Payroll Skills Test

Learn more about our Payroll skills test

Payroll is arguably one of the most important roles in any business. After all, we all need to get paid at the end of the month!

Whilst the rest of us await our monthly paycheque, payroll administrators work hard to ensure that our employee wages are calculated accurately, paid on time and that all the necessary deductions are made.

As even the smallest of payroll errors can result in costly HMRC penalties for businesses, the pressure is well and truly on for payroll specialists to perform at the highest level of competency and put their knowledge of payroll processes into practice consistently and effectively. For this reason, finding the right employees for the job is absolutely essential.

Luckily, with our quick and easy payroll skills test you can find your next ideal payroll professional in no time.

What is the Payroll Skills Test?

As part of our Accounting and Finance module, our payroll skills test is designed to assess an individual’s knowledge of essential payroll systems. These include calculating employee pay, determining monthly wage deductions (such as tax, pension, National Insurance and student loans) and accurately identifying errors in employees' payslips.

Candidates have an opportunity to put their payroll skills and knowledge into practice by answering a series of multiple-choice, freehand response, true or false and/or ranking questions. Candidates are allocated 15 minutes to complete the series of 25 questions. Their answers are automatically marked and a point is awarded for each correctly answered question. Incorrect answers and skipped questions will result in no point being awarded.

Practice test available
Randomised presentation
15 minutes available

12 minutes average completion time
25 questions presented
25 questions in pool

Who is the Payroll Skills Test Aimed at?

If your business has employees, it also needs a payroll specialist. Our payroll skills test can be used both at a pre-employment stage with job candidates or for your existing payroll employees.

Employers or hiring managers may wish to use our payroll quiz to sift through and narrow down their candidate pool based on the number of correct answers given to the test questions. This allows an employer to whittle down their list of candidates and number of required job interviews for a payroll position to only the best, most knowledgeable individuals.

Moreover, employers may wish to utilise our payroll test as a form of on-the-job employee training and development. Payroll employees can answer the questions on the exam throughout the duration of their employment to practice their skills and keep their knowledge regularly updated.

Skills Assessed

Candidates have 15 minutes to answer 25 questions. Each question covers essential practical and theoretical knowledge.

01 Compliance Regulations: Perhaps the most fundamental requirement of any payroll position is to have a thorough, competent and up-to-date knowledge of current payroll systems and regulations in order to remain compliant and avoid HMRC penalties. Our payroll test assesses knowledge of a wide range of compliance regulations (including performing accurate salary deductions such as tax, pension, student loan and National Insurance), calculating statutory sick pay, PAYE, documenting payslips and more.
02 Problem-solving: When the payroll process is done manually, there can be errors. To avoid HMRC penalties (and unhappy employees!) it is vital to detect these before anyone else does and resolve them efficiently and appropriately. By testing your candidates' knowledge of a range of compliance regulations, our exam measures how well your candidate can competently spot and handle errors in deductions (etc.) and ensure an accurate payroll month after month.
03 Mathematical Skills: The ability to process accurate payroll requires competency in mathematical skills. From determining an employee's gross wages after sick leave to calculating tax and National Insurance contributions, your payroll specialist needs to have a firm grasp on all things numbers. Luckily, through a wide variety of question styles, our payroll test gives you a reliable answer as to whether your candidate possesses key arithmetic

Why Use a Payroll Skills Test

Save Time, Money and Resources: By using our payroll exam as part of your pre-hire procedure, you can make smarter, more informed hiring decisions by using the number of correct answers provided on the test to find, interview and recruit the most skilled and knowledgeable payroll professionals. Not only will this prevent time, money and resources from being lost due to unsuccessful hires, but by hiring the best you also reduce the likelihood of time-consuming and costly payroll errors. Moreover, by using our payroll quiz, you can save money by avoiding outsourcing to expensive third-party payroll specialists or software.
Boost Employee Morale: No one likes to open up their monthly payslip to be met with a series of irritating errors or confusing changes in their pay. Ensure that your team's wages are paid on time and reap the benefits of a happy, satisfied workforce.
Maintain Employer Reputation: Errors in payroll - accidental or not - can lead to HMRC issuing penalties on your company that are not only costly but embarrassing and damaging to your business' reputation. By investing some time, money and resources into identifying and recruiting the most skilled payroll candidates using a skills test such as ours, you can potentially save yourself a significant amount of trouble and reputational damage in the future.