[UK] Payroll problems leave Next employees underpaid

Next has issued an apology to UK staff after a new computer system caused many to suffer months of underpayments, Personnel Today reports.

The issues came to light in February after the company outsourced its payroll to software company Oracle. Some employees had pension contributions deducted but not invested in retirement funds.

Sunday Times reporting quoted one shop floor employee who had been underpaid by more than £200 in one month. The staff member was also said to be unhappy about a party held at the NEC in Birmingham for store managers and head office staff.

Some employees had been overpaid as a result of problems with the new system, the report said, leaving them unable to claim Universal Credit.

“Most of us haven’t been paid right since the change in system. A lot of people are using food banks or putting holiday days in because they can’t afford to fuel their cars to get to work,” one worker said.

The report said that Next had been receiving more than 100 calls a day from employees with queries about pay issues. The number has now dropped to around 50 a day.

Next said it was dealing with the problems “as a matter of urgency”.

It said no staff would be out of pocket due to errors made with pension contributions.

The problems reportedly occurred only days after supermarket giant Asda faced similar issues with its payroll provider, SD Worx. The supermarket admitted to the Scottish Parliament that the external payroll provider had made almost 11,000 errors in recent months, affecting the wages of more than 5,000 staff.

Personnel Today contacted Next for a response. Oracle declined to comment.

Source: Personnel Today

(Quotes via original reporting)

Next has issued an apology to UK staff after a new computer system caused many to suffer months of underpayments, Personnel Today reports.

The issues came to light in February after the company outsourced its payroll to software company Oracle. Some employees had pension contributions deducted but not invested in retirement funds.

Sunday Times reporting quoted one shop floor employee who had been underpaid by more than £200 in one month. The staff member was also said to be unhappy about a party held at the NEC in Birmingham for store managers and head office staff.

Some employees had been overpaid as a result of problems with the new system, the report said, leaving them unable to claim Universal Credit.

“Most of us haven’t been paid right since the change in system. A lot of people are using food banks or putting holiday days in because they can’t afford to fuel their cars to get to work,” one worker said.

The report said that Next had been receiving more than 100 calls a day from employees with queries about pay issues. The number has now dropped to around 50 a day.

Next said it was dealing with the problems “as a matter of urgency”.

It said no staff would be out of pocket due to errors made with pension contributions.

The problems reportedly occurred only days after supermarket giant Asda faced similar issues with its payroll provider, SD Worx. The supermarket admitted to the Scottish Parliament that the external payroll provider had made almost 11,000 errors in recent months, affecting the wages of more than 5,000 staff.

Personnel Today contacted Next for a response. Oracle declined to comment.

Source: Personnel Today

(Quotes via original reporting)