6 Fun Payroll Facts you probably don’t know

September 6, 2023
Posted by: Hannah Ingram
Category: Pay, Reward & Benefits

Fun Payroll Facts

We’ve got the chocolate coins at the ready (no really, it comes to 87 pence in chocolate to be exact!) to celebrate National Payroll Week and our team of outsourced payroll specialists have been decorating our offices in fun payroll facts!

And we couldn’t let you miss out on the fun now could we?

So, without further ado, here’s 6 fun payroll facts, you probably didn’t know to celebrate National Payroll Week.

From the first ever payroll to that rumoured Einstein quote.

7000 BC was the earliest recorded payroll…that we know of

We remember it well! 😉

In the 5th Century the Greeks kept records by chiselling the information into stone.

They also didn’t have access to bank payments like our outsourced payroll services team do, that’s for sure!

Discover How We Can Simplify Payroll for Your Business Today – UK Payroll Services

In the 1900’s Henry Ford doubled the wages of employees…If they lived up to his standards at home!

Being micromanaged whilst working from home in the world of today is one thing; but imagine your leadership team keeping tabs on if you’ve been down to the pub!

Henry Ford’s revolutionary wage idea was a double-edged sword, being paid twice the going rate was a huge incentive but it came with some very strict rules, some more reasonable than others. Clean houses, no alcohol, no lodgers and regular contributions to a savings account. He even came to his employee’s houses to check.

However, it also helped stabilise the workforce; vastly reducing absenteeism and attracting skilled workers, although we’re not sure $5 a day would be enough to entice our candidates in 2023…If counteroffer culture had been around, then some employees would have got a shock!

We’ve also mentioned in our 4-day working week blog about how Henry Ford was instrumental in introducing the 5-day week.

Want to reward your employees more? Speak to us for ideas! – Reach our Team

Even more on Payroll throughout the 20th century

The 1940s saw payroll done through pain staking manual calculation and outsourced payroll was common. The 1960s saw computer science start making things far easier for payroll processing…phew!

The 1980s was a time when payroll companies started thriving and many payroll processes got streamlined. Suddenly companies from small to large could benefit!

Then, blasting into the 21st century payroll and HR started to evolve, with software tools and more ways for payroll to help businesses boost their decision making through payroll data.

The days of calculating by hand might be over but payroll admin can still be a drag! Get support from our friendly team!

Want Responsive Payroll Fit for the 21st Century? – Get a Payroll Quote

The ancient Egyptians were paid in beer for work done!

Our team are very disappointed that we haven’t paid them in beer yet. But that was exactly the case for the ancient Egyptians. But how do you know we aren’t making this all up? Well, it was all found on a 5,000-year-old tablet, we’re guessing not the sort of tablet we’re used to today!

Symbols were used with line scratches to indicate the amount of beer earned per worker. Workers who built the pyramids earnt roughly four to five litres a day.

Beer in those days was also thicker which made it similar to a meal (although we suspect not quite as nutritious). This reduced the amount of breaks employers gave them as they were able to carry out working, and being tipsy reduced complaints about the harsh working conditions.

Clearly risk of burnout, exhaustion and establishing a healthy workplace environment were deemed less important then! Luckily our back to the office blog has more appropriate tips to help your employee’s productivity and work-life balance. Explore more payroll facts – P11D facts

We won’t pay your team in beer…but we can pay them swiftly – Explore payroll services

Rumoured Albert Einstein Quote

Having taken part in Talk Staff’s Debbie Rodgers’ excellent payroll quiz we know that payroll isn’t always so simple, and you must have your wits about you, especially with all the payroll legislation changes.

And it sounds like Einstein agrees…”The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.*”

Struggling with Payroll? Let’s Make It Simple Together – Arrange a Payroll Chat

When Payroll meets the big screen

Did you know, there was a 1961 British Neo-Noir Crime Drama Film called Payroll? “A gritty and realistic glimpse” at life the Northern region in the 1960s.

And we couldn’t write this blog without mentioning our entry in the Payroll movie tagline competition by Payroll Bureau Association. Our Talk Staff team have certainly been getting into the spirit of National Payroll Week, celebrating payroll teams across the country and beyond and we couldn’t resist giving them a bit of a Toy Story makeover.

Payroll – Beyond the fun!

There is so much going on below the surface in payroll, that’s for sure! In fact, we made a whole blog the hidden talents of payroll. Payroll teams have to be hugely versatile, whether that’s an in-house payroll team or outsourced payroll specialists.

The payroll function in business is often grappling with the ever-changing legislations, errors and more…but that doesn’t have to be you!

We’re supporting companies of all sizes by providing a dedicated payroll outsourcing service and becoming an integrated team as part of your business where employees can rely on getting paid right first time. Whether you’re an established business or fast-growing with big ambitions, our friendly team of experts is always on hand to support you in making the journey as smooth as possible.

Our outsourced payroll service team includes:

Secure Payslips
Bank Payments
HMRC compliant
Customised Reports
Nominal Journals

To explore what will work best for you reach out to our friendly team, We’re called Talk Staff  for a reason; people love the human aspect of our payroll service and having a swift way to get hold of our people.