look at the challenges around employing the right people, Payment funding and the payroll cycle through a case study.

The session will also review process, challenges and pitfalls around the International payment process and how world events can impact this sometimes complexed area and what differences the EQ Global solution can make around improving the client delivery model.

Pension Changes - Reacting to Steady State

This plenary session will be presented by Henry Tapper, First Actuarial and Andy Nichols, The Pensions Regulator

The Pension Regulator and Pension Management review re-enrolment, arriving at the steady state and the future of pension saving in the UK.

Fostering the Payroll / Reward Relationship

Tim Robertson, Head of Reward at ITN, Joanne Rees, Head of Reward at M&S

Regardless of your reporting line i.e. HR or Finance, the overall relationship between payroll, reward and HR should involve more collaboration in order that end-to-end pay management (from strategy, to policy, to communication and payment) is joined-up. This panel will host several senior reward professionals to talk about nurturing a strong payroll / reward relationship in order to better attract, engage and retain talent – all whilst ensuring compliance with regulation and a cohesive company strategy. Discussions will also be had around rewarding and retaining talent in a more digitally-aligned world of work.

Employment law for the payroll industry

Mike Tremeer, from Fladgate LLP, takes us through key areas that have effected the HR and Payroll industry with respect to employment law.

OpRA - 12 months on - A benefits update:

Paul Jackson and Marcia Bowen. With grandfather protection at an end, we review salary sacrifice in 2019, OpRA and changes to the P11d returns as many make their first under the new rules as well as looking at real-time examples and the effects OpRA has had.

IR35, Working Status and the Private Sector

Presented by Claire Warner. IR35 Off Payroll working moves into the private sector from April 2020. This session looks at the history, processes and how it will effect companies. It will also look at the effects on payroll and what planning needs to be considered.

Payroll challenges and leveraging technology

Presented by Ceridian.

This session looks at the various key areas of challenge to the payroll department and how technology is used to manage and improve the process as well as how it fits in to the current environment.

The session will then look at future technology as well, what’s currently available and how Ceridian Dayforce has been used by clients to improve the flow and management of process through technology.

International Payroll and HR Update

In this session Tim Kelsey will look at key payroll changes happening around the globe and highlights some of the issues you should consider exploring further if you have responsibility for payrolls overseas. Topics to be addressed include:

• Introduction of tax withholding in France
• Changes to expat rules in the Netherlands
• Digital Tax in Poland

BREXIT: Britain’s left the building. Now what?

UK Devolution in Payroll

Ian Holloway discusses the issues that the United Kingdom is becoming increasingly disunited as the implications of devolution impact UK payroll professionals on a day-to-day basis. Ian will look at each of the devolved nations and the issues that we have to be consider in our working lives.

Trends and Challenges in Client Payroll

Julie Northover

A round table session looking at Payroll Bureaux including trends, challenges and best practice for large and small bureaux.

Pay Gap Reporting and its future

With Gillian Dale-Skey, Christine Tarrant

The second "snapshot" date has past so we look at the results from the first return, changes for 2019, Executive Pay Ratio Reporting and what else is coming in the future.

National Minimum Wage, Working Time and Holidays

In this session Sue Fisher reviews the changes, advice and support, and case law that effects employing and paying staff for the work they do (or don’t!), when, how are where they do it and how to treat holiday payments and what to include.

Building careers in payroll

Lou Gray, Payroll Manager Transitions Operations and Delivery at PwC UK

Discussion on the building blocks for a successful payroll career.

Key takeouts for the future of payroll

We review key deliveries, statements and learnings from the conference, feedback and questions received from the sessions and what the future and trends look like being in the coming years