Payroll Documents

Every one of your paid employees needs to receive a payslip each pay period. Whether you’re paying them weekly, monthly or on an adhoc basis, they’re a legal requirement on or before each payday.  

By law, payslips must include the following information: 

• Total gross pay 
• Net pay 
• Statutory deduction amounts  
• Contractual deduction amounts  
• The pay dates 

But many employers choose to also include additional information, such as tax codes, business information, employee number, or a breakdown of gross pay.  

Payslips aren’t only a legal requirement, but they’re important for a number of reasons, especially for an employee:  

1. Employees can check that their pay, tax and deductions are all correct. 
2. They might be required for certain things such as tax returns, or benefits claims. 
3. They can be used as proof of income when applying for loans, mortgages, or housing. 
4. A payslip provides proof of deductions such as student loans so you can prove payment has been made. 
5. Employees can also use a payslip to prove their identity in some situations. 

When an employee leaves your organisation, you have to provide them with a P45. This document shows their tax code, tax paid year to date, national insurance number, and previous employers’ information.  

A P45 is a really important document for their new employer as it allows them to ensure their new employee is on the correct tax code, and can run their payroll successfully. If an employee doesn’t have a P45, they will need to fill out a new starter checklist.  

At payroll year end, you’ll need to process a document called a P60 for each of your employees. A P60 shows: 

• Gross earnings   
• Income Tax   
• National Insurance   
• Might include information from a previous employer  

• If you receive any statutory pay, such as parental leave, or paid back some of your student loans, these figures will be confirmed by your P60 too.     

You must provide the P60 to your employees by 31st May.  

Onboarding new team members is an exciting time for an organisation, but you of course need to ensure that your newest colleague is registered on your payroll system. Many employees will come from their previous roles with a P45, but if this is delayed, they have had a career break, or this is their first role then they will need to complete a new starter checklist document.  

Employees will need to have the following information to complete the checklist: 

• Personal details, including their name, full address and date of birth 
• National Insurance number if known 
• Start date 
• Details of any student loans or postgraduate loans 
• Passport number (if they are sent to work temporarily in the UK by an overseas employee) 
• Details of any income received in the current tax year from another job, a pension or from Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit 

You’ll then use the new starter checklist to work out your employee’s tax code.