Juniper Education Services Limited

Juniper Payroll

Juniper offers software and services for processing payroll and pensions within the education sector. Leveraging our expertise and resources, we streamline payroll and pension administration, ensuring accuracy and compliance with industry regulations. Our solutions cater specifically to the unique needs and requirements of educational institutions, providing efficient and reliable support.

Features

• Employee portal for access to payslips/P60
• Portal allows employee update of personal details
• Remote access of application for HR/Payroll team
• Reporting tool enables easy data query/export
• Import/export functionality
• Pension reporting integration via i-connect transfer
• Comprehensive workflow module automates tasks, enhancing efficiency
• Recruitment publishes vacancies to web pages and tracks/automates process
• Automation of occupation sick/maternity schemes, triggered by date
• Pre-defined reporting suite – HR and payroll reporting

Benefits

• Time saving through outsourcing of payroll and pensions
• Cost saving through outsourcing of payroll and pensions
• Confidence in complying with HMRC legislation
• Full end to end processing of employee lifecycle
• Managed service – cost efficient and time saving

£625.00 a licence

• Education pricing available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at tenders@junipereducation.org. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

140393978675438

Contact

Aimee Hardy
03452008600
tenders@junipereducation.org

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Private cloud
• Service constraints: Our Customer portal experiences a temporary closure during the month-end process. This brief period allows us to ensure accuracy and completeness in our financial activities. While the portal is closed, users may experience limited access to certain functionalities. However, this closure is temporary and aims to maintain the integrity of our financial processes. We strive to minimise any inconvenience and appreciate our users' patience during this time. Rest assured, the portal will reopen promptly following the completion of the month-end tasks, ensuring uninterrupted access to our services.
• System requirements: None

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Service Level Agreements (SLAs) vary from 1 hour to 4 weeks, contingent upon query priority, ranging from High Priority to Low. P1 issues, necessitating immediate attention, demand a swift resolution within an hour, ensuring critical operations aren't disrupted. In contrast, lower priority concerns categorised as Low may allow for a more lenient timeframe of up to 4 weeks for resolution, accommodating less urgent matters without compromising service quality. This tiered approach enables efficient resource allocation and timely response according to the criticality of each query, optimising operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: Web chat
• Web chat support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support accessibility standard: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Web chat accessibility testing: We use a third party for testing.
• Onsite support: No
• Support levels: All initial queries will be directed to your dedicated payroll administrator, raised either through your portal access or by phone. This would address most of the common issues and queries and help with basic resolution. We would aim to resolve these within 48 hours, as the initial level of support, addresses the most frequently encountered issues and basic troubleshooting queries. Customers can also access online support pages and e-learning pages that will guide them through 1st line support questions and FAQ’s. Any queries raised that are deemed to be complex or need a more technical investigation, will be passed through to our technical support team. These technical queries or issues will be dealt with thoroughly and as efficiently as possible. Updates and contact will continue to be provided by your dedicated payroll contact.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: The team collaborates closely with customers to identify crucial dates and understand specific requirements and pain points. Subsequently, they focus on migrating all data to the system and conducting comprehensive testing to ensure 99.999% accuracy. Training and support commence during the onboarding phase and are seamlessly integrated into the process. Additional training options, both online and onsite if preferred, are available as needed. This training encompasses all purchased modules and is scheduled from the outset of the onboarding project. Furthermore, an online help guide is accessible through the software web portal which customers have access to as a self serve option as well as access to free webinars to ensure a smooth onboarding experience.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: HTML
• End-of-contract data extraction: Data can be extracted in multiple file formats using the standard query tool in the system. Export formats include Excel and PDF.
• End-of-contract process: A read only licence is available to enable ongoing access to historical data at a minimal cost. Data can be exported in CSV format by the customer, or consultancy services can be requested for assistance with data export.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: All web based products from Juniper Education are built using responsive design principals. In general, the only difference between the web versions and mobile versions is adaptation of the presentation to a smaller screen size. All features and capabilities are therefore the same across platforms.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: Our service interface is a web-based platform offering users self-service capabilities for payroll operations. Users can conveniently perform tasks such as data entry, workflow approvals, and accessing reports. Through this intuitive interface, users have control over managing payroll-related activities, streamlining processes, and accessing essential information whenever needed. The web service provides a user-friendly environment, empowering users to efficiently handle payroll operations independently, enhancing productivity and flexibility in managing payroll tasks.
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: N/A
• Accessibility testing: We have not completed any testing with users of assistive technology.
• API: No
• Customisation available: No

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Each customer using the solution has their own individual tenant created within the Juniper secure hosting environment. This essentially means each customer has their own specific network which cannot be affected by other tenants/networks within the solution. This approach means users cannot affect other services for other customers.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: No

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• Government security clearance: None

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: United Kingdom
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Managed by a third party
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider
• Protecting data at rest: Other
• Other data at rest protection approach: Juniper secures data at rest by encrypting it using SQL Transparent Database Encryption (TDE) with Microsoft Azure's SQL database. This encryption ensures that data stored in the database remains protected from unauthorised access or tampering. By employing TDE, sensitive information is safeguarded against potential security breaches, enhancing data security and compliance with industry regulations. This robust encryption mechanism provides peace of mind, knowing that their data is securely stored and inaccessible to unauthorised parties, maintaining confidentiality and integrity.
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: A comprehensive standard suite of reports are available which can be exported in Excel, Word, CSV or Crystal Reports. The built in query tool can be used to customise output, and exported to Excel or Word.
• Data export formats: CSV
• Data import formats: CSV

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: Private network or public sector network
• Data protection within supplier network: TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: In the event of service interruption, our commitment is to swiftly minimise impact. Our dedicated team promptly address any issues and work to restore normal service, ensuring minimal disruption to operations. Throughout the resolution process, transparent communication remains paramount. We provide regular updates on our efforts and status of actions taken to address the underlying cause, keeping you informed every step of the way. ; ; Urgent (P1) : Complete system failure. system wide inability to perform any key activities, i.e. send messages, take a register, access the system, complete payroll. Response 1hr, Resolution 8hrs; ; High: A key system is not functioning, causing high impact to the operating system. There is no work around or manual process. All users unable to run a key report, problem in key area is time sensitive statutory returns, payroll run. Response 4hrs, Resolution 5 days.; ; Normal: An issue that impacts noncritical activities but is time critical the issue can be resolved by a workaround or manual process. Unable to run a report, calculation discrepancy, unexpected behaviour of an area of the system. Response 8hrs, Resolution 4weeks.; ; Low: An issue that has low impact and has a suitable workaround available. It is not time critical. Response 8hrs.
• Approach to resilience: Available upon request
• Outage reporting: Our service has a robust system in place for reporting and managing outages to ensure minimal disruption for our customers. When an outage is expected or occurs, it is immediately reported via an email alert to both our support and infrastructure teams. This initial notification triggers a verification process to confirm the nature and extent of the issue. Once verified, we communicate promptly with our customers about the outage. This communication varies depending on the situation but typically includes updates on our dedicated Zen Desk platform, which provides real-time information and progress reports. In addition to updates on the Zedn Desk solution, we also contact customers directly via email. This ensures that all affected parties are informed and can prepare accordingly. Our approach is to maintain transparency and provide regular updates until the issue is fully resolved, ensuring that our customers are well-informed and can manage their activities with minimal disruption.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Access within our management interfaces and support channels is restricted using simple password-based authentication. User information, including passwords, is stored encrypted in the database alongside other employee and payroll data. Additionally, it can be configured to utilise Active Directory (AD) authentication, communicating with an LDAP server for user verification. This link to the AD user record ensures consistency in access control. Employee data and menu option access are managed based on user access settings, ensuring that authorised users can only access relevant information and functionalities, regardless of the authentication method used.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least once a year
• Management access authentication: Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: No audit information available
• Access to supplier activity audit information: You control when users can access audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: Between 6 months and 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: Between 6 months and 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: No
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: No
• Security governance approach: Juniper Education, adopts a proactive approach to remediation. It begins with a thorough assessment of existing protocols and vulnerabilities, identifying gaps and areas for improvement. Swift action follows, with the establishment of tailored security measures aligned with industry best practices. Robust policies and procedures are implemented, bolstering defences and mitigating risks effectively. Continuous monitoring and audits ensure ongoing compliance and readiness to adapt to evolving threats. By prioritising security as a foundational element, Juniper Education fosters a culture of resilience, safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining trust among stakeholders.
• Information security policies and processes: Juniper have a board level member responsible for Cyber Security. It is the responsibility of the exec member to ensure Juniper products, data and services are secure, resilient and reliable. The exec member works closely with Juniper Internal IT, software engineering and the Juniper Data Protection officer to ensure processes are being adhered to on a daily basis. This includes ensuring any code changes have gone through a code vulnerability scanning tool prior to release. It is also the responsibility of the Cyber Security exec to ensure that any testing conducted on changes or new features includes security test cases. Information on any security related changes or tests are recorded within Jira (the Juniper SDLC tool for Agile development). In the event of a Cyber related incident, the Juniper Incident Management process is invoked.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: Juniper utilise an Agile based approach to supporting and enhancing the its solution. Using industry standard tools such as Jira and Confluence to manage any change to the solution or its configuration. Any requests are logged in Jira and prioritised accordingly which are then slotted into a “sprint” for development, testing and release to Production. As part of the QA process – test cases are produced by the QA team who have responsibility for testing security related aspects to changes applied. Infrastructure is provisioned through Terraform, Software deployments using Pipelines (Azure DevOps), Multiple user approvals are required for changes.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: Juniper utilise an external security provider in order to conduct monthly scans on our network. This includes scans for all common vulnerabilities (such as TLS versions). Any CVE issues identified are dealt with on a monthly basis – such as patching. In addition, staff undertake regular security training which includes monthly phishing “tests” with the results recorded and remediation provided for any staff members who require further training on Cyber Security.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: The solution is hosted in a secure private cloud environment with access provided via secure Remote Access. Access to the solution is strictly controlled by Juniper. Each customer has its own dedicated tenant within the environment. Patches are applied to the solution on a monthly basis – this includes security updates to the OS. Threats are identified by both Microsoft and the Juniper external security partner – Cyber Crowd. Juniper aim to respond to incidents within 1 hour of an incident being reported (business hours only).
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: Juniper have a pre-determined Incident Management team. This team consists of IT, Operations and Support team members. In the event of an incident, the team is assembled virtually and the Incident is discussed, triaged and logged in an Incident Log. Communications with customers or any third parties are agreed and actioned. Customers can report incident either via telephone or to a support email box monitored by Juniper support. Zen Desk tickets are also created for incidents.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  Our organisation maintains a firm commitment to environmental stewardship, sustainability, and carbon reduction, underscored by our comprehensive Environment & Sustainability policy. As part of this commitment, we have implemented a range of strategic initiatives to reduce our energy consumption. Notably, the installation of Passive Infrared Sensors (PIR) to most of our offices, which has proven instrumental in energy conservation. Furthermore, we actively promote recycling practices and employ responsible waste disposal methods to mitigate our environmental footprint. In nurturing a culture of environmental responsibility within our organisation, we foster internal communications and actively engage our employees to encourage eco-friendly behaviours and practices. We have a primarily remote or hybrid workforce, and online meetings are our default, deliberately chosen to reduce the amount of travel required from our dispersed employees. We regularly review our employee location heatmap to minimise travel generally, and to ensure opportunities for employment and progression are not limited by geography. This collective effort is a reflection of our unwavering dedication to environmental preservation and sustainability.

  Covid-19 recovery

  Our organisation places paramount importance on both pandemic resilience and the assurance of a secure working environment for our entire workforce, meticulously adhering to local health guidelines and government mandates. Our comprehensive strategy encompasses the facilitation of remote and hybrid working arrangements wherever feasible, complemented by rigorous enhancements to our cleaning protocols. Sanitiser and masks are always available in all of our office locations. Furthermore, we actively encourage employees to avail themselves of vaccination opportunities, prioritising their health and safety. To address prospective challenges, we persistently invest in fortifying our technological infrastructure, bolstering the organisation's capacity to support remote work and collaboration. Our commitment extends to ongoing employee training initiatives, designed to prepare our workforce for any potential future adjustments. Within our organisation, our Human Resources department diligently oversees policy adjustments, affording paramount consideration to the welfare of our employees. We are dedicated to fostering a culture of transparent communication, maintaining a continuous dialogue with our employees to grasp their concerns and requirements. We carry out regular satisfaction surveys, linked to our 5 core Values, and our HRIS has a daily pulse Happy/Neutral/Sad survey which is reviewed weekly. We constantly review our provision of a secure and steadfast work environment, simultaneously ensuring the uninterrupted flow of our business operations. We feel adaptability and preparedness are essential.

  Tackling economic inequality

  Our organisation actively participates in apprenticeship programs. We are currently sponsoring an employee who is in the process of completing their Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship and have Apprenticeship opportunities planned for 2024. As part of our commitment to employee development, the organisation conducts routine training reviews to identify areas for improvement among our employees. We strongly advocate for employee training and frequently enter into training agreements with our employees to facilitate their ongoing professional growth. The provision of employee training is viewed as an investment in the advancement, cultivation, and overall prosperity of both our employees and the organisation. It yields a more proficient and engaged workforce, enhances productivity, and positions us favourably in the competitive landscape. We have introduced a ‘Juniper Minimum Wage’ for our employees, which ensures that everyone earns a Full Time Equivalent of £22,000pa – higher than the current National Living Wage rate. This company-specific rate will be reviewed annually, and our aim is always to meet and exceed the National Living Wage rate. 5 Our organisation is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion throughout its supply chain. We have implemented specific policies, such as Equal Opportunities & Diversity, Conduct & Standards, Bullying & Harassment, Safeguarding Policy which actively promote the participation of a wide variety of businesses. We diligently adhere to a transparent and equitable procurement process, with a clear emphasis on merit-based decisions that factor in supplier cost and availability. Our approach is rooted in objectivity and considers the qualifications and capabilities of suppliers without bias. We are aware of the importance of addressing any unconscious bias, and remain committed to ensuring that our supplier selection process is impartial, based solely on merit and the ability to meet our requirements. The Facilities team actively seek RAMs/Risk assessments and manage these processes with external contractors.

  Equal opportunity

  Our organisation is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion throughout its supply chain. We have implemented specific policies, such as Equal Opportunities & Diversity, Conduct & Standards, Bullying & Harassment, Safeguarding Policy which actively promote the participation of a wide variety of businesses. We diligently adhere to a transparent and equitable procurement process, with a clear emphasis on merit-based decisions that factor in supplier cost and availability. Our approach is rooted in objectivity and considers the qualifications and capabilities of suppliers without bias.

  Wellbeing

  Regular assessments are vital to our approach ensuring the well-being of our employees. We employ an independent Occupational Health service taking recommendations and advice. We actively promote 121 meetings between employees and line managers, serving as a platform for transparent and open communication. Employees and line managers discuss goals, track progress, and seek/provide support or additional training as needed. These sessions provide a safe space for employees to address work-related stress, personal challenges, and other issues. Our advocacy for 121 meetings with line managers plays a pivotal role in nurturing employee-manager relationships, supporting individual development, fostering open lines of communication, and ensuring alignment with our goals and values. We provide a free-to-use Employee Assistance Platform (EAP) where employees have access to qualified and experienced counsellors, receiving advice similar to services provided by Citizens Advice. The EAP is instrumental in addressing sickness absence and presenteeism rates, offering counselling support helping employees identify the root causes of their concerns. The well-being of every individual is our top priority. The EAP serves as one of the ways through which we offer support for mental well-being and provide a system that can make a substantial difference in our lives. This service is also open to close relatives of employees. Our HR Information System (HRIS), NaturalHR, features a daily Pulse survey accessible to all employees. This survey allows employees to express their current emotional state by clicking on an emotion that best represents their feelings. The HR department can access this data in real-time, enabling us to promptly address any concerns arising from unhappy responses. The information is also reviewed on a weekly basis. As a part of our commitment to employee well-being, we have provided free lunchtime learning sessions in the form of financial well-being webinars for our employees. These will be repeated annually.

Pricing

• Price: £625.00 a licence
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: No

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at tenders@junipereducation.org. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.