Hiring paperwork and payroll information overlap, but they are not identical. A signed offer may explain the salary while leaving payroll without a date of birth, a usable tax starting position or an approved first-payment calculation. Sending a name and annual salary shortly before payday rarely provides everything needed.
In this article
- Confirm employment and start details
- Gather starter and payment information
- Add agreed pay and working hours
- Check the first payslip before payment
Create a starter pack with two parts: information the employee supplies and instructions the employer approves. Keep a named person responsible for checking completeness and resolving gaps. That reduces the risk of payroll being asked to interpret a contract or guess an employee’s circumstances.
Separate the information by purpose
HMRC’s new-employee guidance explains the personal and starter information needed to set up the correct tax code and declaration. Accuracy matters: a nickname, transposed birth date or duplicated record can create work well beyond the first pay run.
| Information | Who supplies or confirms it | Why payroll needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Full legal name, address and date of birth | Employee | Accurate employee identification |
| National Insurance number, where available | Employee | Payroll and HMRC record matching |
| Start date and employment details | Employer | Correct starter record and first period |
| P45 or starter checklist | Employee | Tax starting information |
| Student and postgraduate loan information | Employee and relevant notices | Appropriate deduction setup |
| Salary or hourly rate and frequency | Employer | Gross-pay calculation |
| Approved hours and variable pay | Manager | Evidence for the first payment |
| Bank details | Employee, securely verified | Payment destination |
| Pension scheme and assessment details | Employer and scheme administrator | Correct pension process |
A bank account is needed to make a bank payment, but it is not a substitute for tax starter information. Likewise, a National Insurance number is not proof of the person’s right to work. Follow the separate right-to-work checking process before employment begins.
Use the P45 or starter checklist properly
Ask for the employee’s P45 from their previous employment. If they cannot provide one, use HMRC’s starter checklist rather than creating your own informal tax declaration. Give them time to read and complete it themselves.
The questions help establish the tax starting position and relevant loan information. Do not tick an answer because the employee is “probably only working here”. A second job, pension or earlier employment can change the information they need to give.
Record what you received and when. If the P45 arrives after the first run, follow HMRC’s late-P45 guidance. The appropriate update depends on the information and instructions already in place; do not overwrite the employee’s record without checking that guidance.
Give payroll clear employer instructions
Confirm the first payday and which earnings it covers. For someone starting partway through a period, provide the approved partial-period calculation or the agreed calculation method. State whether a payment is basic salary, overtime, commission, a bonus, expenses or another item. Their payroll treatment may differ.
Clarify contractual hours and the timesheet process. If pay varies with time worked, hours information also matters for the payslip requirements. An email saying “pay the usual amount” is particularly unhelpful when no previous amount exists.
Flag relevant deductions and provide the supporting authorisation or instruction. Tell the processor whether the person is a director, rather than treating that status as an incidental title. Identify pension arrangements and who is assessing the new starter, sending communications and enrolling them where required.
Protect the starter’s personal information
Use an agreed secure method for collecting forms and documents. Restrict access to people who need the information and avoid copying a whole management group into messages containing bank details or tax documents. Keep employment decisions available to the appropriate managers without giving them unnecessary access to personal tax information.
Confirm changed bank details through a trusted process, especially where the request arrives through a new email address or immediately before payment. A payroll record can be internally consistent and still contain fraudulent payment instructions.
An illustrative onboarding problem and its solution
A hypothetical retailer hires an employee ten days before its next payday. The shop manager sends payroll the annual salary and starting date but omits the starter checklist and first-period instructions. Payroll cannot safely infer the employee’s previous employment or decide the partial-month calculation.
The owner asks the employee to complete the official checklist, confirms the contracted hours, approves the first payment and supplies the pension scheme details. The draft run is reviewed before payment. Instead of repeatedly chasing separate messages, the retailer adds a completeness check to its starter pack for future hires.
The lesson is to resolve missing inputs before approval, not to promise that every late document can be processed immediately. Agree an escalation route if information arrives after your internal cut-off.
Check the first run and close the loop
Review the starter’s name, start date, gross pay, tax setup, deductions and net payment. HMRC requires you to report a new employee on or before their first payday. The starter information is included through the payroll reporting process; retaining a completed checklist alone does not notify HMRC.
Give the employee their payslip and a clear contact for questions. If something looks wrong, identify whether the issue concerns employer instructions, payroll processing or HMRC information before changing the record.
To discuss onboarding support, send your employee numbers, software and first-payday timetable through EPOS Accountancy’s payroll page. Confirm the available scope and data-transfer process, and use pricing when considering a quote.