Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Payroll Services Contract for St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust

ST THOMAS CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

29 Jun 2026 at 11:13

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

18 May 2026 at 17:56

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

10 Dec 2025 at 17:04

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

03 Dec 2025 at 10:16

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process for providing payroll services at St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust has successfully reached the contract award stage. The Trust, based in Luton, is a public authority operating under sub-central government jurisdiction. The awarded contract entails the comprehensive management of payroll and pension administration for all existing schools within the Trust and those anticipated to join in the future. The procurement was conducted through a selective, flexible competitive procedure aligned with the Light Touch Regime. Notably, the award was concluded on 29th June 2026 with Education Personnel Management Limited being designated the supplier. The contract value is approximately £558,932 with services predominantly affecting regions UKH2 and UKJ1 in the United Kingdom. The contract's operational period will commence on 1st September 2026 and is anticipated to run until 31st August 2029, with a potential extension of up to two additional years.

This opportunity creates a strategic foothold for businesses in the payroll and pension administration sectors to expand their portfolio within the educational domain. Companies that are adept at managing diverse pension schemes across various local authorities and can ensure interoperability between payroll and other core systems like MIS or financial software will find this contract particularly suitable. Specifically, SMEs with a proven track record in delivering tailored, flexible, and high-quality service offerings that can adapt to the evolving needs of educational institutions are well-positioned to benefit from such contracts. The awarded contract also opens avenues for more schools joining the Trust, providing further growth potential for service providers capable of scaling operations efficiently.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Payroll Services Contract for St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust

Notice Description

St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust is undertaking this procurement process to source a suitable provider that can operate all aspects of the Trust's payroll and pension administration for all their schools and any schools that may join the Trust in the future. Over the past few years the Trust has changed significantly by growing to 17 schools and as such the requirements of the payroll and personnel services have evolved, and now the Trust is moving to re-tender the contract to meet new demands. Each school is responsible for managing their workforce and checking payroll data, with top-level oversight coming from the Trust. STCAT schools are based within varying areas which means that the support staff workforce is enrolled in various pension schemes with differing local authorities. A provider who can understand these nuanced differences and ensure that the service is flexible yet remaining consistent, will be paramount to the success of the contract. Amongst current frustrations is the lack of easily accessible and interrogable workforce data and a lack of interoperability between the HR/Payroll service and other core systemssuch as the school MIS, or financial management software. Although not a firm requirement, it would be beneficial if the new service could offer such functionality. The number of schools is due to increase shortly from 17 to 20, plus the Central Team, and the Trust requires a system to manage that change.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Up to 2 year extension, on a +1year, +1year basis.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05eda3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/060653-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79211110 - Payroll management services

79631000 - Personnel and payroll services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£550,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£550,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£465,777 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£465,777 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 Jun 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
5 Jan 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
18 May 20263 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ST THOMAS CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LUTON
Postcode
LU4 0PF
Postcode Area
Luton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH21 Luton
Delivery Location
TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Local Authority
Luton
Electoral Ward
Lewsey
Westminster Constituency
Luton North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

EDUCATION PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

Loading OCDS record...