Payroll for beginners: running UK payroll for the first time
A plain-English beginner's guide to running UK payroll: registering for PAYE, choosing software, each pay run, RTI, pensions and year end.
Taking on your first employee is a big step, and payroll is one of the parts that catches new employers out. There is more to keep track of than most people expect. This guide walks through running UK payroll from scratch, in plain English, so you know what is involved before your first payday.
Step one: register as an employer with HMRC
Before you pay anyone, you must register as an employer with HMRC. Once registered, you receive a PAYE reference and an Accounts Office reference. You use these on every payroll submission and every payment to HMRC, so nothing works until they arrive.
Registration is not instant, and it can take a couple of weeks for your references to come through. The key rule is to register before your first payday, so give yourself plenty of time.
Step two: choose recognised payroll software
You must report your payroll to HMRC electronically every pay run, so you need payroll software that HMRC recognises. HMRC publishes a list of recognised products, and it is worth checking that whatever you choose can:
- Calculate tax, National Insurance and pension deductions
- Produce payslips
- File Real Time Information (RTI) reports to HMRC
- Handle starters, leavers and year end
Some smaller employers use HMRC’s own Basic PAYE Tools, but it has limits, such as not producing payslips. Many first-time employers decide the software, and the responsibility that comes with it, is more than they want to take on, and outsource payroll to a bureau instead.
What happens in each pay run
Every time you pay your staff, whether weekly or monthly, the same cycle repeats. In outline, a pay run involves:
- Work out gross pay for each employee: salary or hours, plus overtime, bonuses, commission, holiday pay and any statutory payments such as sick or maternity pay.
- Calculate income tax (PAYE) using each employee’s tax code.
- Calculate National Insurance, both the employee’s contribution and the employer’s contribution.
- Assess and deduct pension contributions for auto-enrolment, and add the employer’s contribution.
- Apply any other deductions, such as student loan repayments or an attachment of earnings order.
- Produce a payslip for each employee showing gross pay, every deduction and net (take-home) pay.
- Report to HMRC before or on payday (see RTI below).
- Pay your employees the correct net amount.
Getting each of these right, for every employee, every single pay run, is the part that takes the most care.
RTI: reporting to HMRC in real time
Under Real Time Information (RTI), you must tell HMRC about your payroll on or before the day you pay your employees, not once a year. Each pay run you send a Full Payment Submission (FPS) showing what you have paid and deducted. If you have reduced what you owe, for example by reclaiming statutory payments, you also send an Employer Payment Summary (EPS).
Missing or late RTI submissions can lead to penalties, so the timing matters as much as the figures.
Paying HMRC
Your software totals the tax and National Insurance you owe HMRC each tax month on your Employer Payment Record (the P32). You then pay this over, usually by the 22nd of the following tax month if you pay electronically. Smaller employers, generally those owing under a set monthly threshold, may be able to pay quarterly instead. Paying late can trigger interest and penalties.
Auto-enrolment pension duties
Every employer has auto-enrolment duties. Each pay run you must assess each employee against age and earnings thresholds, put eligible staff into a workplace pension, and pay the minimum employer contribution. You also have to write to staff about their rights, handle anyone who asks to opt in or out, re-enrol eligible staff roughly every three years, and complete a declaration of compliance with The Pensions Regulator. These duties apply even if you only have one employee.
Year end
At the end of the tax year, on 5 April, there is a further round of tasks:
- Send your final RTI submission for the year, marked as the final one.
- Give a P60 to every employee still working for you, by 31 May.
- Report any expenses and benefits you have provided.
- Update your software for the new tax year’s rates and thresholds.
How much is there to keep on top of?
Quite a lot, as you can see. Registering correctly, running accurate calculations, filing RTI on time, paying HMRC, managing pensions and handling year end all sit on the employer. Get any of it wrong and you risk penalties, unhappy staff or both. That is why many small employers outsource their payroll: it takes the whole cycle off your plate and gives you confidence it is being done right.
If that sounds like you, we can run all of this for you. Learn more about our outsourced payroll service, or get a no-obligation quote.