FOI23/24 155 Information Relating to Payroll System

Date published: 21/03/2024

We are writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request information. Please provide the following details:

What software do you use for your payroll, hr and finance solutions, how much annually do you spend on each, when does each contract expire?
Do you manage your payroll in-house or do you outsource it if so, who do you outsource it to?
How many people do you pay each month using your payroll solution?
How many pensioners do you pay using your payroll solution?
Do you use Microsoft power platform technologies such as Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents?
What is the employee count at your organisation?
Do you collaborate with other organisations in the delivery of HR & Payroll shared services? If so which organisation?
Do you work with any industry experts such as ATOS, KPMG, EY, Accenture etc?
Who in your organisation is the head of service for HR and Payroll software or services and what is their role? 

If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how we can refine our request.

If you can identify any ways that our request could be refined, we would be grateful for any further advice and assistance.

1.) What software do you use for your payroll, hr and finance solutions, how much annually do you spend on each, when does each contract expire?

The software used is Business World. We currently spend £740k plus VAT and the contract ends on 31 October 2024 but can be extended for 2 x 1 year extensions which if applied would take it to 31 October 2026.

2.) Do you manage your payroll in-house or do you outsource it if so, who do you outsource it to?

The payroll is managed in-house.

3.) How many people do you pay each month using your payroll solution?

Approximately 1100 employees are paid each month.

4.) How many pensioners do you pay using your payroll solution?

We do not pay any pensioners using the payroll solution.

5.) Do you use Microsoft power platform technologies such as Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents?

Power BI is widely used throughout the organisation. Limited use of Power Automate is made throughout the organisation. Presently, Power Apps and Power Forms are being used in a discovery fashion to understand if the technology is right for the organisation.

6.) What is the employee count at your organisation?

The employee count is approximately 1100.

7.) Do you collaborate with other organisations in the delivery of HR & Payroll shared services? If so which organisation?

No, we do not collaborate with other organisation in the delivery of HR and Payroll services.

8.) Do you work with any industry experts such as ATOS, KPMG, EY, Accenture etc?

On 28 February we asked you to clarify this request with the following questions.

“You have asked if we work with any industry experts such as ATOS, KPMG, EY, Accenture. Can you please let us know in what capacity we would work with them and is there any relevant timescales for this?”

We haven’t had a response to this yet, so are unable to provide a response at this time. We will wait until 22 March and if we have not received the clarification by then, we will assume that the information is no longer required and will close this request.

9.) Who in your organisation is the head of service for HR and Payroll software or services and what is their role? 

The relevant member of staff is the Head of Finance Systems.