Payslip Buddy: A worker's best friend

About Payslip Buddy

Have you ever wondered if you can totally trust what you see on your payslip, whether you are self-employed or PAYE?

Well now you can – by using the Payslip Buddy service every time you get paid by Orbital.

This real-time service is the missing link in terms of providing absolute, 100% transparency on every worker payslip, every time they are processed.

At Orbital we are embracing this ground-breaking technology because we believe in being ‘open-book’ with the workers and clients we engage with.

How does it work?

When you are registered and paid by Orbital through any of our payment models, your payslip is processed each pay period and sent directly to Payslip Buddy – where it is checked and verified to make sure that all deductions are correct and ethical.

All you have to do is register your Payslip Buddy account and access the portal to view your payslips and accompanying report.

What gets checked?

The checks look for things like tax fraud and illegal practices e.g. NMW violations etc. plus checks on things that might not be illegal, but are seen as unethical practices for financial gain.

Why now?

• SafeRec - who are the main parent company to Payslip Buddy, have been developing the technology using AI over recent years, to ensure it is fit for purpose and reliable.
• In 2022, SafeRec audits revealed that two well-known Umbrella intermediaries had appeared to have been ‘skimming’ extra funds from workers payments (within Umbrella PAYE employment deductions) without disclosing it or itemising it on the payslip. These undisclosed sums were purely for the companies’ financial gains above and beyond an agreed margin deduction.
• These events proved that there was non-compliance on pay calculations by certain providers that pre-SafeRec/Payslip Buddy, could be worked around and not picked up on standard industry audits, where real-time checks are not part of the process. Things had to change and real-time just got real.

What are the benefits for workers/contractors?

While ever you are paid through Orbital on your agency assignment, we can guarantee the many benefits of using the Payslip Buddy service. These include:

It’s FREE to use – Why would you not take advantage to understand payslip compliance better, at no extra cost?

All payslips are checked in real-time, every pay period, to make sure all deductions are lawful, ethical and correct.

There is no drag-and-drop or any effort required to supply your payslips for checking. Everything is automated directly from the payroll software source.

Each part of the payslip audit is clearly broken down within the payslip report. On an Umbrella PAYE payslip, this includes – Gross pay and NMW checks, company/employment deductions, employee deductions and through to Net pay.

Any queries or warnings etc. are highlighted and acted upon as these are likely to be from inputting or software anomalies as opposed to deliberate non-compliance.

The payslip audit report is sent to each user by email, per pay period.

A login/sign-up to the Payslip Buddy portal is also available to view historic payslip reports.

Keep your Payslip Buddy through Orbital – while you remain with Orbital, you will always have a Payslip Buddy report. Remember to let us know each time you move agency or assignment!