Developing the Young Workforce are celebrating the achievements of young people across Scotland through the ‘Young People Are Great’ campaign running from Monday 6th June – Friday 10th June 2022.
The campaign aims to showcase the ambitions and resilience of Scotland’s young people and highlight the benefits that young people bring to the workplace. It is hoped that this will lead to employers committing to the Young Person’s Guarantee and increased employment opportunities.
To support this worthy campaign and celebrate the top talent here at Team TC, we had a chat with trainee Colleen Hutton (22) about her career journey so far.
How long have you worked at Thomson Cooper?
Since December 2018
What were you doing before joining Thomson Cooper?
Before joining Thomson Cooper, I worked for an insolvency firm in Edinburgh as a Junior Administration for roughly 16 months where I undertook my SVQ Level 3 in Business Administration. When one of my colleagues moved to Thomson Cooper, I had a look on the website and saw they had a vacancy advertised for an Administration Assistant which I thought would be a good opportunity for me as it was a bigger firm and closer to home.
What was your first role in the firm?
I started working for Thomson Cooper in December 2018 as an Administration Assistant. This involved administrative duties such as answering telephone calls, preparing outgoing mail, binding tax returns and accounts, audio typing, preparing letters and working on the main reception desk to cover holidays. This role allowed me to build and add to my administrative experience and has made me a more confident person.
What are you doing now?
In November 2020, I was given the opportunity to join the payroll department as a trainee. My role involves accurately processing outsourced payroll for a wide range of clients including dealing with new starts and leavers, processing statutory payments and dealing with earnings attachments as well as reconciling PAYE control accounts, preparing wages journals and responding to client queries.
What have been the biggest challenges so far?
The payroll team has recently moved software to IRIS Payroll Professional which has been a massive challenge for us all. This required the migration of hundreds of clients whilst ensuring all information was accurate by checking year to date figures and pension set ups.
Moving into the payroll department during the middle of the Job Retention Scheme was also a challenge however my colleagues were able to help and support me through this.
What have been the benefits?
Being given the opportunity to move into the payroll department was a huge benefit to me. I have received a great amount of support from my experienced colleagues since joining the team which has allowed me to build my payroll knowledge and “be the best Bee I can be”. The payroll team has weekly meetings where we can share ideas and any workload concerns we may have.
What plans do you have for the future?
In the near future, I plan to undertake my CIPP Payroll Technician certificate which is a 6 month online course covering the core skills required to administer payroll. This will allow me to develop and improve my knowledge and understanding of payroll processes. The course content involves calculating gross pay, identifying the differences between taxable and NICable pay, the manual calculation of PAYE income tax, student loan deductions and statutory payments.
If you are interested in working with us, please visit our Careers section. We are growing our business in Edinburgh and Fife and have a variety of positions available.