You just hired 12 people.

The salaries have been agreed. Contracts are being prepared. Everyone is ready to start.

Then comes payroll.

But payroll is not simply a matter of adding 12 new salaries to a spreadsheet and paying them at the end of the month.

Once you hire employees, your business may also have tax, pension, employee compensation, training and record-keeping obligations to deal with.

So before you add those 12 employees to payroll, what else needs to be handled?

1. PAYE: You Need to Consider the Employee’s Tax

When employees earn income from employment, the applicable personal income tax needs to be considered as part of the payroll process.

For an employer, this means payroll is not just:

Gross salary → deductions → net salary.

You also need to determine the applicable tax treatment, make the required deductions and handle the relevant remittance and reporting obligations.

Nigeria’s tax administration framework changed from 1 January 2026, so businesses should ensure that their payroll process reflects the current tax laws rather than relying on an old payroll template or calculation.

In short: new employees mean new payroll tax considerations.

2. Pension: Check the Contributions

Where the Contributory Pension Scheme applies, pension contributions need to be properly calculated and remitted.

PenCom states that an employee contributes a minimum of 7.5% of monthly emoluments, while the employer is also required to contribute a minimum of 7.5% under the applicable scheme.

The employer therefore needs to consider things such as:

• The employee’s pension details
• Applicable pensionable emoluments
• Employee contributions
• Employer contributions
• Correct remittance
• Supporting pension records

Pension contributions are also subject to a specific remittance timeline. PenCom states that the combined employee and employer contributions should be remitted not later than seven days after the employee is paid.

So pension should be built into the payroll process from the beginning — not treated as something to sort out later.

3. NSITF: Employee Compensation Is Separate From Pension

Pension and employee compensation are not the same thing.

The Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) administered by NSITF covers specified employment-related situations, including workplace injury, occupational disease, disability and death.

NSITF currently states that registered employers contribute 1% of total monthly payroll, funded by the employer.

That means when you hire new employees, your business should also consider whether its NSITF registration, employee records and monthly contribution process are properly set up.

4. ITF: Your Employee Count Matters

The Industrial Training Fund is another area employers need to review.

Under the ITF Amendment Act provisions, an employer with 5 or more employees is liable to contribute 1% of total annual payroll. The same contribution applies to an employer with fewer than five employees where the employer has annual turnover of at least ₦50 million.

So imagine your business previously had four employees.

You hire 12 more.

You now have 16 employees.

That is not just a change to your salary bill. It is also a reason to review your ITF position.

5. Payroll Records: Keep a Proper Trail

Payroll should leave evidence of what was calculated, deducted, paid and remitted.

Depending on your business and applicable requirements, this can include:

• Employee details
• Employment dates
• Salary and remuneration details
• PAYE calculations and remittances
• Pension calculations and remittances
• NSITF records and contributions
• ITF records and contributions, where applicable
• Payroll summaries
• Salary payment records
• Other supporting payroll documents

Good records make it easier to reconcile your payroll, respond to compliance requests and identify errors.

They also mean you are not trying to reconstruct six months of payroll when someone suddenly asks for supporting records.

So, You Hired 12 People. What’s Next?

Don’t think of it as:

Hire → Add to payroll → Pay salaries.

Think of it as:

Hire → Set up employee records → Review applicable obligations → Calculate → Remit → Keep proper records.

And this is where payroll becomes more than a spreadsheet.

At Brill Professional Services, we help businesses manage the accounting and compliance work that comes with having employees.

Our support can cover payroll, PAYE, pension compliance support, NSITF, ITF and related payroll records and statutory compliance.

That means you don’t have to figure out every part of the process yourself or keep several separate compliance tasks in your head every month.

Hiring Is Growth. Payroll Is Part of Managing That Growth.

Hiring 12 people is a significant step for a growing business.

But as your team grows, your payroll and compliance responsibilities can grow with it.

So before the next salary run, don’t ask only:

“How much do we pay our new employees?”

Also ask:

“What else do we need to handle because we now have these employees?”

If you need support managing your payroll and related statutory obligations, Brill Professional Services can help you put the process in place and keep it properly managed.