What every UK employer has to get right — PAYE and Real Time Information, National Insurance, pension auto-enrolment, the National Minimum Wage, payslips and statutory leave — answered clearly and linked back to the source: HMRC and GOV.UK.
The UK guide is being built the way Australia's, Germany's and New Zealand's were: written against government sources, adversarially verified underneath, and corrected as the law moves. The first wave is live below; the operator research (registrations, RTI from overseas, payment rails) is in flight and follows as its own section.
The National Minimum & Living Wage rates, who gets them, and the deduction rules.
Payslips & recordsThe itemised-payslip right, what must be on it, and the record-keeping duties.
Leave & statutory payHoliday entitlement, SSP, and the statutory parental payments.
PAYE, NI & auto-enrolmentWhat comes out of every pay — and what the employer adds on top.
The things that have to be in place to run payroll legally in the UK. Each item links to a full explainer. Want the printable, standalone version? See the payroll setup checklist.
The day-one right (ERA 1996 s.1) — the core employment terms in writing from the first day.
Read →From a P45 or the starter checklist — no details means an emergency code.
Read →Eligible jobholders must be enrolled; the employer contribution starts on qualifying earnings.
Read →A new starter is reported to HMRC via RTI on or before their first payday.
Read →The correct NMW/NLW band for the worker's age, and only lawful deductions.
Read →Holiday entitlement, SSP and the statutory parental payments — with the reclaim rules.
Read →RTI on or before payday; PAYE + NI + student loans remitted by the 22nd (electronic).
Read →The s.8 itemised-payslip right, and the payroll record-retention duties.
Read →Employer PAYE + Accounts Office references, before the first payday.
Read →When PAYE attaches to a non-resident employer, and the DPNI/DCNI direct-payment routes.
Read →The journey views: what happens, in order, from the first hire to the last payslip.
What you collect and what you pay at each stage — from the written statement to the P45.
The setup checklistEvery step from PAYE-scheme registration to first compliant payslip, in order.
The same deadlines two ways: the month as you run it, and the tax year as HMRC schedules it.
Payday → the on-or-before FPS → paying HMRC by the 22nd — every clock in order.
The payroll yearThe 6 April tax year, the 1 April NMW uprating, P60 by 31 May, P11D by 6 July.
Running UK payroll from outside the UK — what attaches, the registration machinery, and the RTI clocks — written from our adversarially-verified research.
When PAYE attaches to a non-resident employer, the DPNI/DCNI direct-payment schemes, and the Companies House axis.
Registrations & employer IDsThe PAYE scheme (employer + Accounts Office references), Government Gateway, and what an offshore employer can do remotely.
RTI: FPS, EPS & paying HMRCThe on-or-before FPS rule, the EPS, the 22nd payment deadline, and the year-end P60/P11D cycle.
Who governs UK payrollHMRC, The Pensions Regulator, ACAS — what each body owns, takes and enforces.
Ledra Pay is building governed gross-to-net for the United Kingdom — PAYE, National Insurance and auto-enrolment behind one embedded API, with an auditable evidence chain behind every figure. RTI rails are shaped with design partners.
See UK coverage →