Payroll Accountant & HR Administrator

Location: Sandton

An established organisation is seeking an experienced Payroll Accountant & HR Administrator to join its Head Office team.

This is an excellent opportunity for a highly accurate, numerically strong payroll professional who combines hands-on payroll expertise with solid finance/accounting experience and HR administration capabilities.

The successful candidate will play a key role in reviewing monthly payroll, investigating variances, performing payroll-to-General Ledger reconciliations, managing payroll accounting entries and supporting statutory compliance, while also providing comprehensive HR administrative support.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll & Accounting

• Review monthly payroll accurately and within required deadlines.
• Investigate payroll variances and identify reasons for discrepancies.
• Perform first-level payroll checks prior to final management sign-off.
• Conduct first reviews of monthly EMP201 returns.
• Assist with EMP501 reconciliations and submissions where required.
• Reconcile payroll to the General Ledger and investigate discrepancies.
• Prepare payroll journals and related accounting entries.
• Review and approve payroll journals and cost allocations.
• Review and approve employee and third-party payments.
• Prepare payroll reports and schedules for management and financial reporting.
• Assist with month-end and year-end accounting procedures.
• Provide supporting documentation during financial and payroll audits.
• Respond to salary-related queries from site management.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of payroll, employee and financial information.

HR Administration

• Maintain accurate and confidential employee personnel records.
• Prepare employment packages, salary adjustment documentation, confirmation letters and other HR documentation.
• Assist with employee onboarding and offboarding.
• Provide recruitment administration support.
• Maintain accurate employee information across HR systems and masterfiles.
• Assist with employee benefits, medical aid and provident fund administration where applicable.
• Assist with monthly, quarterly and annual HR reporting.
• Prepare information for Scorecard audits and annual Employment Equity submissions.
• Provide general employee and HR administrative support.
• Ensure HR records and processes comply with company policies and applicable legislation.

Payroll & Legislative Compliance

• Ensure payroll calculations comply with applicable requirements.
• Assist with EMP201 and EMP501 submissions and reconciliations.
• Ensure compliance with PAYE, UIF, SDL and SARS payroll requirements.
• Apply relevant provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) and other applicable employment legislation.
• Maintain accurate payroll, HR and statutory records.
• Assist with compliance audits and inspections.
• Ensure employee information is handled with appropriate confidentiality.

Minimum Requirements

• Diploma, Degree or equivalent qualification in Accounting, Finance, Payroll, Human Resources or a related field.
• 5–10 years' experience in Payroll and HR Administration.
• Minimum 5 years' Finance/Accounting experience.
• Practical, hands-on payroll processing experience.
• Strong experience with payroll reconciliations and payroll accounting.
• Knowledge of PAYE, UIF, SDL and SARS payroll requirements.
• Experience with EMP201 and EMP501 processes.
• Good understanding of South African employment legislation.
• Knowledge of African employment legislation would be advantageous but is not essential.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills.
• Experience working with payroll and/or accounting software.
• Strong numerical and reconciliation capabilities.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Payroll processing and review
• Payroll-to-General Ledger reconciliations
• Payroll journals and accounting entries
• PAYE, UIF and SDL
• SARS compliance
• EMP201 and EMP501
• HR administration
• Employee records management
• Strong Excel capability
• Excellent numerical ability
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy
• Problem-solving skills
• Strong time management
• Ability to work under pressure and meet strict payroll deadlines
• Professional communication and interpersonal skills
• High levels of confidentiality and integrity

The Ideal Candidate

You are a detail-driven payroll professional who understands that payroll is about far more than simply processing salaries. You are comfortable reviewing payroll, interrogating variances, reconciling payroll to the General Ledger, working with journals and statutory submissions, and ensuring that every figure can be accounted for.

At the same time, you are comfortable supporting the broader HR function and dealing professionally with confidential employee information.

If you have strong Payroll + Accounting + HR Administration experience and enjoy working in a deadline-driven environment where accuracy is critical, we would like to hear from you.