Set salaries and pay rates

Salaries and pay rates determine how an employee is compensated.

How to add, edit, end, and delete an employee’s salary

Note: When you add an annual salary, UK Payroll will calculate the monthly and weekly equivalent, along with a payslip preview for any necessary pro-rated adjustments. When you add a weekly or monthly salary, UK Payroll will calculate the annual equivalent.

HiBob users: UK Payroll does not support a daily pay period. If you use the daily pay period option in Bob, you will need to set it to hourly, weekly or annual.

1. Under the Compensation table, select Add salary or base rate.
2. Select Add salary, then Continue.
3. Fill in the Add new salary form, then Save and continue.
4. If you are happy with the current work pattern, select No. This can be edited later.
5. If the work pattern needs to be changed, select Yes and mark the relevant option (standard company work pattern, set days each week, or no set work pattern). For more information, see Setting a work pattern below. Click Save and continue.
6. Click Save and continue.
7. To edit, end, or delete an existing salary, click the three dots to the right of the salary and select the relevant action.

How to add, edit, end, and delete an employee’s base rate

Note: Base rates aren’t synced from HRIS, so this will have to be done manually.

1. Under the Compensation table, select Add salary or base rate.
2. Select Add base rate, then Continue.
3. Fill in the hourly base rate and start date, then Save and continue.
4. If you are happy with the current work pattern, select No. This can be edited later.
5. If the work pattern needs to be changed, select Yes and mark the relevant option (standard company work pattern, set days each week, or no set work pattern). For more information, see Setting a work pattern below. Click Save and continue.
6. Click Save and continue.
7. To edit, end, or delete an existing base rate, click the three dots to the right of the salary and select the relevant action.

How to add common pay rates

You may have common rates that you’d like to apply to multiple employees. Instead of individually setting their rates, you can create a common base rate.

1. From the left side bar, navigate to Settings > Rates. This is where you can create and edit pay rates.
2. Click Create new rate.
3. Set a name to identify the rate and the type of rate.
   • Hourly rate
     
     • Select the pay method.
     • If you select Set a fixed amount for each employee, enter the amount for the Rate per hour and click Continue. If you select Set a custom amount for each employee, click Continue.
   • Multiplier rate
     • Enter the number that will be used to calculate an employee’s compensation rate.
     • Click Continue.

       Note: Multiplier rates (overtime) can only be added directly to the employee’s payslip, as they vary between payroll cycles.

   • Rate per unit
     • Enter the amount per unit you’d like to set.
     • Click Continue.
4. To automatically calculate 52-week average holiday pay, click the switch to the left.
5. To include this rate in the total sum used to calculate pension contributions, click the switch to the left of Rate is pensionable.
6. Once you are happy with the pay rate settings, click Save and close.
   

How to add hourly and multiplier rates to an employee

From employee profile

1. From the left side bar, select Employees.
2. Select the relevant employee.
3. Click on Compensation.
4. Select Add additional rate under Additional rates.
5. Select the company rate you would like to apply from the dropdown menu.
6. Confirm your selection by pressing Continue.
7. Select which date the rate should start and click Save and close.

From draft payroll

1. From the left side bar, select Payrolls.
2. Select the current draft payroll.
3. Select the relevant employee.
4. Click Add pay item > + Add rate.
5. Select the relevant hourly rate.
6. Enter the number of hours. The additional rate is now included in the employee’s payslip.

How to add rates per unit to an employee

From employee profile

1. Return to your employee’s profile by navigating to Employees and choosing the relevant employee.
2. Click on Compensation.
3. Select Add rate under Rates.
4. Select which Company rate you would like to apply, or to Add custom rate.

   Note: If you add a custom rate, it will not appear as a company rate.

5. If you want to set a default amount of units per payroll, enter that number into Default units per payroll.
6. Mark Do not sync from HRIS if you would like to keep this rate separate from your HR systems.
7. Click Save and close.

From draft payroll

1. From the left side bar, select Payrolls.
2. Select the current draft payroll.
3. Select the relevant employee.
4. Click Add pay item > + Add rate.
5. Select the relevant unit rate.
6. Enter the number of units. The additional rate is now included in the employee’s payslip.

How to bulk update salaries from a file

If you need to process salary updates for multiple employees, you can import the salary data as a CSV, TSV, or TXT file.

Note: Employee ID is a mandatory column for manual entry and file upload.

1. From the left side bar, select Employees.
2. In the top right, click Import/Export > Import annual salaries.
3. Click Upload data from a file, use the file navigator to select your work hours data file.
4. Confirm if your file contains a header row or no header row by selecting Yes (if your file contains headers), Select another row (if your file contains headers but in a different row to the row indicated with the arrow), or No header row (if your file doesn’t contain headers).
5. Once headers are confirmed, the column headings will begin matching automatically, which you can confirm by clicking Confirm mapping. If you have any columns that are unable to be matched, a Lookup matching fields dropdown will appear.
6. Click Review to check that the confirmed mapping for the file is correct. Then, click Continue once you’re satisfied with the data review.
7. If you are ready to submit, click Yes. The updated salaries will appear in employee profiles.

How to bulk update salaries manually

Note: Employee ID is a mandatory column for manual entry and file upload.

1. From the left side bar, select Employees.
2. In the top right, click Import/Export > Import annual salaries.
3. Fill in the salary data under each column.
4. Once you’re done, click Continue.
5. If you are ready to submit, click Yes. The updated salaries will appear in employee profiles.

FAQs

What columns do I need if I’m uploading a pre-populated file?
The headings required are listed in the manual data entry section: Employee ID, Amount (£), Unit, and Effective date.

Tip: If you choose to use your own headings, UK Payroll will automatically try to match your headings, so try to choose similar or easily identifiable headings.

How should dates, units, and currency be formatted?
For columns that require specific formatting, refer to the manual data entry section. Hover over (i), the information icon in the column headings, to see a list of accepted values.

For columns that have multiple options, select the dropdown within a column’s cell to see a list of accepted values.

Can I enter a past effective date?
Yes. To learn more, see Backdated pay.