Nine in 10 businesses made payroll errors that resulted in employees either not being paid correctly or on time, in the past year.
Almost half admitted these inaccuracies were the biggest challenge they currently face with their payroll operations; with even more citing the investigation and correction of errors as the most time-consuming element of their payroll activities.
In the worst cases, this amounted to at least 12 hours per month on correcting such errors – the equivalent to 144 hours per year, or 18 days of payroll staff time effectively wasted, according to a poll by the HR finance specialists MHR.
When asked how they could improve their existing payroll practices and reduce the likelihood of such errors, half of all respondent businesses, not surprisingly, identified the adoption of digitising their payroll systems, although almost half cited lack of resource for not doing so, something many said they may reconsider in 2023.
CEO Anton Roe said: “Payroll errors represent not just a costly mistake to businesses, or a barrier to their growth, but also a real threat to employees up and down the country who will be relying on accurate pay to help navigate the ongoing cost of living crisis.
“While the scale of the problem – 88 per cent of businesses suffering payroll errors – is deeply troubling, I am heartened by the finding that half of businesses have rightly identified new payroll technologies as a means of improving their existing operations.”
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