Payroll Officer

Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE Reporting To: HR Lead Job Summary The Payroll Officer is responsible for the accurate, timely, and confidential processing of end-to-end monthly payroll activities for employees across the organization. The role ensures compliance with company policies, UAE labour legislation, payroll regulations, pension and statutory requirements, while maintaining high standards of data integrity and payroll governance. The Payroll Officer will work closely with HR, Finance, and employees to administer payroll transactions, maintain employee payroll records, process salary adjustments and final settlements, resolve payroll queries, support payroll audits, and contribute to payroll process improvements and automation initiatives. Key Responsibilities Policy, Procedures, Process & Systems - Ensure payroll activities are conducted in accordance with company policies, procedures, and applicable labour and statutory requirements. - Maintain confidentiality and security of employee payroll and personal information. - Ensure payroll processes and controls are consistently applied across the organization. - Support the development, review, and improvement of payroll procedures and guidelines. - Ensure payroll records and employee information are accurately maintained in the HR/payroll system. - Support the implementation and enhancement of payroll systems and processes Payroll Processing & Administration - Prepare and process monthly payroll accurately and within established deadlines. - Review and validate payroll inputs including basic salary, allowances, overtime, deductions, bonuses, commissions, leave, absences, and other employee payments. - Process employee salary adjustments, promotions, transfers, increments, and other payroll related changes. - Ensure appropriate authorization and supporting documentation is obtained for payroll adjustments. - Maintain accurate payroll records and documentation. Payroll Management & Compliance - Ensure payroll is processed accurately, efficiently, and in accordance with applicable legislation and company requirements. - Maintain awareness of changes in labour laws, payroll regulations, social insurance requirements, and statutory deductions. - Ensure legal deductions and employee contributions are correctly calculated and processed. - Support compliance with applicable government payroll requirements. - Assist with payroll-related audits and provide supporting documentation when required. - Identify payroll risks, discrepancies, and control weaknesses and recommend corrective actions. Employee Data & Payroll Inputs - Maintain accurate employee master data within the payroll/HR system. - Verify new joiners, employee transfers, salary changes, promotions, terminations, and other personnel changes. - Coordinate with HR to ensure employee information is updated accurately and on time. - Review attendance, overtime, leave, unpaid leave, and absence records before payroll cut-off. - Validate payroll-related employee documentation and approvals. - Maintain appropriate records of payroll changes and adjustments. Benefits, Deductions & Allowances - Process employee allowances, deductions, loans, advances, reimbursements, and other payroll components. - Ensure deductions are correctly calculated and supported by appropriate approvals. - Monitor employee loans, salary advances, and other recoverable amounts. - Reconcile payroll deductions and benefits against relevant records. Final Settlement & Employee Separation - Prepare employee final settlements in accordance with company policies and applicable labor requirements. - Calculate salary, accrued leave, deductions, benefits, and other applicable payments upon employee separation. - Ensure all required payroll documentation is completed and retained. Payroll Reconciliation & Reporting - Reconcile payroll reports against HR records, attendance data, and Finance records. - Investigate and resolve payroll discrepancies. - Prepare monthly payroll reports and management information as required. - Support payroll-related financial reporting and month-end activities. - Maintain accurate payroll records and audit trails. - Generate payroll analytics and reports relating to headcount, salary costs, overtime, deductions, and other payroll metrics. Finance Support - Provide support to Finance with employee-related administrative and transactional process as required. - Assist with reporting, reconciliations, accruals and other financial and administrative activities across the HR and Finance functions. - Provide ad hoc operational support to the Finance team as required by management. Employee Support & Query Management - Investigate salary discrepancies and provide appropriate explanations and resolutions. - Support employees with payroll-related documentation, salary certificates, and other required documents. - Maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive employee information. - Escalate complex payroll issues to HR/Finance management when required. Payroll Systems & Continuous Improvement - Maintain and update payroll information within the HRIS/payroll system. - Participate in payroll system testing, upgrades, and implementation activities. - Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, controls, and efficiency. - Support automation and digitization of payroll activities where applicable. - Ensure payroll data integrity and accuracy across systems. Payroll Performance Management - Support the timely completion of monthly payroll activities in line with established payroll calendars. - Monitor payroll accuracy and identify recurring errors or discrepancies. - Track payroll queries and resolution timelines. - Prepare periodic payroll reports for HR and Finance management. Audit & Internal Controls - Maintain appropriate payroll controls to minimize errors, fraud, and unauthorized payments. - Support internal and external payroll audits. - Provide payroll documentation and reports requested by auditors. - Ensure appropriate segregation of duties and approval controls are followed. Key Requirements - Bachelor's degree or diploma in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related discipline. - Minimum 3–5 years of relevant payroll experience, preferably in a medium-to-large organization. - Strong experience in end-to-end monthly payroll processing. - Experience with payroll systems/HRIS and Microsoft Excel. - Good understanding of payroll calculations, deductions, overtime, leave, benefits, and final settlements. - Payroll certification or relevant professional qualification. - Experience working with SAP, Oracle, Workday, ADP, PeopleSoft, or other HRIS/payroll systems. - Advanced Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, formulas, and data reconciliation. - Experience in payroll within a large corporate, industrial, construction, energy, or multinational environment. - Knowledge of UAE payroll and labour regulations. - Experience with social insurance/pension contributions, gratuity, leave salary, and employee final settlements, where applicable. - Experience supporting payroll audits and internal controls.