PAYE payroll: the information a provider needs each pay period

PAYE is the UK system through which employers deduct Income Tax and National Insurance from employee pay and report the relevant information to HMRC. The payroll process also includes pay calculations, payslips, deductions, reporting and record keeping.

An employer must send a Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC on or before employees’ payday. That deadline is why cut-offs, complete data and a recorded approval matter more than last-minute chasing.

A payroll provider can only process what the employer supplies, in time, through agreed contacts. That usually includes: who is being paid; hours, salary or other pay elements; starters, leavers and changes; authorised deductions and adjustments; pension scheme settings; and confirmation that the payroll summary has been reviewed.

Late or incomplete information may mean a change cannot be processed in that cycle, needs an off-cycle run, or has to wait until a later payroll. The agreed approach belongs in the service schedule.

A workable timetable names the data cut-off, who may submit instructions, when the payroll summary will be issued, and how approval is given. Approval does not transfer the employer’s legal duties. It makes responsibility visible before processing continues.

The employer remains responsible for supplying accurate information, approving payroll, paying amounts due and meeting employer duties, even where administration is outsourced.

HMRC guidance indicates PAYE records generally need to be retained for at least three years after the end of the relevant tax year. Clients remain responsible for their own statutory records-retention obligations.

This website does not set Axiom’s client-data retention period. Retention for processing carried out on a client’s instructions is defined in the signed agreement and Data Processing Addendum.