The growth and development of HUC means new avenues to explore for our Pensions and Payroll team.
The organisation has grown massively – in terms of employees and of course the patient communities we serve. HUC’s reach has expanded to the southwestern part of the country, and we have a number of self-employed GPs working for us from outside the UK too. The Payroll and Pensions team sitting within the larger Finance team, have 7 members supporting both employed and self-employed colleagues working for HUC.
“There was a time when our organisation was less than a 300-employee company. But now, we’re over 1500 people strong, and the team looks after everyone’s pay and pensions. I quite like this challenge and love my job,” Noreen says.
After HUC’s merger with the Devon Doctors Group, one of her biggest personal achievements was taking over their payroll. “I had to learn a new Payroll system and understand new processes and ways of working. It was a big project and a huge learning curve for me and I am pleased that after all the hard work, it has all come together very nicely,” she adds.
There’s never a downtime in the Payroll and Pensions team!
“We are a close-knit, extremely busy team and there’s never a dull moment. Amongst ourselves, there’s a lot of banter, but having said that, we take our jobs seriously. Once we finish the GP pay processing, we are straight into the employed staff payroll. I am seen as the subject matter expertise for pensions, which has its challenges as the rules and scheme are always changing. Pension processing of starters, leavers, annual returns, and retirements including the new partial retirements is very time-consuming, has its complexities and at times very manual.”
“At HUC, we have colleagues working in rotas, bank staff, self-employed, and HUC-employed; so we need to be very careful with our processes. At the end of the day, it’s about pay, something our people really rely on and we can’t mess up.”
Pay and Pension requirements and necessities differ from person to person, and Noreen’s confirms her team is always there to support anyone who reaches out to them. “We have dedicated pensions GP and payroll inboxes, and we aim to respond within 3 working days – in most instances much before that, so the best way to reach out to our team is via email,” she says.
HUC’s Pension scheme
As an employing body of the NHS, our Pension benefits are the same as one would have working for an NHS organisation, with an employer contribution of 20.6% annually. There are a number benefits to the scheme such as annual increases to your pension (CARE), family benefits, ill health benefits and flexibilities about when you can take your pension, details of which can be found here: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/understanding-your-benefits-2015-scheme
Noreen adds, “All our processes are carried out in-house, and we are always there to help. If you have any questions, you can email the team and they will be able to guide you. In most instances, we can internally resolve issues, but when the need arises, we direct colleagues to the pensions body for advice.”
‘Great team to work with’
Noreen acknowledges that the processes can sometimes be quite complex, but she does not shy away from problem-solving. “Every day is different, and people come to us with different scenarios related to pay or pension. It is very satisfying and fulfilling to know you’ve been able to resolve issues or help colleagues with their queries.”
She adds, “We are blessed with a wonderful team who make sure we do it right. Our responsibilities lead us to interact with a number of colleagues across the organisation, so we are not simply tucked away in back-office jobs. There is a balance in the work we do.”
For Noreen, the best thing about working at HUC is feeling valued and receiving appreciation after doing a good job. “It’s an amazing organisation to work for, and over the years I have seen and experienced growth both personally and professionally,” she signs off.
