Main Payroll - Starters
1. Recruitment
Advice and guidance is available from Personnel Services and local Personnel Officers to staff involved in recruitment. This includes advertisement, interview and the acceptable content and format of offer letters and contracts.
2. Staff registration
(i) The Staff Registration Form
In order to register staff and enable them to be paid, it is necessary for the Staff Registration Form (SRF) to be completed. This is a multi-page document 'pack' which is used by Payroll, Personnel, Pensions and Planning functions within the University to create the necessary records for an individual member of staff.
Staff Registration Forms are available from the Payroll Team.
Guidance on completion of the form is
available
on the form itself. A SRF Payroll Form 
(23kb) is provided here for information only.
Completed forms should be signed by an authorized signatory within the department or employing unit and forwarded together with either form P45 or P46 (see paragraph ii below), in the first instance to the Payroll Team at the Finance Division. On receipt by the Payroll Team the details will be checked and any queries followed up in the first instance with departmental administrators.
(ii) Tax Forms
P45 - Part 1A should be retained by the employee and parts 2 and 3 should be submitted with the Staff Registration Form.
If the employee does not provide a P45 form, then form P46 must be completed and submitted with the Staff Registration Form. Failure to submit either form could result in the wrong amount of tax being deducted.
P46 - Employees who have not worked previously in the UK in the current tax year, or have not been issued with a P45 certificate from their previous employer must complete a P46. These can be obtained from the departmental administrator or found on the HMRC website:
(iii) Pension Scheme and Pension Contributions Salary Exchange Scheme
Eligible staff will automatically be enrolled within one of the University pension schemes. Further details on pension provisions are available from the Pensions Office. When completing the Staff Registration Form, starters do have the option to opt out of joining the scheme – if this option is exercised then the appropriate box on the form should be ticked and a Pensions Opt Out form also completed.
The University also currently operates a Salary Exchange Scheme in respect of employee pension contributions to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and Oxford Staff Pension Scheme (OSPS). Staff eligible to join these pension schemes who choose not to opt out of them are also automatically enrolled in the Salary Exchange Scheme unless they choose to opt out of that also. Further details on Salary Exchange are provided Research Accounts. Starters who wish to remain within an eligible pension scheme but opt out of Salary Exchange should have this wish also indicated in the appropriate box on the Staff Registration Form.
(iv) Research posts
Where a new starter is recruited to a research post it may be necessary to liaise with Research Services or here to specify funding details for the Staff Registration Form.
3. Further support
(i) General considerations
Administrators or recruiting staff should also consider what other activities need to be completed in advance of or soon after a new starter joins the University or department. Local arrangements will vary but this might include:
- University card, keys or access cards
- Arranging access to University IT systems, including network, email, Oracle Financials, etc.
- Arranging any associated induction and training courses
(ii) Support for setting-up a new bank account
For overseas employees a service is offered to support
individuals in setting up a new bank account. This service is provided
by the
Cashiers
Office. Where
the employee opts to use this service, a Bank Account letter for Overseas Employees 
(38kb) should be completed for the individual and sent to the
Cashiers who will engage with Barclays to create the account - this
normally
takes 3-5 days from receipt of application.
(iii) Staff Relocation Scheme
The University operates a Relocation Scheme to support staff moving from outside of the Oxford area to a new job within the University.
(iv) Advances for New Employees
Where a new starter begins work after the
processing deadlines for payroll it may be necessary to request a
payment in
advance. An Advance request for new employee (143kb) is provided
for this purpose which should be completed by both an administrator (or
authorized payroll signature) and the individual concerned.