As operations leaders in fast-paced startups, we often juggle multiple responsibilities, and a significant one is paying our team — a task typically overseen by HR and People Ops.
Before our companies grow to the point where we can fire ourselves from this role and hire a full-time Head of Ops, we want to do a decent job at:
- Timely and accurate team compensation
- Adhering to diverse regulatory standards
- Streamlining these processes for efficiency
- Ensuring scalability to match our company's growth
We ran a webinar, diving into all of the above hosted by our community member Sabrina Castiglione, COO at Pento (our long-standing community partner).
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Our Guest Speaker
Sabrina Castiglione
Sabrina is Pento's first Chief Operating Officer - running G&A functions and driving operational excellence across the company. She's also known for her unique approach and achievements as CFO at Tessian.
Pento combines the best of payroll software with best-in-class support. With Pento, get a strong payroll automation platform, with all the perks of a bureau in the form of CIPP-qualified expert support.
Sabrina has been part of the ON community for a number of years, and we are so grateful for her to share her knowledge with us all on such a valuable topic. If you have any questions about the webinar content, or Pento please reach out to Sabrina on LinkedIn.
Event Recording and Slides
You can watch the recording of this event (and our previous events) on our YouTube channel here:
Event Summary
Please note that this summary has been written by ChatGPT summarizing the event transcript.
Key Takeaways:
- Payroll Complexity: Payroll involves various complexities, including apprenticeship levy, statutory payments, and special rules for different worker types.
- Outsourcing Efficiency: Outsourcing and using payment software can streamline payroll processes and ensure compliance.
- Apprenticeship Levy Utilization: The apprenticeship levy can be utilized to fund apprentices if budgeting hasn't been planned for it.
- Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay: Employers can reclaim 92 percent of statutory maternity and paternity pay, excluding enhanced payments.
- Scalability Challenges: Growing companies face challenges in scaling payroll operations, requiring efficient processes and tools for automation.
- Evolution of Payroll Responsibilities: Payroll responsibilities evolve within a company, transitioning from founder or generalist control to dedicated roles in HR and finance.
- Investment Considerations: Payroll may not be a CFO's primary investment choice, and the need to balance investment in systems and processes is crucial.
- International Contractor Challenges: Hiring international contractors through EOR models poses challenges, emphasizing the need for selectivity and understanding local implications.
- IR35 Clarification: Payrolling is necessary for inside IR35 contractors, and this does not apply to contractors outside IR35.
- Career Growth Strategies: Operations managers transitioning from generalists to specialists should focus on demonstrating skills before seeking recognition, with options including Chief of Staff or business operations roles.
Additional Key Takeaways:
- Zero-Hour Worker Holiday Entitlement: Even zero-hour workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of holiday per year, with special rules for calculating their holiday payments.
- Use of Systems for Scalability: Alongside sophisticated platforms, homegrown automations using tools like Zapier and Google Sheets can effectively scale payroll operations.
- Responsibility for Permanent Establishment: Companies hiring internationally should be aware of the concept of permanent establishment, which may lead to tax obligations in certain countries.
- Balancing Investment in Payroll: CFOs often prioritize investments in R&D or sales over payroll, making it essential to find a balance between payroll and other business functions.
- Pride in Firing Yourself: Career generalists should take pride in contributing to a company's growth, even if it means working themselves out of a job, as it signifies success and progress.
