Our customer is seeking a detail-oriented and highly organized Payroll Clerk to support payroll operations within a unionized environment consisting primarily of salaried employees. The Payroll Clerk is responsible for the accurate and timely processing of payroll, maintaining payroll records, ensuring compliance with collective agreements, and administering payroll-related reporting and deductions. The ideal candidate will have experience navigating payroll in a structured environment, interpreting union agreements, and maintaining a high degree of confidentiality and accuracy.
Key Responsibilities
- Process accurate and timely bi-weekly payroll for a primarily salaried workforce within a unionized environment – roughly 200 employees
- Review, audit, and verify payroll information including salary adjustments, attendance, vacation, leaves of absence, overtime, premiums, bonuses, and benefit deductions
- Interpret and apply collective agreement provisions related to pay practices, union dues, premiums, vacation entitlements, statutory holiday pay, and leaves
- Maintain and update employee payroll records including new hires, transfers, promotions, salary increases, terminations, pension changes, and benefit updates
- Process payroll deductions including taxes, union dues, pensions, garnishments, benefits, RRSP contributions, and other voluntary deductions
- Ensure payroll compliance with applicable employment standards, payroll legislation, tax regulations, and collective bargaining agreements
- Prepare and process Records of Employment (ROEs)
- Reconcile payroll reports, earnings, deductions, and payroll-related general ledger entries
- Partner with Human Resources, Finance, and leadership teams to ensure accurate employee data and payroll changes are captured and processed
- Respond to employee payroll inquiries regarding salary, deductions, vacation balances, benefits, pension contributions, and payroll discrepancies in a professional and confidential manner
- Support payroll audits and maintain accurate payroll documentation and records for compliance purposes
- Maintain strict confidentiality of employee compensation and personal information
Qualifications
- Diploma or certificate in Payroll Administration, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field preferred
- Minimum three (3) years of direct payroll experience, preferably in a unionized manufacturing, industrial, municipal, or corporate environment
- Experience processing payroll for a predominantly salaried employee population
- Strong understanding of payroll legislation, tax regulations, employment standards, and payroll compliance in Canada
- Experience interpreting and applying collective agreements and union payroll provisions
- Familiarity with pension administration, benefit deductions, and union dues processing
- Experience using payroll systems such as Ceridian/Dayforce, ADP, or similar ERP/payroll platforms
- Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and payroll reporting