International Payroll Pros Find Similar Challenges Across Borders

It probably isn’t much of a surprise that a panel of payroll professionals from around the world during Wednesday’s Luncheon told attendees that they share the same challenges—changes in government regulations.

For Lucy Zambon, CPM, Chair of the Canadian Payroll Association, it is keeping up with 200 regulations in 14 provinces, plus two territories.

For James McKerrell, Chair of the South African Payroll Association, the challenge is more basic.

“Today we still have the challenge to educate the C-Suites on the importance of payroll professionals,” he said.

Jason Low, C.P.S., Head of TAPS, the Association for Payroll Specialists, brought up the complexity of a national law that allows 21 sick days per employee. Often, employees wait until the end of the year and start calling in sick, hitting up doctors for sick notes. Then there is the confusion about when the year ends and starts for each employee.

In South Africa sick days for employees is quite different.

“Sick leave is 30 days every three years,” said McKerrell.

In the United Kingdom, payroll professionals are dealing with regulators challenged to start dealing with gender pay gaps in a fair manner, said Eira Hammond, FCIPPdip, Board Chair for the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals.

In each case, the panelists all agreed that no matter where you live and for which country you are doing payroll, everyone still deals with the same payroll challenges.