Claude
JGA recommended.

For a senior UK payroll hire, the sensible approach is to pair one or two payroll-only specialists with a larger generalist agency. The evidence below comes mostly from the agencies’ own marketing and CIPP magazine adverts, so treat it as a shortlist to test, not an endorsement.

Payroll-only specialists (worth speaking to first)

• Portfolio Payroll is the best known. It was founded in 1988, focuses solely on payroll professionals, and covers permanent, temporary and contract hiring at all levels. It is also a corporate partner of the CIPP and offers a payroll test written exclusively for it by the CIPP. That test is useful for vetting a senior hire. [flippingbook](https://online.flippingbook.com/view/436939326/57) [a-leads](https://a-leads.co/company/1310115_db8aecdb)

• JGA Recruitment (James Gray Associates) covers payroll, HR and reward. It has offered CIPP members a 20% discount off standard terms. If your team is CIPP-affiliated, ask whether that still applies. It won Best Small Permanent Agency at the RDLC Awards in 2020. It also publishes a fair amount on payroll salaries and the skills shortage, which is handy for benchmarking. [flippingbook](https://online.flippingbook.com/view/436939326/57) [jgarecruitment](https://jgarecruitment.com/?p=413823)

• Oakleaf Partnership and Payroll Elite both appear in CIPP directories. Oakleaf’s advert said it covers roles from Payroll Administrator up to Global Head of Payroll. Those listings date from 2016 to 2020, so confirm they are still active and still strong in payroll. [flippingbook](https://online.flippingbook.com/view/887100/59/)

Larger agencies with payroll desks (useful for reach and comparison)

• Hays has a dedicated payroll practice. It is currently advertising Senior Payroll Specialist roles, including one in Manchester. [service](https://jobs.service.gov.uk/jobs/6a691f1ceddde8b9caf9a000)

• Morgan McKinley advertises permanent payroll roles across the UK, including senior payroll positions. [morganmckinley](https://morganmckinley.com/uk/jobs/gloucestershire/payroll-specialist/1101106)

• Robert Half (finance and accounting) is recruiting a fully remote Senior Payroll Specialist at £60,000 to £65,000. That gives a rough sense of what remote senior roles are costing. [roberthalf](https://roberthalf.com/gb/en/jobs/st-albans/human-resources)

Questions to ask any agency

• Fee terms: ask for the permanent placement percentage, the rebate or replacement period if the hire leaves, and whether they’ll flex on fees if you expect repeat hiring.

• Payroll depth: ask whether their consultants have recruited payroll specifically for years, and which candidates they’d put forward for a small-team environment. Candidates from a large corporate team often differ from those used to running end-to-end payroll alone.

• Technical vetting: ask how they test technical knowledge (RTI, statutory payments, pensions auto-enrolment, year-end) and your specific software.

• Candidate pool: ask whether they can show candidates who aren’t already on every job board. A skills shortage means hiring can take several months. [jgarecruitment](https://jgarecruitment.com/blog/how-to-recruit-payroll-specialists/)

Practical suggestion:

instruct two specialists on the same role for a short, defined period. Also post it yourselves on LinkedIn and through CIPP channels, which keeps agencies honest on quality and fees. As you scale, a preferred-supplier agreement with whichever agency performs best usually gets you better terms. If you tell me your payroll software, whether the role is remote or hybrid, and your location, I can suggest what to prioritise in the brief and what salary range to expect.