Changes to Employee Self Service

Changes to Employee Self Service

Registration and updates

Employee Self-Service Lite (ESS) is used by everyone in schools to look at payslips, update personal details and can be accessed at work, at home or on the move – using any device, wherever you have access to the internet.

What’s changed?

When employees register for ESS for the first time or wants to reregister (reset their password) they will receive a one-time passcode (OTP) sent to the email address listed in their personnel record in the IBC.

The passcode will need to be entered to successfully to complete the registration/reset process.

Security has also been enhanced by:

strengthening password requirements
adding a memorable word as part of the account reset process.

To further enhance security, headteachers/school office staff with access to the IBC portal will now receive an alert in their IBC ‘My inbox’ whenever an employee updates their personal details.

If a passcode isn’t received

Employees should check their junk/spam folders
Retry the registration process
Or contact the school office to confirm their email address (school office staff (with access to the IBC portal) can find guidance in the IBC by searching for ‘Manage personal email).

Casual employees

Because of the way casual employees are held in the IBC, you won’t be able to add an email directly into the system for them.

When you have a casual employee who needs to register for or reset their ESS account, please raise an IBC enquiry and include the following information into your enquiry: “Assign the enquiry to Payroll Support Team”.

The IBC team will add the casual employee’s email address and they will be able to register to use ESS as soon as this has been done.

Any questions

If you’re unsure about this change or need more support, contact the IBC and they will be able to advise you.

ESS registration: Guidance for headteachers

As you may have read in <link to School Communication above>, employees can now register to access ESS on their personal devices. This includes the ability to change passwords and reset accounts.

The key changes for headteachers to be aware of are:

Registration and reset

Employees will now receive a one-time passcode (OTP) to email addresses on their personnel record and will need to enter it to complete registration or account reset.

Employees may speak with you to confirm the email address on their record and ask you to update if necessary.

You can use the My Team app to view an employee’s email address and click on the blue Manage Personal Email link to update this if required.

Please note this app cannot be used to amend employee’s emails when payroll is closed. When payroll is open, it will take until the next working day to update on the employee’s record.

For some casual/supply staff, headteachers will be unable to add an email directly using the Manage Personal Email app. In these cases, the headteacher or individual must raise a webchat, and Shared Services will add the email so registration can proceed.

Headteacher visibility

Headteachers will receive an item in My Inbox for action whenever an employee updates the following personal details, helping ensure changes are visible and verified:

Email address
Permanent residence address
Bank details
Emergency contact details

What to do:

Click ‘Changes OK’ to confirm and remove the item.
Click ‘Report an Issue’ only if the employee did not make the change.
Click ‘Cancel’ to leave the item in your inbox.

Bank details verification

Updates to bank details will be checked using NatWest’s Confirmation of Payee (CoP) API to ensure the account information matches before submission.

Helpful guidance

If you have checked the guidance pages and need further support, launch webchat (where available) by clicking on the ‘Need help, chat now’ icon in the bottom right of the guidance page screen to reach a specialist advisor.