Overview
The Payroll Specialist is a key member of the Finance or Human Resources team, responsible for the accurate, timely, and compliant processing of multi-provincial, bi-
weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly payrolls for all bank employees. This role ensures the quality and integrity of payroll data, adheres to all federal and provincial labor standards, and acts as a primary point of contact for employee pay inquiries.
Key Responsibilities
Payroll Processing and Administration
• Process full-cycle payroll, including accurate calculation of wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and severance for unionized and non-unionized staff.
• Manage all payroll-related deductions, including federal/provincial income taxes, employment insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), benefits, garnishments,
and retirement contributions.
• Oversee timekeeping management, ensuring hours worked, sick leave, and vacation time are accurately tracked and entered into the payroll system (e.g., ADP
Workforce Now or SAP).
• Process new hires, terminations, and employee transfers, including preparing and submitting Records of Employment (ROEs) to Service Canada.
• Prepare and process various payments and remittances, including third-party remittances, union dues, WCB/WSIB, and EHT.
Compliance and Reconciliation
• Ensure full compliance with Canadian Payroll legislation, policies, and procedures across all provinces, including the Income Tax Act, Employment Standards Act
(ESA), and Canada Labor Code.
• Perform internal accounting functions, including conducting account and bank reconciliations and preparing general ledger entries for payroll.
• Assist with month-end, quarter-end, and year-end closing activities, including balancing and validation of reports and preparing year-end statements (e.g., T4s).
• Conduct regular audits of payroll records to maintain data accuracy and integrity.
Employee Support and System Management
• Investigate and resolve payroll discrepancies and errors promptly, maintaining confidentiality of all employee and financial data.
• Respond to and resolve internal and external payroll inquiries from employees, management, and agencies in a professional and timely manner.
• Participate in testing and implementation of payroll system upgrades, new releases, and new functionality (e.g., SAP, Workday, Oracle HCM).
• Document and update payroll workflows and procedures to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the payroll section.
Qualifications
• Education: Post-secondary degree or diploma in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Experience: Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in a full-cycle payroll administration or specialist role, ideally within the financial services or banking sector.
• Technical Skills: Advanced proficiency in MS Office Suite, particularly Excel (including VLOOKUPs and Pivot Tables). Experience with major HR/Payroll systems (e.g., ADP Workforce Now, Ceridian, SAP, Workday).
• Soft Skills: Strong attention to detail, exceptional analytical skills, and superior interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-
paced, deadline-driven environment.
Salary: $65-70,000 annually