Foundation Degree Payroll Apprentice

NISSAN MOTOR MANUFACTURING (UK) LIMITED

Tyne And Wear (SR5 3NS)

Closes in 11 days (Friday 1 May 2026)

Posted on 17 April 2026

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Summary

Are you organised, good with numbers, and keen to learn how big businesses really work? We are offering an exciting opportunity to join our Payroll Team as a Foundation Degree Payroll Apprentice — a fully structured 5‑year programme designed to set you up for a long‑term professional career.

• Wage:

  £17,400 a year

  Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

  Starting salary: £17,400.68; Salary reviewed every 6 months, with progression linked to performance and development

• Training course: Payroll assistant manager (level 5)
• Hours: Monday - Thursday, 7.55am - 4.40pm. Friday, 7.55am - 2.25pm.

  39 hours a week

• Start date:

  Monday 1 June 2026

• Duration:

  5 years

• Positions available:

  1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

What You’ll Be Doing

You’ll get hands-on experience from day one, including:

• Learning how things really work behind the scenes
• Working with modern tools, software and technology
• Supporting real projects that make a real impact on employees
• Developing skills, you can use for the rest of your career

From day one, you’ll be part of a supportive payroll team handling real responsibilities in a large, complex organisation. Over time, you’ll build full end‑to‑end payroll experience, including:

• Learning how payroll works from start to finish
• Processing new starters and leavers
• Running and reconciling payroll reports
• Supporting payroll systems, exports, imports and integrations
• Answering payroll, tax and coding queries
• Working with HMRC and supporting tax-related activities
• Gaining exposure to benefits, pensions and allowance schemes
• Understanding how payroll supports thousands of employees

You’ll grow in confidence and capability each year as your responsibility increases.

Where you'll work

Washington Road
Sunderland
Tyne And Wear
SR5 3NS

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

MBKB LTD

Training course

Payroll assistant manager (level 5)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Identify the risks and opportunities presented by a payroll provider/customer model. Recommend appropriate service delivery improvements.
• Manage the provider/customer and other stakeholder relationships necessary to influence successful payroll outcomes (including delivery, customer care and enquiry handling).
• Communicate complex payroll concepts to customers and other less technical stakeholders; Communicate effectively at different levels of the organisation, selecting an appropriate communication method for the audience.
• Identify and source all of the information required in a complex payroll case to enable accurate calculation.
• Analyse and determine complex payroll cases, including pensions, pay and benefits, considering all relevant data and other evidence.
• Balance the trade-offs between automated and non-automated payroll approaches. Identify and complete payroll calculation manually where needed.
• Match the payroll decision needed against the skill sets within your team and the risks involved when determining who should deliver the work.
• Design, implement and maintain payroll administrative procedures and guidance that enables payroll team delivery including technical data, and both business as usual and contingency (disaster recovery) handling.
• Utilise available technological platforms when delivering payroll operations by balancing the benefits and risks of the system used. As an example, this might mean the latest HMRC reporting tool, or utilising AI/automation advancements.
• Adjust leadership style to achieve results, having regard to both individuals within the team and how the team works together.
• Interpret and apply all payroll legislation, guidance and case law pertinent to a complex case.
• Quality assure your own and your teams payroll calculations to ensure accuracy and compliance. Ensure that you and your team act compliantly when transacting customer payroll by deploying a quality assurance process proportionate to the payroll issues.
• Make recruitment and retention decisions/recommendations, as necessary.
• Co-ordinate and manage your team's payroll workload in order to meet key performance indicators and contractual obligations.
• Reconcile your teams final payroll run.
• Identify the risks and opportunities presented by a payroll provider/customer model. Recommend appropriate service delivery improvements.
• Manage the provider/customer and other stakeholder relationships necessary to influence successful payroll outcomes (including delivery, customer care and enquiry handling).
• Communicate complex payroll concepts to customers and other less technical stakeholders; Communicate effectively at different levels of the organisation, selecting an appropriate communication method for the audience.
• Identify and source all of the information required in a complex payroll case to enable accurate calculation.
• Analyse and determine complex payroll cases, including pensions, pay and benefits, considering all relevant data and other evidence.
• Balance the trade-offs between automated and non-automated payroll approaches. Identify and complete payroll calculation manually where needed.
• Match the payroll decision needed against the skill sets within your team and the risks involved when determining who should deliver the work.
• Design, implement and maintain payroll administrative procedures and guidance that enables payroll team delivery including technical data, and both business as usual and contingency (disaster recovery) handling.
• Utilise available technological platforms when delivering payroll operations by balancing the benefits and risks of the system used. As an example, this might mean the latest HMRC reporting tool, or utilising AI/automation advancements.
• Adjust leadership style to achieve results, having regard to both individuals within the team and how the team works together.
• Interpret and apply all payroll legislation, guidance and case law pertinent to a complex case.
• Quality assure your own and your teams payroll calculations to ensure accuracy and compliance. Ensure that you and your team act compliantly when transacting customer payroll by deploying a quality assurance process proportionate to the payroll issues.
• Make recruitment and retention decisions/recommendations, as necessary.
• Co-ordinate and manage your team's payroll workload in order to meet key performance indicators and contractual obligations.
• Reconcile your teams final payroll run.

Training schedule

• Level 3 Payroll Administer
• Level 5 Assistant Payroll Manager
• Training will take place in work/ remote sessions with training provider 

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

• 2 other subjects (grade 6 or higher)
• English (either) (grade 6)
• Maths (grade 7)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

• Communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation skills
• Administrative skills
• Number skills
• Analytical skills
• Logical
• Team working
• Initiative

About this employer

Nissan Sunderland (NMUK) is the beating heart of our UK manufacturing operations. More than 6,000 of our workforce are based here, across a 362,000m2 site of world-leading manufacturing excellence. The site is also home to its own solar and wind farms, vehicle test track and facilities like our Sports & Social complex and on-site medical centre. You’ll be working shoulder-to-shoulder with our experts in production, engineering, and maintenance, each ready to share their knowledge and support you as you grow. From the moment you step onto our shop floor, you’re treated as an equal- making real contributions to the manufacturing process and gaining life skills to take forward into your career.

After this apprenticeship

There is scope to progress further into specialised payroll or finance pathways after Level 5.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

NISSAN MOTOR MANUFACTURING (UK) LIMITED

Jennifer Lloyd

jennifer.lloyd@nissan-nmuk.co.uk

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000027062.

Apply now

Closes in 11 days (Friday 1 May 2026)

After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.