Elaine is the Manager of our Payroll Bureau (GH Payscheme), which provides a dedicated outsourced payroll and pay advice service to businesses across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. Her expertise spans all elements of the payroll function and, alongside her team of knowledgeable professionals, she is always on hand to assist with any payroll query you may have.
Q1. Describe yourself in three words?
Conscientious, Loyal, Quirky.
Q2. Aside from being brilliant at all thing’s payroll, the payroll team are infamous for their amazing baking skills – what’s your favourite thing to bake? (or alternatively, your favourite cake to eat?)
My favourite thing to bake has to be Hedgehog cake and I often provide one of those for our office cake sales (it always seems to go down well)! When it comes to eating cake, my favourite has to be Carrot!
Q3. Describe George Hay in one word?
Dependable.
Q4. This month, our 80th anniversary celebrations have continued with donations of books to local charities – what was the last book you read/what are you currently reading?
I tend to read more on holiday than I do day-to-day, but the last book I read was ‘Me Before You’ by JoJo Moyes and I’m currently reading (on my daughters’ recommendation) ‘The Trouble with Goats and Sheep’ by Joanna Cannon.
Q5. In the spirit of ‘Spring’ – do you have a favourite flower?
Definitely Daffodils!
Q6. Name some things we’d find at the top of your Bucket List?
- Hot Air Balloon ride
- I’d love to experience a stay at Giraffe Manor in Kenya – having been sent lots of photos when my daughter stayed, it’s definitely something I’ve wanted to tick off ever since!
- Sticking with the animal theme – I’d love to observe Elephants at a watering hole.
- A visit to Table Mountain!
Q7. If you could do any other job in the world, for just one day, what would it be?
I once would have said that I would love to be a Fashion Designer, but over the years as my priorities have changed, I think I’d now love to run a Dog Sanctuary.
Q8. Next month, you’ll celebrate 20 years working for George Hay! (congratulations!) What have you enjoyed about working for George Hay/can you tell us about any of your career highlights?
I still can’t quite believe that it’s been 20 years! In terms of career highlights, I’m extremely proud of the work that we did with our clients to ensure that they were prepared for Auto-Enrolment and the work that we continue to do, to ensure that they remain compliant and carry on fulfilling their duties as employers.
It’s been great to watch the payroll team grow and develop in that time too – I am fortunate to work with a team of people who are passionate about payroll and who enjoy all the challenges that come with it!
Q9. For those businesses who may not have considered outsourcing their payroll function – can you give us a couple of key benefits of doing so?
- When it comes to preparing payroll, confidentiality is a key concern for businesses because of the sensitive nature of the information that is being processed. With extremely high-levels of data security in place and a sound disaster recovery plan, we can guarantee confidentiality and continuity at all times.
- As a business owner and employer, paying your staff correctly and on time is of paramount importance. Outsourcing to a team of experienced professionals means you can focus your efforts elsewhere within the business and rest assured that your staff will be paid accurately and efficiently.
- Payroll legislation is always changing and keeping up-to-date in order to remain compliant can be a challenge. With the latest technology we ensure our clients are always compliant with the latest regulations and statutory requirements.
Q10. Eat out or takeaway? (& which cuisine)
I’d choose dining out every time and it would have to be Mediterranean cuisine!
