top of page
2328fd84-508c-497e-8953-64c0954e371e.png

Service Level Agreement

This Service Level Agreement ("SLA") forms part of the agreement between SHS Contracts Ltd ("Provider", "we", "us", or "our") and the customer identified in the applicable Services Agreement ("Customer", "you", or "your").

This SLA defines the service commitments, support standards, response times, and operational responsibilities applicable to the Services provided by the Provider.

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this SLA is to establish clear service expectations, performance standards, support commitments, and responsibilities relating to the delivery of payroll and related workforce services.

This SLA applies to all managed payroll, compliance, reporting, workforce administration, and associated services provided by the Provider.

2. SERVICE OVERVIEW

The Provider delivers managed payroll and workforce services, which may include:

  • Multi-country payroll processing

  • Payroll administration

  • Payroll calculations

  • Statutory deductions and filings

  • Payroll reporting

  • Employee payment coordination

  • Workforce administration

  • Compliance monitoring

  • Customer support services

  • Platform access (where applicable)

  • Data management and reporting

Specific services purchased by the Customer shall be defined within the applicable Service Agreement.

3. SERVICE HOURS

Standard Business Hours

Unless otherwise agreed in writing:

Monday to Friday
09:00 – 17:30 GMT/BST

Excluding:

  • Public holidays in England and Wales

  • Company-wide closure periods notified in advance

Extended Support

Enhanced support arrangements may be available under separate commercial agreements.

4. SERVICE AVAILABILITY

Platform Availability

Where platform access is included within the Services, the Provider targets:

99.9% Monthly Availability

Availability is measured monthly and excludes:

  • Scheduled maintenance

  • Emergency maintenance

  • Force majeure events

  • Customer-caused outages

  • Third-party network failures beyond Provider control

  • Government service outages

Availability Calculation

Availability is calculated as:

Availability % =

(Total Monthly Minutes – Unplanned Downtime)
÷
Total Monthly Minutes × 100

5. PAYROLL PROCESSING COMMITMENTS

The Provider shall use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure:

Payroll Accuracy

Target accuracy rate:

99.8% or higher

Provided:

  • Customer data is submitted accurately;

  • Required information is received by agreed deadlines;

  • Customer approvals are provided on time.

Payroll Timeliness

Payroll shall be processed in accordance with agreed payroll calendars and submission schedules.

The Provider shall use reasonable efforts to ensure:

  • Payroll calculations completed on schedule;

  • Validation procedures completed before payroll approval;

  • Employee payment instructions issued on time.

6. CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES

The Customer agrees to:

Provide Accurate Information

Including:

  • Employee data

  • Compensation data

  • Tax information

  • Banking details

  • Time and attendance records

Meet Submission Deadlines

The Customer shall provide all required payroll information within agreed payroll timelines.

Late submissions may impact payroll delivery commitments.

Provide Approvals

Payroll approvals must be provided within agreed review periods.

Delays in approval may affect payment schedules.

Maintain Authorised Contacts

The Customer shall designate authorised representatives responsible for payroll communications and approvals.

7. INCIDENT PRIORITY LEVELS

Support requests and incidents shall be categorised according to severity.

Priority 1 (Critical)

Examples

  • Complete payroll platform outage

  • Payroll processing unavailable

  • Security incident affecting payroll operations

  • Critical service disruption affecting multiple customers

Target Response Time

Within 1 Hour

Target Update Frequency

Every 2 hours until resolution.

Priority 2 (High)

Examples

  • Significant functionality unavailable

  • Major payroll issue affecting processing

  • Material reporting failures

  • Service degradation impacting operations

Target Response Time

Within 4 Business Hours

Target Update Frequency

Daily or as agreed.

Priority 3 (Medium)

Examples

  • Individual user issues

  • Non-critical payroll queries

  • Minor reporting issues

  • Configuration problems

Target Response Time

Within 1 Business Day

Priority 4 (Low)

Examples

  • General enquiries

  • Information requests

  • Enhancement requests

  • Training questions

Target Response Time

Within 2 Business Days

8. TARGET RESOLUTION TIMES

The Provider will use commercially reasonable efforts to resolve incidents according to the following targets.

PriorityTarget Resolution

P1 Critical8 Business Hours

P2 High2 Business Days

P3 Medium5 Business Days

P4 LowBest Efforts

Resolution times are targets only and are not guaranteed.

9. PAYROLL ISSUE ESCALATION

The Provider shall maintain an escalation process for payroll-related issues.

Level 1

Payroll Operations Team

Level 2

Senior Payroll Manager

Level 3

Head of Operations

Level 4

Executive Management

Escalations may be initiated by either party where required.

10. CHANGE MANAGEMENT

The Provider shall maintain procedures for:

  • System changes

  • Process improvements

  • Service enhancements

  • Infrastructure updates

Material changes affecting service delivery shall be communicated in advance where reasonably practicable.

11. MAINTENANCE WINDOWS

Scheduled maintenance may be performed periodically.

Standard Maintenance Window

Saturday:
22:00 – 06:00 GMT/BST

Where practical, customers shall receive at least:

5 Business Days' Notice

before scheduled maintenance affecting service availability.

12. SECURITY COMMITMENTS

The Provider shall maintain appropriate technical and organisational security measures including:

Access Controls

  • Role-based access

  • User authentication controls

  • Privileged access management

Data Security

  • Encryption in transit

  • Encryption at rest where appropriate

  • Secure backup procedures

Monitoring

  • Security monitoring

  • Threat detection

  • Incident response processes

Personnel Security

  • Confidentiality obligations

  • Security awareness training

  • Access reviews

Further details may be provided within the Information Security Policy.

13. BUSINESS CONTINUITY

The Provider maintains business continuity and disaster recovery procedures designed to minimise service disruption.

Measures may include:

  • Data backups

  • Recovery procedures

  • Alternate processing arrangements

  • Incident response plans

  • Infrastructure redundancy where appropriate

14. DISASTER RECOVERY TARGETS

Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

Target restoration of critical systems:

Within 8 Hours

Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

Target maximum data loss:

Less Than 4 Hours

These targets represent objectives and not guarantees.

15. REPORTING

The Provider may provide service reports including:

  • Payroll completion status

  • Service performance metrics

  • Incident summaries

  • Compliance activities

  • Operational reporting

Reporting frequency shall be agreed between the parties.

16. SERVICE REVIEWS

The parties may conduct periodic service review meetings covering:

  • Service performance

  • Payroll operations

  • Compliance matters

  • Improvement opportunities

  • Customer feedback

Enterprise customers may request quarterly review meetings.

17. SERVICE EXCLUSIONS

The Provider shall not be responsible for service failures resulting from:

  • Customer errors or omissions

  • Late data submissions

  • Incorrect employee information

  • Third-party banking delays

  • Internet service provider failures

  • Government system outages

  • Force majeure events

  • Unauthorised customer system changes

18. FORCE MAJEURE

The Provider shall not be liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including:

  • Natural disasters

  • War

  • Civil unrest

  • Pandemic events

  • Cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure

  • Utility failures

  • Government actions

19. SERVICE CREDITS

Unless expressly agreed within the Service Agreement, service credits do not apply.

Where service credits are agreed, they shall be specified within the applicable commercial agreement.

20. REVIEW OF THIS SLA

The Provider may update this SLA periodically to reflect:

  • Service improvements

  • Operational changes

  • Regulatory requirements

  • Industry best practices

Material changes shall be communicated to Customers in advance where required.

bottom of page