Unearthing terrifying payroll horror stories

When the payroll ghouls begin their dance, unseen errors take a chance.

Wages vanish into thin night, as miscalculations cause a fright.

October's chill can't compare, to payroll horror, if you dare!

With Halloween quickly approaching, things are beginning to feel awfully spooky.

Now, while some may not view payroll as the most frightening thing, errors and mistakes can spell terrifying disaster for businesses.

We've examined some of the most skin-crawling payroll horror stories, so you can learn from these mistakes and avoid the payroll bogeyman.

Story one: scary social engineering scams

Some tales of terror are too terrible to forget, and this one is bound to haunt you.

For this unfortunate victim, their horror story began when their Director inquired about their missing pay.

Upon examining the records, they saw that there was an email sent to change the Director's account details for that month.

The payroll manager raised this with the Director, only for them to drop these dreaded words: “it wasn’t me who made the request.”

Alas, it was a clever scam.

I think we can all appreciate that the realisation that they had been deceived by such a straightforward scam was terrifying.

How to avoid these scams

To avoid email scams, always verify email addresses before action.

Those adept at social engineering can be incredibly clever, creating false email addresses that look incredibly convincing.

Also, avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading unknown attachments.

For those in payroll, you can take further precautions to avoid this type of disaster by implementing employee self-service.

Having an HR cloud software that features self-service, which integrates with your payroll software, helps eliminate these security risks.

Self-service enables staff to update their own details and view key payroll documents, meaning no more ad-hoc requests for details to be changed.

Story two: disastrous data distribution

Our next story focuses on data distribution.

In this scenario, the poor participant was organising their Christmas party (is it too early to mention the C word?) and accidentally sent out the final payroll file to the entire party invite list.

Frightful! Terrifying! Possibly one of the worst things they could have done.

Horror stories like these, unfortunately, aren't too rare and are reminders for us to ensure the necessary security measures are in place.

Always ask yourself:

• Has the correct file been attached?

• Are you sending it to the correct distribution list?

• Is the sensitive file password-protected?

Getting any of these wrong can be catastrophic.

Podcast: People management needs to change

Listen here

Putting preventative measures in place

Good cloud payroll software plays a crucial role in handling employee information safely and efficiently.

Features such as password protection ensure accurate and secure data distribution – even if data is sent to the wrong person, without a password the file remains safe.

Access controls within the cloud payroll also ensure only authorised personnel can view, edit and download sensitive information, reducing the risk of data breaches.

Integration between HR and payroll also helps minimise risk because changes to employee information are reflected across all systems without human intervention, removing the need for sensitive employee data to be manually sent.

Story three: looming legislation

In our last horror story, our unsuspecting payroll manager is tasked with navigating the labyrinth of payroll legislation.

The laws and regulations twisted and turned like a dark maze, constantly changing, leaving them in a state of unease.

Each year, new tax codes emerged, threatening confusion and compliance risks.

Adding to their torment, the threat of GDPR non-compliance loomed large, demanding meticulous care when handling personal data as they process payroll information.

Just as they thought they could catch their breath, the introduction of auto-enrolment pensions added yet another layer of dread.

This story serves as a chilling reminder that navigating the complexities of legislation can feel like a compliance nightmare.

Creating rock-solid payroll processes

Legislation is always changing, and you must be ready.

Investing in good payroll software is vital; software providers should offer automatic updates for legislative changes, ensuring you are always compliant.

Moreover, seek software that provides real-time reporting to assist with accurate submissions to HMRC and streamline the auto-enrolment pension process.

Areas such as GDPR are also handled by having good software in place, as all crucial employee files are secure and digitised.

We aren’t scared of no ghosts

Hopefully, you won't lose any sleep from these terrifying payroll horror stories.

If you are concerned about your own payroll, or currently struggling with your own horror story, look no further.

At IRIS, our award-winning payroll software and payroll outsourcing service are on hand to support, making sure you can sleep peacefully at night with no fears of any payroll gremlins.

Learn more about our offerings here.

*Note the stories in the blog are works of fiction, used to showcase common payroll pitfalls businesses need to be aware of.