Faster payments provide a way for an individual to receive pay outside of the standard payroll cycle. Organisations may request a faster payment for a range of reasons, including situations where an individual has been underpaid or has not received their expected pay.
Faster payments help ensure that individuals receive the correct pay or any outstanding amount as quickly as possible. HR Shared Services (HRSS) cannot authorise a faster payment on behalf of the customer organisation; approval must come from the organisation itself, as some payroll providers may apply a charge for processing these payments.
The method used for processing a faster payment depends on the urgency of the request. For non urgent situations, a BACS payment can be arranged on the next available run, which may take up to five days to process because payroll typically completes one BACS run each week. Urgent faster payments can be processed on the same day. This option is generally used when an individual has not been paid at all, for example, when an employee returns from sickness absence or maternity leave. Same day faster payments can be issued any day of the week, with the funds reaching the individual’s bank account that same day.
Further Guidance
Approval for a faster payment must be provided via email or Trac communications from an authorised NHSE employee.
Once HR Shared Services (HRSS) receives the faster payment request and the approval, the Query Team will check whether the candidate has been hired in ESR.
- If the candidate has been hired in ESR, the faster payment request and approval will be sent directly to the NHSE Workforce Team, who will arrange the faster payment.
- If the candidate has not been hired in ESR, the request will be passed to the HRSS Recruitment Team, who will ensure that the Candidate Enrolment Form (CEF) has been generated. The completed forms and approval will then be forwarded to the NHSE Workforce Team, who will arrange the faster payment.