Nursery payroll
Payroll Services for Nurseries and Childcare Providers
Reliable payroll for day nurseries, pre-schools and childcare settings, from £2.50 + VAT per payslip.
Cardiff-based payroll bureau. Serving employers across the UK.
- Since 2011
- 500+ clients
- 5.0 on Google (16 reviews)
- ICO registered
- Hiscox insured
Nursery payroll looks straightforward until term-time contracts, apprentices and constant changes to hours are added in. Payroll Service (UK) Ltd is a Cardiff payroll bureau that has run payroll for UK employers since 2011. You tell us what has changed, we get the calculations right and handle HMRC, payslips and pensions, so your managers can spend their time in the setting, not on spreadsheets.
Why nursery payroll is different
Day nurseries, pre-schools and other childcare providers share a set of payroll challenges that are easy to get wrong.
Term-time and part-year staff
Staff who work term time only, with unpaid weeks during the year, are part-year workers. For leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024, their holiday can be calculated at 12.07% of hours worked, and rolled-up holiday pay is permitted. The method you choose has to be applied consistently.
Apprentices and age bands
From 1 April 2026 the apprentice rate is £8.00 an hour for apprentices under 19, or 19 and over in their first year. After that they move to the rate for their age: £8.00 under 18, £10.85 for 18 to 20, and £12.71 (National Living Wage) for 21 and over. Birthdays and apprenticeship anniversaries change pay.
High part-time headcount
Many nursery staff work part-time or on small contracts, so you can have a large headcount for the hours worked. Every employee needs a correct payslip, tax code and pension assessment, whatever their hours.
Funded hours change staffing
When funded places and take-up change, so do rotas, contracted hours and extra sessions. Payroll has to keep up with contract changes and additional hours every month.
Cover and extra hours
Keeping ratios means bank staff, overtime and staff covering other rooms or settings. Extra hours need paying at the right rate and showing clearly on payslips.
Statutory family pay
A workforce with many younger employees often means regular maternity, paternity and shared parental leave. SMP, SPP and ShPP need calculating correctly and reclaiming through your EPS.
What we handle for you
Everything a nursery or childcare provider needs from a payroll bureau, run by a named team in Cardiff.
- Weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly and monthly pay runs
- Holiday pay calculations, including for term-time and part-year staff
- Apprentice and age-band pay rates, using the dates of birth and apprenticeship start dates you give us
- PAYE, National Insurance and student loan deductions
- RTI submissions to HMRC (FPS and EPS) every pay run
- Secure online payslips for every employee
- Starters, leavers and P45s, at no extra charge
- Pension auto-enrolment: assessment, enrolment, re-enrolment and contribution files for NEST, Smart Pension, People’s Pension and others
- Statutory pay: SSP, SMP, SPP and ShPP
- Attachment of earnings orders
- P60s and year end
- Payroll journals and reports for your bookkeeping
- A payment report so you stay in control of paying staff
How it works
Four steps, then the same simple routine every pay run.
Send us your details
Your employees, pay rates and pay frequencies, PAYE reference and pension scheme. Switching mid-year? We bring your year-to-date figures across.
Set up within 24 hours
Your payroll is set up within 24 hours of us receiving the information. We take over from any payroll software or provider.
Send hours each pay run
Send us contracted hours changes, extra sessions, cover, absence and any starters or leavers.
We process and report
We calculate pay, submit RTI to HMRC, deliver payslips and send you the payment report. You pay your staff; we handle the pension submission.
Simple per-payslip pricing
One price per payslip, so a large part-time team stays affordable.
- No setup fee and no contracts
- No extra charges for starters, leavers, P45s, P60s or year end
- Pension auto-enrolment included in the per-payslip price
★★★★★
“We have used Payroll Service for over 10 years… Nothing is too much trouble.”
We run payroll for employers in every sector. Nurseries and childcare providers are among the businesses that benefit most from a specialist, because of term-time contracts, apprentices and frequent changes to hours. See all our payroll services or read how we work as a UK payroll bureau.
Nursery payroll questions
How do you handle holiday pay for term-time staff?
We calculate holiday pay using the method you have agreed with your staff. For part-year workers in leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024 that can be accrual at 12.07% of hours worked, or rolled-up holiday pay paid with each payslip. Which method you use is your decision; we apply it consistently every pay run.
Can you keep apprentice and age-band pay rates up to date?
Yes. We record each employee’s date of birth (it is needed for RTI anyway) and, for apprentices, the start date you give us, and we apply the rates you confirm. Decisions on pay rates remain yours.
Our staff hours change when funded places change. Is that a problem?
No. Send us the new contracted hours and any extra sessions each pay run and we update payroll to match. Frequent changes do not cost extra.
Do you handle maternity and paternity pay?
Yes. We calculate SMP, SPP and ShPP, show them on payslips and include the amounts you can recover on your EPS to HMRC.
Do you look after nursery staff pensions?
Yes. Auto-enrolment assessment, enrolment, re-enrolment and pension contribution files are included in the per-payslip price.
Can you take over from our current payroll provider mid-year?
Yes. We take over from any payroll software or provider, at any point in the tax year, and bring your year-to-date figures across. Setup is within 24 hours of receiving the information.
Payroll your nursery team can rely on
Tell us how many staff you pay and how often, and we will send you a clear per-payslip quote.