Payroll errors are decreasing – backlog to be cleared by March

The share of errors in the City of Helsinki’s payslips has been reduced to an intermediate goal of about 4%, which is already below the level held before the transition to the Sarastia pay system. However, the workload needed to achieve this level remains high, and the stabilisation project is continuously working to streamline the revision process.
Helsingin logo kaupungintalon aulassa.
The share of errors in the City of Helsinki’s payslips has been reduced to an intermediate goal of about 4%, which is already below the level held before the transition to the Sarastia pay system. Photo: Jussi Nahkuri

Backlog clearing is also progressing, and it is estimated that all the errors made last year will be corrected by the end of March at the latest. 

In December, the share of errors in payslips was 3.7%.

The majority of errors still involve underpaid salaries and the rest, for example, errors related to holidays and absences and overpaid salaries. 

The final resolution of the crisis during the spring requires that additional support measures targeted at the City’s divisions succeed in strengthening competence and the new operating method and thus in further reducing the number of new errors. Another precondition is that the system provider can complete the planned improvements within the promised deadline and that no new significant and unforeseen sources of errors arise. 

After the crisis has been resolved, stabilisation will focus on consolidating the normal situation, which means that the number of errors will be permanently lower than before the current pay system was adopted. The aim is to normalise the new operating methods and the functioning of the system at a level that does not require continuous additional work by the city. 

Occasional congestion in payroll customer service

Talpa, the body responsible for salary payments, reached already in November 2022 a level in customer contacts that is lower than that of January 2022, before the adoption of the current payroll system. 

However, the number of contacts in December-January has increased once again for reasons related to tax cards and the organisational reform of the Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division. Paydays in particular have resulted in congestions. 

Incomes Register errors are being corrected

Helsinki has continued to correct Incomes Register errors resulting from salary payment challenges. At the moment, most of the salary information can be transferred to the Incomes Register on time. However, correcting the Incomes Register errors of the previous months is challenging due to their large volume and the characteristics of the payroll system. 

Helsinki strives to correct all the errors accumulated in the previous months by the end of March, so that the city’s employees can receive their pre-completed tax returns with the correct information. However, it is likely that the pre-completed tax returns will not come straight away with the correct information for everyone. These employees have been identified and they will be given clear instructions on how to proceed in due course.