Gathering information for your new employees can be a time-consuming task. HMRC has pulled together some straightforward guidelines to help you collect the right details to guarantee they get paid correctly.
Ensuring that employees pay the right tax and National Insurance contributions will protect their entitlement to the state benefits they'll need in the future.
Here are HMRC's top three tips to follow:
1. What action to take if an employee does not have a P45
If your new employee doesn't have a P45, use the starter checklist to find their starter declaration code and the appropriate tax code.
2. What tax code to use with starter declaration code C
If the starter checklist determines that the employee should be on starter declaration code C, use tax code BR. If you can't complete the starter checklist, and your employee doesn't have a P45, put your new employee on starter declaration code C and use tax code 0T.
3. What PAYE details you will need from a new employee
You'll need all the info in the starter checklist, including their name, date of birth and National Insurance number. Check these are correct by looking at their official documents. Getting this right will save you time and resources by avoiding having to update payroll and answer your employees’ questions about their pay.