In the lead up to 25th May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was everywhere as organizations across Europe (and further afield) prepared for stricter regulations on handling customer and employee data. Three months have passed since its implementation, but what’s new with GDPR?

Is your HR and payroll team feeling the heat this summer? With the weather heating up, most of us want to get out and enjoy the sun or escape on a holiday. However, with more staff members out of the office, this can mean that the payroll team might be running on reduced numbers.

The multinational payroll market is growing at an impressive rate, with the entire payroll services market expected to reach 4.8 billion by 2021. The demand for international payroll services are increasing, due to the heightened need for compliance to local laws and legislations, and a demand for more comprehensive technology.

The HR and payroll industry is in a constant state of change. New laws and regulations are introduced around the world, some of which—including GDPR—change the way the whole organization handles its processes and services.

HR and payroll teams can also face challenges in their own departments, as members of the team are off on holiday—reducing the amount of staff and increasing the workload. Although the heat can get to some HR departments, here’s how to keep payroll cool this summer.

The results of SD Worx’s recent international survey are in! With 1,500 respondents from nine European markets, the survey reveals that up to 87% of business leaders are now asking for employee data to inform business decisions—HR and payroll data is now being regularly used by business leaders.

Payroll data. How often do we stop and think about how important it is to a business? Although payroll is often viewed as a back-office function, it is an essential part of any organisation, and is much more than just payslips.
 

Payroll, and the importance of payroll, is everywhere. Whether in Italy, France, or in Belgium, payroll is a crucial part of any organisation. Employees are the heartbeat of an organisation, so ensuring that they are paid on time and correctly is essential. However, getting payroll right can be a challenge.

With less than a month until GDPR comes into effect, organisations around the world should now be working towards compliance. HR and payroll teams should be collaborating with other departments within the organisations—including IT and legal—alongside third-party providers and partners.

To explore the current state of HR and payroll around the world, and to debate the changes we will see in the future, SD Worx is hosting a conference in Flagey, Brussels, on May 29th, 2018. Titled ‘The Future of Collaboration: Unleash the Flexibility of your HR’, the conference will explain how attendees can make the HR department as agile as possible, to ensure that organisations can reap the benefits of HR flexibility and collaboration.

With the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) next month, if an organisation is working with HR and payroll vendors, it will be their responsibility to ensure that these business partners are GDPR compliant. Any external organisation that handles the data of employees or customers must be compliant, otherwise the organisation is also at risk of breaking GDPR regulations.
 

With the 25th May deadline only a month away, it is more important than ever for HR and payroll departments to ensure that they are GDPR compliant. If organisations are not compliant the penalties are significant, with fines of up to €20m or 4% of global revenue, and companies will undeniably suffer from significant brand damage.