PAYROLL & PENSIONS. Sunderland City Council Payroll and Pension service currently use SAP HCM (HR and Payroll) system.

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1 Service Area Name: PAYROLL & PENSIONS Services to Schools and Academies Account Manager: Name: Tracy Palmer Position: Head of HR Management Contact Number: Service Level Agreement Lead Officers Within Service Area Tracy Potts Operational Manager Function of Team Services offered under the SLA Due to the nature of the service it is not possible to offer differentiated levels of service. However both the Payroll and Pensions service are happy to discuss with you the tailoring of the service should you have specific requirements in relation to management information or interface with non-la financial management systems. Payroll and Pensions will undertake the preparation of your payroll and pension provisions that complies with statutory regulations based on the information provided by you. Payroll will calculate net wages and salaries payable, after appropriate deductions, based on the information supplied to us by you and in accordance with statutory tax and National Insurance rates appropriate at the time. Sunderland City Council Payroll and Pension service currently use SAP HCM (HR and Payroll) system. Payroll We have agreed that we will provide you with a payroll service which includes the following: Pay Calculations Our service will automatically include employee net pay and all necessary payroll calculations including: Income tax and National Insurance Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)/Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)/Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) Attachment of earnings order Voluntary deductions from pay as advised (agreed minimum processing amounts may apply)

2 Recovery of student loans Processing of pension deductions Auto enrolment assessments where applicable Occupational requirements Starters Input, checking and finalising employee records of appointments from authorised documentation in a pre-agreed format. Changes/Variations to salaries Input, checking and finalising employee records resulting from changes of personal, contractual, fixed, variable and temporary adjustments, (inc statutory and voluntary) input to pay and any other changes notifications from forms/timesheets and from any other authorised documentation. Internal processes to allow for monitoring of temporary changes in the above. Deduction of authorised and unauthorised paid and unpaid leave of absence, strike deductions, career breaks and suspensions via the SAP system. Implement the increase of gross pay by increments with associated contractual payments. Tailoring of your requirements need to be stipulated and agreed prior to application. Processing of all appropriate pay awards in accordance with National, Local and Customer Agreements where applicable, calculating arrears where necessary and production of associated documentation. Calculate and implement changes in respect of all other National, Local and Customer agreements where applicable in respect of pay related allowances and expenses Processing payment of long service awards as instructed by you or the HR Administration service where a SLA is in place. Ensure ability to include voluntary and statutory deductions to pay and salary sacrifices where applicable.(minimum amounts of deductions may apply) Administration of occupational schemes. Input, checking and finalising the payroll elements of absences including sickness, maternity and paternity leave and payment under the occupational and statutory schemes adopted. Leavers Processing all terminations of resignations/dismissals/leavers notifications from InfoPath forms and from any other authorised documentation directed by you. Processing of exit payments where applicable. Issuing of P45 s Reports and documents provided Production of your payment profile reports for staff on a timely basis. Production of Ad hoc reports from the SAP HCM (HR and Payroll) system for the Personal/Financial/Contractual information relating to the payroll records. Provide control and analysis reports within the agreed timetable. Issuing end of year documentation: P60. P11D s calculating and paying over of Class 1 A national Insurance where applicable. Information requests Completion of statistical returns relating to salary payments and workforce in conjunction with payroll and pension s. Responding to requests for payroll and pensions related information for outside bodies acting on behalf of current and former employees, as well as the provision of management information as requested by authorised users. Completing and forwarding information on Equal Pay Claims to the relevant Legal Section Compliance with employment tribunal requests relating to the payroll and pensions areas or responsibility under the SLA. Processing of Third Party Insurance claims with associated information.

3 Payroll processing Implement updates of statutory tax code changes, banding and percentage changes in relation to Income Tax and National Insurance. Provide and balance Real Time information to HMRC, submit a monthly Full Payroll Submission (FPS) and an associated Employer Payments Submission (EPS), supply information to the DWP and any other appropriate bodies as required. Payroll advice and guidance Provide advice to users in respect of Payroll facilities, Expenses & Benefits, Income Tax and NI Regulations. Providing advice on payroll matters included in this SLA. Special Payments Interim or special payments to staff will be processed in accordance with internal procedures and only in exceptional circumstances. Emergency on account payments which have been made will be recovered from the next salary payment due. Overpayment Recovery Overpayments in relation to former and current employees to be processed and arrangement of repayments terms agreed. Repayment options available via monthly salary deduction or invoice issued via accounts recoverable. Payroll documentation All employees in receipt of a payment will be issued with a confidential payslip detailing gross and net pay, together with all additions and deductions made. Despatch of payslips will be by post to work address or post to home address only in exceptional circumstances. Issuing of end of year documentation, calculating and paying over of class 1A National Insurance where applicable. All current employees will be issued annually with a P60 and P11D Expenses and benefits return as necessary. Pension We will provide you with a pension service which includes the following: Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Advice and guidance Liaising with the Tyne & Wear Pension Scheme and Teeside Pension Fund and other service departments to resolve queries arising from the maintenance of member pension records. The provision of advice and support to the outside bodies contracted to the Authority on all matters relating to pensions. Adherence to the Pension Funds Statement of Understanding. The timely provision of data required by the Pensions Act 2008 regulations to comply with the rules of the Pension Regulator. Liaising and provision of advice/support as necessary with the service area, employees and the LGPS. Reports and documents provided Completion and reconciliation of year end data required for: Pension contributions. National insurance contributions. AVC contributions. Purchase of additional service/additional pension contributions. Calculation of average hours for members on PVH contracts.

4 The provision of data required by the pension fund Actuary in the triennial valuation of the scheme. The implementation of changes to pension scheme regulations ensuring that statutory changes are implemented in a timely manner. For example the Teachers scheme regulations Co-operation and active assistance in appeals through the pension scheme internal disputes resolution procedure in all 3 levels of dispute up to Pensions Ombudsman level. The supply and verification of data for statutory annual returns and the supply of data as requested by relevant Government bodies. Annual returns LGPS. Completing and forwarding pension documents relating to local government pensions staff to the relevant pension scheme administrator. Pensions processing Administering the schemes of premature retirement compensation for staff. Production and maintenance of the data required by the Tyne & Wear Pension Fund and Teeside Pension Fund for the administration/ calculation of members pension benefits within the time limits of the disclosure regulations in relation to: o Starters. o Leavers - including voluntary resignations, retirements, redundancies, ill health retirements and those on the grounds of business efficiency, all within the time limits of the disclosure regulations. o Changes. Data required by the Pensions Act 2008 (Auto Enrolment) regulations. Data required by the LGPS Regulations 2013 Maintenance and review of the various discretions required of each employer by the pension scheme regulations and the provision of information on the implementation of those discretions. Maintenance of all pension records and completion of pension calculations in accordance with the Regulations completed in a timely manner. The administration of member records for employees of all contracted customers Processing documentation to the relevant pensions agencies on retirements through age, redundancy and ill health for local government staff Processing the long term compensation scheme to all staff and liaise with government departments/pension scheme authorities as appropriate. Teacher s Pension (TP) Advice and guidance The provision of information on request on all matters relating to the pension scheme including statutory changes to pension scheme regulations. For example TPS 2015 changes. The provision of personal pension estimates to individuals and explanation of the statutory requirements of the various pensions scheme regulations. Compliance with statutory requirements and pension scheme changes and communication to scheme members. Liaising and provision of advice/support as necessary with the Local Authority Schools, staff and the Teachers Pensions Agency. Reports and documents provided Notification to the administrators of changes which will affect members retirement benefits. Completion of End of Year Certificate (EOYC) and the Teachers Pensions Annual Return in accordance with DFE timescales. The supply and verification of data to Schools/Academies for the completion of various statutory annual returns within specified timescales. Completion of TPA returns in respect of:- Part time elections and further employment.

5 Pensions processing The notification of new starters, changes to the Teachers Pension Scheme and the provision of statutory information required maintaining individual member records. The notification of leavers to the Teachers Pension Scheme and the provision of information to ensure that member s pension benefits are correct, including the calculation of pensionable pay and provision of other statutory information. Reconciliation and paying over of pension contributions. Ensuring that the provision of all information is in compliance with the timescales required by External Auditors and Teachers Pension Scheme. Presentation and approval of process to External Audit in respect of the TPS payments. Payment of short term pensions. Control, deduction and paying over of: Main pension Additional Pension Additional Voluntary contributions. Past added years TPS instruction Teachers Enhanced Pensions Note: This payment was made by the Tyne & Wear Pension fund on behalf of this Authority up to 31 March 2007 but it was deemed by HMRC to be an unauthorised payment and control of these payments was passed back to the original Authority. The payment is in relation to any additional pension which could have been granted to retiring teachers, a facility which is not allowed under the Teachers Pension Scheme and so must be paid locally. Administer the payment of all teachers enhanced pension payments. The maintenance of the personal files for all of these pensioners. The calculation and payment of survivor benefits where a pensioner dies and the maintenance of that record. Ensuring the full compliance of the various pension scheme regulations concerning the payment and recording of teachers pensions. Administration of Annual Pensions increase to Pensions. FMS/Accounting Accounting and costing data will be posted on the integrated SAP accounting system where applicable All deductions from Payroll and Pensions will be balanced to control accounts and payments made to relevant bodies together with detailed analysis of those deductions. Accounting and costing data reconciled to control totals, to ensure Payroll expenditure/income is accounted for. Bespoke arrangements for BACS payments and reconciliation reports will be discussed with the academy at the point of conversion. For Academies that do not use the Local Authority Finance service, all Payroll costs will be collected direct from the Academy bank account. Existing customers will be supported to transfer over to this payment method from 01/09/2015. Insurance/Indemnity The professional indemnity insurance is set at a limit of 1,000,000 in respect of the service. Disaster Recovery Plan Should payroll & pensions operations be disrupted for any reason we will provide you with a full service as possible. Payroll and Pensions maintain comprehensive contingency plans including second processing sites, multiple redundant servers and multiple backup options.

6 We will advise you should the payroll and pensions operations be disrupted to such an extent that there is likely to be an adverse effect to the service provided to you. Liaison and Communication With Customers We have developed close working relationships with Academies, Schools, HR Advice, and HR Administration, Finance, the HR Management Information Team & ICT and work in conjunction with these services to provide support, advice and information as and when requested. With Outside Bodies The Payroll & Pensions team will continue to liaise with the LGPS, TPS, Department of Work and Pensions, HMRC, on all matters affecting staff. The Payroll & Pensions team will also continue to communicate any matters raised by these Bodies directly with you. Payroll/Pension Enquiries The Payroll and Pensions function is available to answer any queries from you and any staff member during the following periods: Monday to Thursday Friday (Except Bank and Statutory Holidays) 8.30 a.m. to 5.15 p.m a.m. to 4.45 p.m. Delivery Sector Maintained/ Academy/ Voluntary Aided/ Free School You will have a nominated payroll point of contact. When changes occur, revised lists will be provided within 7 days. A list of officers and contact numbers within the team is kept up to date and made available to you. Cost of Services Maintained Schools Per SAP Personnel Number Academies Per SAP Personnel plus VAT The above figures are quoted for a 12 month period. Charges based on the number of staff at the beginning of the preceding academic year based on the number of individual personnel numbers. Academy conversions, personnel numbers will be assessed at the point of the academy conversion if academy status was not in place on 1 September. Charges are all inclusive to cover all of your normal payroll processing requirements. Additional charges may be levied if we undertake any non- standard processing task. We will agree any additional fees in advance with you.

7 Service Standards & How Good Performance Will be Measured Good performance will be measured against the following criteria: Sunderland City Council routinely monitors service area performance in statutory employment practice. There will be regular contact through nominated officers with service area groups, this framework will allow formal and informal communication to be maintained routinely. Urgent queries will be dealt within 24 hours. If the query requires liaison with other parties, the query will be dealt with as soon as reasonably practicable. All requests for payroll and pensions advice are dealt with promptly and within TEN working days. If the query requires liaison with other parties, the query will be dealt with as soon as reasonably practicable. The development and rollout of Connect (SharePoint) site dependent upon ICT infrastructure/organisational structure/terms and conditions and SLA to you. We aim to achieve 100% compliance with statutory deadlines for P11D, P60, FPS, EPS, and Pensions returns etc. We aim to achieve 100% application of pay awards to next available pay period (subject to 21 working days notification) Aim of 100% recovery of pay advances in next available pay period. Processing of all pay related information received within agreed deadlines on the next available payroll run. The payroll and pensions service will ensure confidentiality of all individuals pay/pension records, and will only release date where authorised, unless required by legislation. The payroll and pensions service will ensure compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, for all Payroll and Pensions information. We may obtain, use, process and disclose personal data about you in order that we may discharge the services agreed under this service level agreement. The following data will be reported as requested by you 1 Number and value of overpayments: i. Due to Payroll error. ii. Due to other error. 2 Number and value of manual payments: i. Due to Payroll error. ii. Due to other error. 3 Number of mortgage/ Letting enquiries received and actioned. 4 Number of court attachments, CSA, orders received and actioned. 5 Number of annual reports; P60 s, P11D s. 6 Provision of agreed information reports to customers. Monitoring and Evaluation Internal monitoring procedures to ensure uniform quality of advice and support. The Payroll and Pensions system and procedures will be audited by the Authority s Audit/Risk and Assurance Division. The Payroll and Pensions systems, procedures and records will be made available to any External Auditors who are authorised to have access. External Auditors Annual survey. Monthly statistics submitted to the Head of Service in respect of all payments processed within the monthly pay cycle, including the number of special payments processed outside the pay cycle and details of overpayments. School/Academy profile reports issued to you, which stipulates the contractual payments of all

8 employees. Feedback of services through Payroll/service area meetings/complaints/compliments or suggestions to improve the payroll/pension service. If at any time you would like to discuss with us how our service to you could be improved please let us know by contacting Tracy Potts, Operational Manager. Schools and Academies Responsibilities Schools and Academies have responsibilities incumbent on them to ensure adherence to the SLA, specifically: Maintaining all records as required by the Financial Regulations, Standing Orders, Health and Safety Orders, other statutory instruments. Roles and responsibilities under the Data protection Act are to be adhered to with the school/academy - data owner and the council who is the data processor ( Payroll and Pensions) Retaining such information, receipts and other documentation as is necessary to comply with statutory returns and to enable the service provider to fulfil its functions. All documentation to be returned to the Payroll & Pensions team within the required monthly payroll deadlines. Any documentation received outside of the monthly deadline cannot be guaranteed payment. All information you provide to the Payroll and Pensions function for action must be completed in the agreed format, using the correct documentation, for example InfoPath forms and SharePoint (Connect) site Incorrect/inaccurate documentation will be returned to you. We are unable to action queries until all issues are resolved and appropriate paperwork completed correctly. To comply with the development and rollout of Connect (SharePoint) site if the ICT infrastructure is applicable. To comply with the introduction of InfoPath forms and electronic submission of data with a secure address. You must nominate a contact point and provision of an authorised signatory list with updates where necessary. Timely notification of any faults or errors in data or other documentation. You should carry out your own review of the payroll monthly reports to ensure they are accurate. Examples of specific checks we recommend are; All starters and leavers have been dealt with correctly The total value of payments is in line with your normal wages and salaries for the period involved Making access available to data information, doctor s sick notes and all records for the Payroll & Pensions team staff. You must supply the payroll & pensions team any local conditions of services and local grade/pay rates which you wish to be implemented prior to the commencement date. We require notification 3 calendar months prior to commencement date to allow the investigation of configuration requirements which are to be taken into account by the SAP Service Team. Additional functions are available for purchase on an as required basis. In order to access cover for tribunal costs and other litigation, e.g. Equal Pay Claims, it is imperative that you follow the advice offered by Sunderland City Council as appropriate. Schools/Academies not heeding appropriate advice would be liable for costs awarded against them and/or the City Council. The School/Academy must ensure that it: Sets aside sufficient provision within its budget to meet legal costs and any award made against it, or Ensures that in procuring HR Advice services provision from elsewhere, the provider will cover legal costs and awards made against the School/Academy and/or the City Council. Schools/Academies not procuring the councils financial services must ensure that provision is made for the auditing of statutory returns as required (End of Year Certificates etc).

9 Compliments/Complaints/Disputes If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service you have received the complaints procedure at the back of this booklet should be followed. We undertake to look into any complaint carefully and promptly to do all we can to explain the position to you. Every effort will be made to resolve disputes quickly and effectively.