Irish Payroll Association Annual Conference

On Thursday 12 ^th May 2005

I am delighted to be invited to address the 6th Annual Conference of the Irish Payroll Association and speak to a group of people who are responsible for one of the most important functions in any company, the people who pay the wages.

I would first of all like to congratulate IPASS for providing a badly needed series of payroll qualifications, which have now been expanded. In addition to the Certified Payroll Technician and the Diploma in Payroll Management, I am delighted to see that you have expanded your list of qualification to include a Foundation Course in Payroll Administration and that you have increased the number of venues in which the Certified Payroll Technician courses are being offered by more than 50% from September of this year.

As Minister for Labour Affairs at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, what particularly pleases me about these courses is the recognition by IPASS of the importance of teaching Employment Law. I see that Employment Law is a fundamental part of the syllabus of each of the IPASS payroll qualifications. Obviously payroll staff need to understand the intricacies of the PAYE and the PRSI systems, but I am delighted to see that IPASS also give due recognition to the important role which Employment Law plays in the workplace today.

Many of the cases which come before the Rights Commissioners and the Employment Appeals Tribunal and indeed the Labour Court, could have been avoided if both management and staff had been properly trained in the various aspects of Employment Law. The more people are trained in the various aspects of Employment Law, the less likely we are to have disputes between employers and employees.

In larger companies, the HR function is often responsible for dealing with Employment Law issues, but in the SMEs it is invariably the payroll staff who have to deal with such matter. In addition, even in the larger companies where there is a separate HR function, the interaction between Payroll and HR is crucial and a detailed knowledge of Employment Law by payroll staff is just as important there.

For many years, the efficiency of the payroll staff was primarily dependant on peer-training. Such training is perfectly adequate and acceptable if all aspects of the function are properly understood and passed on from trainer to trainee. Experience has taught us, however, that it is all too easy to develop poor work-practices due to technically deficient or inadequate training.

I have observed with interest, the progress of your association and indeed, IPASS has made a very significant contribution to the process of recognising the enormous contribution that payroll staff make towards the smooth operation of their employers’ businesses. In the modern business environment, the importance of having properly structured and relevant training cannot be over emphasized. A representative body that is dedicated to meeting the needs of its members is always to be encouraged. However, when a newly formed organization has the necessary expertise to put academic qualifications in place and to write the material for it’s various courses, I would venture to suggest that IPASS has truly contributed towards the long-overdue recognition that was well deserved for your profession.

The IPASS model clearly demonstrates that specifically targeted training courses cater in a most practical way for specific learning requirements. It is imperative that function-specific training needs are catered for by developing focused course materials and training methodologies. It is also important to ensure that the benefits to be derived from training courses are maximized for trainers and presenters alike in any area of professional or specific discipline.

The payroll function is an area that is constantly evolving with ever-more responsibility and competence being expected and sought of payroll staff as a matter of course. Properly trained staff in this highly complex and constantly changing field can only benefit both employers and employees.

I am also pleased to be able to announce the publication of THE IPASS BOOK - FINANCE ACT 2005 edition.

Having reviewed the contents of the book, I can see that there is an obvious need for such a book. Once again I am also particularly impressed with the approach taken by IPASS in relation to covering relevant Employment Law. The authors, Eamonn and Helena are to be congratulated on an extremely relevant piece of work and I wish you every success with this and future updates.

Mr. Chairman, I must say that I am very impressed with what IPASS has achieved to date and have no doubt but that you will continue to serve the payroll profession as you go from strength to strength.

I can see that your conference agenda includes a wide range of issues that are of topical interest. I hope you will have a very successful conference and I wish you continued success for the future growth of your Association.

ENDS

LA 117