Last employer will not issue a p45

[Stressedout65]

My last employer will not issue a p45. They ignore all emails & phone calls requesting this. I need some information from it & trying to call Hmrc is very painful. I read on Gov.uk that it's a legal requirement to do so. However, I have read elsewhere that from 2019 it is no longer a legal requirement & p45's & p60's are being phased out. Can anyone advise please?

The Republic of Ireland had a P45 form which served the same purpose as the UK's P45. This was eliminated in 2019. However, that was Ireland. In the UK employers are still legally required to provide a P45. The government has not announced any plans to phase this out.

You need to inform HMRC that your last employer is refusing to comply. You should also inform your last employer that you have contacted HMRC due to their failure to comply with their legal obligation to provide a P45. That may be enough to get things moving.

Also, some of the information that is on it can be found on the hmrc Personal Tax Account page (though I'm not sure how long it takes to sort the registration out as I already had one).

Was your employer in Ireland as we no longer deal with p45’s etc its all now in real time from revenue to the company and vice versa. You could ask them for a letter stating your date of cessation but thats up to the company. No idea about British taxes but they surely would know we do not issue stuff like that in ireland anymore.

Can you acess HMRC online?

Ah, thank you all so much, that makes things a lot clearer. I read about the phasing out part on Google, but it was just a paragraph that didn't specify which country it was talking about. Now I know its Ireland & I live in the UK I'm going to let them know that I will be reporting them to Hmrc. All I want is the paye reference number. Have emailed them & called, but I just get ignored. Their payslips do not show the paye reference number either. They're a mobile care company & they are the worst company I have ever dealt with. Probably the threat of Hmrc will fall on deaf ears. I've had an email from Nest to say they haven't paid the er's contributions to anyones pension for months either. I will end up writing to Hmrc to ask for the paye ref no.

Why do you need a PAYE reference number? Give your new employer a completed P46. They will put you on a W1/M1 code so that you are not hit with emergency tax.Your new employer will receive an updated code from HMRC and your tax will be sorted.

P46s were scrapped years ago. It's a "new starter checklist" now.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/paye-starter-checklist

I thought the new starter checklist was the P46?

But I see I'm wrong - it was the new starter checklist I was referring to.

@purplefoxglove I need a paye ref number to complete the form P87 to claim back tax relief on work expenses I have incurred myself. Their paye ref is not shown on their payslips & I have not received a p45 or p60. I have nothing with their paye ref on it. Phone calls & emails go unanswered, they are a shower of shite, absolutely terrible. Contacting hmrc at the moment is painful too

@Stressedout65 have you received your P60 yet? That will have the PAYe ref on it.

@purplefoxglove no p60 either. I'm going to report them to hmrc, not providing a p45 can lead to a fine as its a legal requirement. Hopefully they'll get flagged and get investigated!

[quote Stressedout65]@purplefoxglove no p60 either. I'm going to report them to hmrc, not providing a p45 can lead to a fine as its a legal requirement. Hopefully they'll get flagged and get investigated![/quote]
You may find it quicker to give them 24 hours to produce it or you will report them to HMRC and remind them it is a legal requirement and they can be fined. HMRC IME at the moment are quite slow on things generally...

Payslips are not required to include the employer's PAYE reference number. However, the behaviour of this employer plus the fact they haven't been making pension payments makes me wonder if they've been pocketing the income tax and NI contributions deducted from your pay instead of paying HMRC.

*Stressedout65

@purplefoxglove no p60 either. I'm going to report them to hmrc, not providing a p45 can lead to a fine as its a legal requirement. Hopefully they'll get flagged and get investigated!

You may find it quicker to give them 24 hours to produce it or you will report them to HMRC and remind them it is a legal requirement and they can be fined. HMRC IME at the moment are quite slow on things generally...*

And then report them anyway.

You should also report them to The Pensions Regulator for the failure to pay pension contributions.

www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/contact-us/scheme-members-who-to-contact/report-concerns-about-your-workplace-pension

Create an online personal tax account. I'm almost positive you can view your employment history on there and that it includes their PAYE ref.

No, your employer's PAYE reference is not included in your online personal tax account. You can see your UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference), your employer's name and your payroll number but not your employer's PAYE reference.

@prh47bridge

No, your employer's PAYE reference is not included in your online personal tax account. You can see your UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference), your employer's name and your payroll number but not your employer's PAYE reference.

Apologies, could have sworn it was there!

The deadline for giving you a P60 is 31st May. Of course they don't have to give you one if they have given you your P45 (assuming you left before 5 April).

I agree that its highly likely that they have not been declaring everything to HMRC so report them.