New Employer Duties

Get employee information

You’ll usually get most of this information from the employee’s P45, but they’ll have to fill in a ‘starter checklist’ (which replaced the P46 form) if they do not have a recent P45.

You’ll need your employee’s:

• date of birth
• gender
• full address
• start date

From your employee’s P45, you’ll need their:

• full name
• leaving date from their last job
• total pay and tax paid to date for the current tax year
• student loan deduction status
• National Insurance number
• existing tax code

You must keep this information in your payroll records for the current year and the 3 following tax years.

If your employee does not have a P45

Ask your employee for this information if you do not have their P45, or if they left their last job before 6 April 2019.

The P46 form is no longer used.

Get the information by asking your new employee to complete HMRC’s new starter checklist.

If your employee has more than one P45

You should use the P45 with the latest date and give the other one back to the employee.

If they have the same leaving date use the P45 with the highest tax free allowance (or least additional pay for a K code) and give the other one back to the employee.

Work out your employee’s tax code

When you’ve got your employee’s information you can use a tool to:

• work out their tax code and starter declaration
• find out what else to do before you pay your employee for the first time

Employers have to provide a workplace pension scheme for eligible staff as soon as your first member of staff starts working for you (known as your ‘duties start date’).

Check you’re an employer

You’re usually an employer if you deduct tax and National Insurance contributions from an employee’s wages.

Check you’re an employer if you’re not sure what your pension responsibilities are, for example you employ a carer or someone to work in your home.

Who you must enrol

You must enrol and make an employer’s contribution for all staff who:

• are aged between 22 and the State Pension age
• earn at least £10,000 a year
• normally work in the UK (this includes people who are based in the UK but travel abroad for work)

If staff become eligible because of a change in their age or earnings, you must put them into your pension scheme and write to them within 6 weeks of the day they meet the criteria.

If you’re not sure what the state pension age is you can use the State Pension age calculator to find out.