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Published 17 Jul 2026, 13:45 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Diocese of St Albans Provision of Integrated HR and Payroll System

Official notice

Authority: Diocese of St Albans (Public body)·On behalf of: PHP Law LLP

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£650,000≈ £217k / year · £780,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 4 Sept 2026
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Mar 2030 · up to 31 Mar 2033 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This tender opportunity has been issued by Diocese of St Albans Multi Academy Trust (the Trust), and Tenderers are invited to tender for the provision of an integrated Human Resources and Payroll system, with the capability to support a fully managed payroll service. The solution must enable compliant payroll and workforce administration in accordance with relevant legislation, HMRC requirements, Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) regulations, statutory employment obligations, and sector best practice. It must also provide the transparency, reporting capability, and internal controls necessary to support efficient Trust-wide operations.

  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Jul 2032, 23:59 BST.
  • No preliminary market engagement: The Trust did not carry out preliminary market engagement (PME) prior to tender publication to prepare for this procurement. Tenderers shall be aware that under the Act, the Trust is not obligated to carry out PME. The justification is that the requirements are not complex, or niche and the Contracting Authority already has an understanding of what they want the service to deliver and the market is known.

CPV: Personnel and payroll services · Software package and information systems

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Renewal 3 yrsSMEPublished value£650,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 – 31 Mar 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2033 with extensionsValue: £650,000 exc. VAT · £780,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: East of EnglandEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: To include additional schools or additional related services or software modules The contract value is a breakdown of £350k, plus £300k to enable school growth in the Trust · 3 further 1 yesr extensions (3+1+1+1)
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    To constitute a pass, Tenderers must demonstrate their economic and financial standing in accordance with the following: Due diligence checks will be undertaken on the preferred Tenderer’s accounts to determine a Tenderer’s financial standing. This will incorporate credit checks and a financial appraisal. To constitute a pass, tenderers must: a) Complete a credit check & financial appraisal. No outstanding CCJ’s or bankruptcy must be shown. A financial appraisal will be based upon the organisations gearing ratio, acceptable rates are around a target of 2:1 b) A minimum average annual turnover over the past two years of 1.5 times the Total Contract Value. Any answers which lead the Trust, acting reasonably, to conclude, considering the risk that the relevant answer suggests about the Tenderer’s ability to properly perform the specification, then the Tenderer may be rejected. Insurance requirements - can commit to obtain, prior to the award of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below a. Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance* = £5m b. Public Liability Insurance = £5m c. Professional Indemnity Insurance = £1m d. Product Liability Insurance = £1m e. Cyber and Data Protection Insurance = £1m

  • Technical & professional ability

    Provide details of up to three contracts to meet conditions of participation relating to technical ability set out in the relevant notice or procurement documents, in any combination from the education sector. To constitute a pass, the contract examples provided shall be relevant to the requirement, with a sufficient level of detail that provides confidence in the Tenderer’s established past experience in similar and relevant projects/contracts. If you cannot provide at least one example of previous contracts, please provide an explanation for this and how you meet the conditions of participation relating to technical ability.

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids were scored
Quality: 60%Price: 40%
Published sub-criteria (3)
  • Quality Questions: 25%
  • Software - Technical Requirements: 35%
  • Price: 40%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Quality Questions: Implementation & Transition Delivery 4.0% Quality of People & Support Team 5.0% Quality of Managed Payroll Service Provision 5.0% Customer Retention & Client Success 4.0% Service Support Model & Responsiveness 2.0% Contract Management & Strategic Partnership 1.5% Service Performance Monitoring & Continuous Improvement 1.5% Innovation, Product Roadmap & Future Fit 1.0% Complaint Resolution & Escalation 1.0%
  • Software - Technical Requirements: “Must” (Importance of Requirement Column C in Document 4a) 35% 20.0% “Should” (Importance of Requirement Column C in Document 4a) 10.0% “Could” (Importance of Requirement Column C in Document 4a) 5.0%
  • Price
Conditions of participation2
  • Economic & financial standing

    To constitute a pass, Tenderers must demonstrate their economic and financial standing in accordance with the following: Due diligence checks will be undertaken on the preferred Tenderer’s accounts to determine a Tenderer’s financial standing. This will incorporate credit checks and a financial appraisal. To constitute a pass, tenderers must: a) Complete a credit check & financial appraisal. No outstanding CCJ’s or bankruptcy must be shown. A financial appraisal will be based upon the organisations gearing ratio, acceptable rates are around a target of 2:1 b) A minimum average annual turnover over the past two years of 1.5 times the Total Contract Value. Any answers which lead the Trust, acting reasonably, to conclude, considering the risk that the relevant answer suggests about the Tenderer’s ability to properly perform the specification, then the Tenderer may be rejected. Insurance requirements - can commit to obtain, prior to the award of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below a. Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance* = £5m b. Public Liability Insurance = £5m c. Professional Indemnity Insurance = £1m d. Product Liability Insurance = £1m e. Cyber and Data Protection Insurance = £1m

  • Technical & professional ability

    Provide details of up to three contracts to meet conditions of participation relating to technical ability set out in the relevant notice or procurement documents, in any combination from the education sector. To constitute a pass, the contract examples provided shall be relevant to the requirement, with a sufficient level of detail that provides confidence in the Tenderer’s established past experience in similar and relevant projects/contracts. If you cannot provide at least one example of previous contracts, please provide an explanation for this and how you meet the conditions of participation relating to technical ability.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Closed
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Yes · next expected 1 Jul 2032
First published
17 Jul 2026, 13:45 BST
Last source update
17 Jul 2026, 13:45 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 11 Nov 2026
Authority reference
DSAMAT01.02
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-067820
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Personnel and payroll servicesSoftware package and information systems
Delivery area
East of England (UKH2)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06cde1 Find a Tender
Contract terms summary
  1. The Trust requires the following payment profile: a. Implementation Costs • 25% invoiced upon Contract Signature • 25% invoiced upon completion of the build • 25% following completion of testing • 25% following go live plus 1 month a. Table B All Inclusive Cost • Monthly invoice in arrears
Review and risk notes
Risks
  1. Data Accuracy & Input Risk: Inconsistent or late inputs from academies can cause payroll errors. 2. Integration & Systems Compatibility Risks: Unclear or evolving integration requirements may disrupt operations. 3. Implementation & Transition Risks: Complex migrations, legacy data, and tight timelines can cause failures. 4. Compliance & Legislative Risk: High risk of non‑compliance with LGPS, TPS, HMRC, and sector requirements. 5. Governance & Approval‑Chain Risk: Multi‑level approvals may delay payroll runs. 6. Service Reliability & Business Continuity: Outages or poor resilience may cause missed pay dates. 7. Vendor Performance, Capacity & Resourcing Risks: Under‑resourcing can slow turnaround and increase errors. 8. Query Management & Support Risk: Insufficient helpdesk responsiveness impacts accuracy and staff satisfaction. 9. Contractual & Liability Risks: Liability caps may be insufficient for high‑impact payroll errors. 10. Scalability & Expansion Risks: Onboarding new schools can be delayed or inaccurate. 11. Cultural, Process & Change Management Risk: Low adoption and inconsistent processes increase error likelihood. 12. Trust Control & Visibility Risk: Reduced visibility or audit access undermines governance.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: EU-Supply (CTM) · Who buys & how to bid on EU-Supply
Public notice page · account needed to bidElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · 5–10 minutes
Submission deadline
4 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
Clarification deadline
4 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

17 Jul 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Tender notice published97 days ago
    17 Jul 2026, 13:45 BST
  2. Clarification questions by48 days ago
    4 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
  3. Submission deadline48 days ago
    4 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
  4. Today
    22 Oct 2026
  5. Award decision expected byin 21 days
    11 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
  6. Contract startsin 161 days
    1 Apr 2027

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    17 Jul 2026, 13:45 BST
    UK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Diocese of St Albans

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PVHB-5837-LVDN Manshead Ce Academy Dunstable Road, Caddington, Luton, East of England, LU1 4BBContact name, email

Other public bodies

  • PHP Law LLPProcess contact pointProcuring entityProcurement ConsultantGB-PPON: PPRM-9434-VNYQ Totnes, South WestContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender