Payroll Specialist

We are looking for an experienced Payroll
Specialist to independently manage end-to-end payroll for 1,000+ employees
across India. The role requires strong hands-on expertise in payroll
processing, statutory compliance, payroll taxation, reconciliation, statutory
filings, maintenance of mandatory registers, and payroll audits.

The ideal candidate should be
capable of owning the complete payroll cycle—from validating employee inputs
and attendance data to salary disbursement, statutory remittances, returns,
reconciliation, and audit readiness—while ensuring accuracy, confidentiality,
and compliance with applicable Indian labour and payroll regulations.

Key Responsibilities.

End-to-End Payroll Management

• Own and execute monthly payroll processing for 500+
  employees with a strong focus on accuracy and timely closure.
  
• Validate payroll inputs including new joiners,
  exits, attendance, leave, LOP, salary revisions, promotions, incentives,
  bonuses, arrears, reimbursements, deductions and other variable
  components.
  
• Calculate monthly earnings and deductions including
  Basic, HRA, allowances, incentives, overtime, arrears, LOP and recoveries.
  
• Manage Full & Final (F&F) settlements,
  leave encashment, notice-period recovery/payments, gratuity and other
  separation-related payments.
  
• Perform pre-payroll and post-payroll validations
  and variance analysis before payroll sign-off.
  
• Prepare bank advice/payment files and coordinate
  timely salary disbursement.
  
• Generate and distribute payslips and other
  payroll-related employee documents.
  
• Maintain payroll calendars, checklists and
  maker-checker controls to ensure timely payroll closure.
  

Statutory & Payroll
Compliance

• Ensure payroll complies with applicable Indian
  labour, employment, social-security and taxation requirements.
  
• Manage compliance relating to Provident Fund
  (PF/EPF), ESI, Professional Tax (PT), Labour Welfare Fund (LWF), TDS and
  other applicable payroll-related statutory requirements.
  
• Manage PF processes including UAN-related
  activities, ECR preparation, contribution reconciliation and statutory
  remittances.
  
• Manage ESI contributions, employee coverage
  changes, challans and reconciliations.
  
• Calculate and deduct Professional Tax based on
  applicable state requirements.
  
• Manage LWF deductions and contributions wherever
  applicable.
  
• Ensure statutory payments, challans, returns and
  filings are completed within prescribed timelines.
  
• Track changes in statutory requirements, wage
  definitions, contribution limits, tax rules and other payroll-related
  regulatory changes and implement them appropriately.
  
• Coordinate with Finance, HR, auditors, consultants
  and statutory authorities wherever required. 
  

Income Tax & TDS

• Manage employee income-tax computation and monthly
  TDS deductions.
  
• Validate employee tax declarations and investment
  proofs.
  
• Handle tax regime selections and applicable payroll
  tax calculations.
  
• Reconcile payroll TDS with Finance records and
  statutory filings.
  
• Support quarterly TDS return processes and
  reconciliation of payroll-related tax data.
  
• Manage Form 16 preparation, reconciliation and
  issuance within statutory timelines.
  
• Handle employee tax queries and corrections
  relating to payroll taxation. 
  

Statutory Registers &
Documentation

• Maintain all applicable payroll, wage and statutory
  registers in the prescribed format, whether electronically or physically
  as required.
  
• Ensure maintenance of applicable records/registers
  relating to wages, deductions, fines, advances, overtime, attendance,
  leave, bonus and other employment/payroll records.
  
• Ensure registers and supporting documentation are
  updated accurately and retained for the prescribed period.
  
• Maintain employee-wise statutory contribution and
  deduction records.
  
• Ensure payroll documentation is readily available
  for internal audits, statutory inspections, due diligence and external
  audits.
  
• Maintain a compliance calendar covering all
  payroll-related filings, payments, returns and register requirements. 
  

Payroll Reconciliation &
Controls

• Perform monthly payroll reconciliation against the
  previous month's payroll and approved HR inputs.
  
• Reconcile gross salary, net salary, employee count,
  statutory deductions, employer contributions, TDS and bank payout amounts.
  
• Reconcile payroll outputs with Finance/General
  Ledger and resolve differences before closure.
  
• Maintain clear audit trails for all payroll
  adjustments and manual interventions.
  
• Identify payroll discrepancies, investigate root
  causes and implement corrective and preventive controls.
  
• Ensure appropriate segregation of duties, access
  controls and confidentiality of payroll information. 
  

Audits & Compliance
Management

• Act as the primary payroll point of contact for
  internal, statutory and external audits.
  
• Provide payroll registers, challans, returns,
  reconciliations and supporting documentation during audits and
  inspections.
  
• Track audit observations and ensure timely closure
  of payroll-related findings.
  
• Conduct periodic payroll compliance checks to
  identify potential gaps before statutory or internal audits.
  
• Coordinate with payroll vendors/consultants where
  applicable while retaining internal ownership of payroll accuracy and
  compliance. 
  

Employee Lifecycle &
Payroll Support

• Ensure accurate payroll setup for new employees.
  
• Process salary revisions, promotions, transfers and
  other compensation changes.
  
• Manage employee exits and timely Full & Final
  settlements.
  
• Respond to employee queries relating to salary,
  deductions, PF, ESI, tax, Form 16, F&F and other payroll matters.
  
• Maintain employee payroll data with a high degree
  of confidentiality and accuracy.
  

Requirements

Required Experience &
Skills

• 5–8 years of hands-on experience in Indian payroll
  and statutory compliance, preferably managing payroll for 500+ employees.
  
• Strong practical knowledge of Indian payroll
  processing and statutory compliance.
  
• Hands-on experience with PF/EPF, ESI, PT, LWF, TDS,
  gratuity, bonus and payroll taxation.
  
• Strong experience maintaining payroll and statutory
  registers and supporting compliance audits.
  
• Experience handling multi-state payroll and
  state-specific statutory requirements would be preferred.
  
• Strong understanding of salary structures, CTC,
  gross salary, taxable income, employer contributions and net-pay
  calculations.
  
• Strong knowledge of payroll reconciliations and
  payroll-to-GL processes.
  
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including
  Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, reconciliation and large-data
  validation.
  
• Experience working with HRMS/payroll platforms.
  
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage
  high-volume payroll within strict monthly deadlines.
  
• Ability to handle confidential employee and
  compensation information appropriately.
  
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and
  stakeholder-management skills.
  

Education

·       Bachelor's or Master's degree in Human
Resources, Commerce, Finance, Accounting or a related discipline.

Preferred Profile

We are specifically looking for a hands-on
payroll professional, rather than someone whose experience is primarily limited
to coordinating with an outsourced payroll vendor. The candidate should have
personally managed payroll calculations, statutory deductions, reconciliations,
compliance filings/registers, audits and payroll closure for a large Indian
employee population.

Key Success Measures

• 100% on-time monthly payroll closure and salary
  disbursement
  
• High payroll accuracy with minimal corrections or
  reversals
  
• 100% on-time statutory remittances and applicable
  filings
  
• Accurate and up-to-date statutory registers and
  payroll documentation
  
• Zero material statutory non-compliance or penalties
  
• Timely and accurate Full & Final settlements
  
• Successful payroll/statutory audits with timely
  closure of observations
  
• Strong reconciliation between HRMS, payroll, bank
  payouts and Finance/GL records