Employer responsibilities and payroll deadlines

Running payroll is a legal responsibility. Even if Mazuma processes your payroll, you remain responsible as the employer for making sure payments and deadlines are met.

Below is a clear summary of what employers are responsible for.

Paying employees

You must:

• Pay employees the correct net pay on or before payday

• Provide payslips on or before payday

• Pay at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage where applicable

Payday must be consistent with the employee’s contract, whether that is weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

Failing to pay staff correctly or on time can lead to complaints and potential legal issues.

Reporting payroll to HMRC

Each time employees are paid, payroll information must be sent to HMRC on or before payday using Real Time Information.

This is done through a Full Payment Submission.

Even if an employee is only paid once, or is a director being paid annually, the reporting requirement still applies.

More information about reporting payroll to HMRC is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/running-payroll/reporting-to-hmrc

Paying HMRC

You must pay HMRC:

• Income Tax deducted from employees

• Employee National Insurance

• Employer National Insurance

• Student and postgraduate loan deductions

• Apprenticeship Levy, if applicable

Payments are usually due by the 22nd of the following month if paying electronically, or by the 19th if paying by post.

Some small employers may be allowed to pay quarterly instead of monthly.

Late payments can result in interest and penalties.

Details of payment deadlines are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/pay-paye-tax

Workplace pensions and auto enrolment

If you have eligible staff, you must:

• Assess employees for auto enrolment

• Enrol eligible employees into a qualifying pension scheme

• Deduct employee contributions

• Pay employer contributions

• Submit contributions to your pension provider on time

You must also complete required declarations with The Pensions Regulator.

We will cover workplace pensions and NEST in more detail in a separate article.

Keeping payroll records

You must keep payroll records for at least 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.

These records include:

• Payments to employees

• Deductions

• Reports sent to HMRC

• Tax code notices

• Statutory payment records

Good record keeping helps protect your business if HMRC carries out a review.

Statutory payments

If eligible, employees may be entitled to statutory payments such as:

• Statutory Sick Pay

• Statutory Maternity Pay

• Statutory Paternity Pay

• Statutory Adoption Pay

As an employer, you are responsible for paying these through payroll and reporting them correctly.

Your responsibility when outsourcing payroll

If Mazuma runs your payroll:

• We calculate pay and deductions

• We submit reports to HMRC

However, you remain legally responsible for:

• Ensuring information provided is accurate

• Paying employees on time

• Paying HMRC and pension contributions by the deadline

• Meeting workplace pension duties

Outsourcing payroll does not transfer legal responsibility to your accountant.