SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE: 

National Diploma: Payroll Administration Services 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
67229  National Diploma: Payroll Administration Services 
ORIGINATOR
SGB Administration 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
SERVICES - Services Sector Education and Training Authority  OQSF - Occupational Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
National Diploma  Field 03 - Business, Commerce and Management Studies  Office Administration 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  240  Level 5  NQF Level 05  Regular-Unit Stds Based 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date -
Status was "Reregistered" 
SAQA 9900/00  2018-07-01  2023-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2024-06-30   2028-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification replaces: 
Qual ID Qualification Title Pre-2009 NQF Level NQF Level Min Credits Replacement Status
35926  National Diploma: Payroll Administration Services  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5  240  Complete 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
This Qualification is for any individual who is, or wishes to be, involved in the Payroll Administration function in any organisation or business in any sector, or field as well as in non-commercial organisations such as clubs and charitable organisations. The Qualification will provide the broad knowledge, skills and values needed in the administration field in all sectors.

The Core component contains competencies in Payroll Administration, General Administration, Human Resources and Project Management. The Elective component allows the learner to gain specialist knowledge, skills and insight in the areas of Payroll Administration, Project Management, Human Resources, aspects of Financial Services and organisational research.

Learners working towards this Qualification will find that the acquisition of competence in the Unit Standards, which make up the Qualification, will add value to their work performance. This Qualification is intended to enhance the provision of service within the field of Payroll Administration within all sectors.
It will facilitate access to and mobility and progression within education and training for learners who:
  • Were previously disadvantaged or who were unable to complete their schooling and were therefore denied access to Further Education and Training.
  • Have worked in this field for many years, but have no formal Qualifications and would like to achieve this through the process of RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) and/or formal study
  • Wish to extend their range of skills and knowledge of administration within their respective industries so that they can extend their competency levels.

    The Qualification has building blocks that can be developed further in Qualifications at a higher level. It contains all the competencies, skills and values required by a learner who wishes to access the National Degree in Payroll Administration Services at NQF: Level 6. It also focuses on the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes required to progress further.

    The intention is:
  • To promote the development of knowledge, skills and values that are required for service excellence within the field of Payroll administration.
  • To release the potential of people.
  • To provide opportunities for people to move up the value chain.

    Rationale for the qualification

    The National Diploma in Payroll Administration Services: NQF Level 5 is designed to meet the needs of those learners who are already involved, or wish to become involved, in the field of Payroll Administration. It is applicable to employed and unemployed learners. It is particularly suited to those learners who are performing Payroll tasks, in commercial and non-commercial organisations across the entire spectrum, but have not had the opportunity to obtain a formal Qualification beyond NQF level 4.
    Payroll Administration is an essential field of learning as the competences required by people doing Payroll administrative tasks are generic in nature and apply to all businesses in all sectors and to many non-business organisations such as sports and cultural clubs and the like. Payroll Administration is done at various levels depending upon the nature and size of the organization and its management structure. People involved in Payroll Administration are known by such terms as Payroll Administrators, Payroll Clerks, Wage and Salary Clerks, Payroll Supervisors and Payroll Managers, depending on the organisation in which they are employed. There is therefore an on-going need for highly skilled Payroll administration personnel and a need for a well-developed learning pathway to cater for Payroll administrative personnel at the various levels at which they operate, especially since it is becoming a specialised profession in its own right in South Africa.
    The National Diploma in Payroll Administration Services at NQF: Level 5 is the second Qualification in a learning pathway that starts at NQF level 4 and ends with the National Diploma in Payroll Administration Level 5. It is planned to develop higher diploma's and degrees in Payroll Administration at levels 6, 7 and 8 as the final steps in the learning pathway and investigations are being undertaken into overseas degrees in this field so that benchmarking from an international perspective is undertaken.
    The National Diploma in Payroll Administration Services at NQF: Level 5 supports the objectives of the NQF in that it gives the learner access to a registered Qualification. The Qualification also offers learners the opportunity to have the knowledge and skills that they have developed in the workplace recognised through the awarding of a registered qualification, either in whole or in part. It will ensure that the quality of education and training in the sub-field is enhanced and of a world-class standard. The Qualification will allow learners not only to develop their knowledge and skills in the field of Administration, but will also enable them to benchmark their competence against international standards. 

  • LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    Learners accessing this Qualification are assumed to be competent in:
  • Computer Literacy at NQF level 4
  • Mathematical Literacy at NQF level 4
  • Communications at NQF level 4.

    Recognition of prior learning

    The structure of this Unit Standard based Qualification makes the Recognition of Prior Learning possible. Learners who are able to demonstrate competence in the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes implicit in this Qualification and/or any of its constituent Unit Standards must receive the appropriate credits. Assessment of Prior Learning must be done by means of Integrated Assessment as mentioned in the previous paragraph.

    Recognition of Prior Learning may allow:
  • For accelerated access to further learning at this or higher levels on the NQF
  • Gaining of credits towards a Unit Standard
  • The obtaining in whole or in part of this Qualification. 

  • RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    Fundamental: 37 credits
    Core: 139 credits
    Elective: a minimum of 64 credits

    Total: 240 credits 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    On achieving this Qualification, the learner will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of statutory legislation and requirements
  • Process redundancy documents
  • Complete year end procedures
  • Ascertain gross pay
  • Explain the concepts of business ethics in the professional environment
  • Recognise, measure, classify and record financial and non-financial data
  • Contribute to project initiation, scope definition and scope change control
  • Demonstrate an understanding of statutory legislation and requirements
  • Plan, organise, implement and monitor work within the Payroll environment
  • Manage the design, implementation and the administration of compensation in an organisation
  • Prepare and communicate a productivity improvement plan for a function
  • Identify and manage areas of customer service impact
  • Conduct an organisational needs analysis
  • Develop and implement a business plan
  • Monitor and advise on substantive conditions of employment and related rights and obligations in an organisation
  • Manage the design, development and review of an information system for human resource management
  • Manage work unit to achieve organisational objectives
  • Conduct skills development administration
  • Plan, organize and support project meetings and workshops
  • Conduct project documentation management to support project processes
  • Monitor, evaluate and communicate project schedules
  • Identify, organize and co-ordinate project life cycle phases for control purposes
  • Schedule project activities to facilitate effective project execution

    Exit points for learners who do not complete the qualification
  • Learners will be credited with Unit Standards in which they have proved
    competence.
  • Learners who complete individual Unit Standards but do not complete
    this qualification retain their credits. However, should the substance of the Unit Standard change, the validity of the credit towards the qualification may be reviewed.
  • Learners who change their provider or learning site before completing
    the qualification may transfer their credits to the new learning site.
  • Learners who change their provider or learning site before completing the qualification may transfer their credits to the new learning site. 

  • ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    In particular, assessors should check that the learner can demonstrate an ability to consider a
    range of options and make decisions and apply the skills that relate to:
  • Calculating individual and aggregate payments
  • Processing redundancy documents against statutory and organisation requirements and employee contracts
  • Complete and report on Year End procedures in relation to Payroll function
  • Ascertain gross pay
  • Apply business ethics and standards of professionalism to Payroll function
  • Classify and interpret financial and non-financial data as it relates to the Payroll function
  • Participate in projects
  • Administer compensation
  • Prepare and communicate a productivity improvement plan in relation to the Payroll function

    Intergrated assessment

    Because assessment practices must be open, transparent, fair, valid, and reliable and ensure that no learner is disadvantaged in any way whatsoever, an integrated assessment approach is required for this Qualification.

    Learning, teaching and assessment are inextricably linked. Whenever possible, the assessment of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values shown in the Unit Standards should be integrated.

    Assessment of Communication, and numeracy should be conducted in conjunction with other competencies contained in the Core Component and should use authentic Payroll Administration contexts wherever possible.

    A variety of methods must be used in assessment and assessment tools and activities must be appropriate to the context in which the learner is working. Where it is not possible to assess the learner in the workplace or on-the-job, simulations, case studies, role-plays and other similar techniques should be used to provide a context appropriate to the assessment.

    The term 'Integrated Assessment' implies that theoretical and practical components should be assessed together. During integrated assessments, the assessor should make use of a range of formative and summative assessment tools and methods and assess combinations of practical, applied, foundational and reflective competencies.

    Assessors must assess and give credit for learning that has already been acquired through formal, informal and non-formal learning and work experience.

    Assessment should ensure that all Specific Outcomes, Embedded Knowledge and Critical Cross-Field Outcomes are evaluated. The assessment of the Critical Cross-Field Outcomes should be integrated with the assessment of the Specific Outcomes. 

  • INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    Benchmarking was done by comparison with Qualifications and Unit Standards/Outcomes for Payroll Administration in United Kingdom. The United Kingdom Payroll Association was consulted to determine their approach to Payroll Qualifications.

    A direct comparison of the title, specific outcomes, assessment criteria and embedded knowledge was undertaken with each of the UK standards. 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This Qualification articulates with the following Qualifications:
  • The National Diploma in Business Administration: Level 5
  • The National Certificate in Management: Level 5

    It should also articulate with any other Qualification at Level 5 in the following fields:
  • Human Resources
  • Project Management
  • Financial Administration
  • Generic Management
  • Business Administration
  • Data Capturing and Processing
  • Organisational Research 

  • MODERATION OPTIONS 
  • Anyone assessing a learner or moderating the assessment of a learner against this Qualification must be registered as an assessor with a relevant Education, Training, Quality, Assurance (ETQA) Body or with an ETQA that has a Memorandum of Understanding with the relevant ETQA.
  • Any institution offering learning that will enable the achievement of this Qualification must be accredited as a provider with the relevant ETQA or with an ETQA that has a Memorandum of Understanding with the relevant ETQA.
  • Moderation of assessment will be overseen by the relevant ETQA or by an ETQA that has a Memorandum of Understanding with the relevant ETQA, according to the ETQA's policies and guidelines for assessment and moderation.
  • Moderation must include both internal and external moderation of assessments at exit points of the Qualification, unless ETQA policies specify otherwise. Moderation should also encompass achievement of the competence described both in individual Unit Standards as well as in the exit level outcomes described in the Qualification. 

  • CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    For an applicant to register as an assessor for this Qualification, the applicant should:
  • Have had experience in the Payroll environment;
  • Be registered as an assessor with the relevant ETQA. 

  • REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2012; 2015. 

    NOTES 
    As per the SAQA decision to re-register all provider-based qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework that meet the criteria for re-registration, this qualification has been re-registered from 1 July 2018. As per the SAQA decision to re-register all provider-based qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework that meet the criteria for re-registration, this qualification has been re-registered from 1 July 2018. This qualification replaces qualification 35926, "National Diploma: Payroll Administration Services", Level 5, 240 credits. 

    UNIT STANDARDS: 
      ID UNIT STANDARD TITLE PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL CREDITS
    Core  110024  Plan, Organise, Implement and Monitor Work within the Payroll environment  Level 4  NQF Level 04  10 
    Core  109994  Ascertain Gross Pay  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5  15 
    Core  109995  Complete Year End Procedures  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5  40 
    Core  110008  Determine individual and aggregate payments  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5  45 
    Core  10054  Identify and manage areas of customer service impact  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Core  11909  Monitor and advise on substantive conditions of employment and related rights and obligations in an organisation  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Core  110033  Process redundancy documents  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Core  12891  Apply concepts and principles of business ethics in the professional environment  Level 6  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L6 
    Core  12935  Recognise, measure, classify and record financial and non-financial data  Level 6  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L6 
    Fundamental  14522  Analyse and explain the impact of one`s personal interactive style on one`s relationship with a client  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Fundamental  8647  Apply workplace communication skills  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5  10 
    Fundamental  10053  Manage customer requirements and needs and implement action plans  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Fundamental  14525  Present an informed argument on a current issue in a business sector  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Fundamental  12998  Produce spreadsheets using accounting related information technology  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Elective  10137  Conduct project documentation management to support project processes  Level 4  NQF Level 04 
    Elective  10131  Identify, organise and co-ordinate project life cycle phases for control purposes  Level 4  NQF Level 04 
    Elective  10980  Induct a new employee  Level 4  NQF Level 04 
    Elective  11473  Manage individual and team performance  Level 4  NQF Level 04 
    Elective  10143  Monitor, evaluate and communicate project schedules  Level 4  NQF Level 04 
    Elective  10136  Plan, organise and support project meetings and workshops  Level 4  NQF Level 04 
    Elective  110025  Process data using information technology  Level 4  NQF Level 04 
    Elective  10133  Schedule project activities to facilitate effective project execution  Level 4  NQF Level 04 
    Elective  7886  Develop and implement a business plan  Level 5  NQF Level 05 
    Elective  13015  Draft financial statements  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5  12 
    Elective  10171  Manage the capture, storage and retrieval of human resources information using an information system  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Elective  11906  Manage the design, development and review of a human resource information system  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Elective  13019  Prepare business tax returns  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5  12 
    Elective  13020  Prepare personal tax returns  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5  10 
    Elective  12140  Recruit and select candidates to fill defined positions  Level 5  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5 
    Elective  12138  Conduct an organisational needs analysis  Level 6  Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L6  10 


    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    NONE 



    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.