Add a new starter correctly

Employee payroll information checklist

Begin with the information payroll needs to identify the employee, apply the correct starting treatment, calculate authorised pay, make payment and report the employment. Do not copy an entire recruitment or HR file into payroll simply because it is available.

Separate the three information groups

Keep these groups distinct from right-to-work evidence, DBS records, emergency contacts, general HR onboarding and pension assessment. Those records may feed a joined-up starter process, but they have different purposes, access needs and owners. Bank details, for example, are normally needed to pay the employee; they are not part of the employee identity data reported to HMRC on the FPS.

For each field, name who collects it, who approves it, who enters it and who reviews it. One person may perform several roles in a small employer, but the hand-off must still be visible. A manager should not be able to change an hourly rate merely by editing a timesheet, and payroll should not guess a start date from the first hours submitted.

What this lesson does not replace

Lesson 2 owns employment-status and PAYE-registration decisions. Lesson 3 owns employer and software configuration. The employer’s right-to-work, DBS and wider recruitment duties remain separate processes. This lesson assumes the person has been approved as a starter and teaches how to build their payroll record safely.

Identity details payroll can rely on

Record the employee’s full legal name, home address, date of birth, gender as required for payroll and HMRC reporting, start date and National Insurance number when known. Treat the RTI gender field as payroll-reporting information rather than combining it with wider HR equality or identity records. Use the employee’s supplied evidence and current HMRC fields rather than informal nicknames or a manager’s recollection. HMRC lists the employee information needed for payroll.

An employee may not yet know or have evidence of their National Insurance number. Its absence does not automatically mean the employer must abandon the entire payroll setup. Record the remaining identity information accurately, do not invent a temporary number, and follow current HMRC guidance for the information available.

Create the employment record

Add the employing legal entity, job title or description, employment start date, department or location, pay frequency, normal payday, contractual hours or working pattern, and the source of approved variable hours. Record whether the employee is a company director and the relevant appointment information, but leave the detailed director National Insurance calculation method to the payroll specialist or owning lesson.

Assign a unique payroll ID where the system uses one. A payroll ID identifies an employment record within the PAYE scheme. Use a new ID for a rehired former employee and for one employee holding more than one job in the same PAYE scheme. Reusing an earlier ID can create duplicate or incorrect employment records. If someone is rehired in the same tax year, HMRC says to use a new ID and restart the new employment’s year-to-date information at zero. This is a record-continuity point; detailed rehire processing belongs later in the course. HMRC explains payroll IDs in its new-employee guidance.

Decide which starter evidence applies

A recent P45 can provide information from a previous employment in the current tax year. Check that it belongs to the employee, that the details are readable and that payroll is using the employer sections as directed. Do not treat previous-employment pay as pay made by the new employer.

If there is no usable P45, ask the employee to complete HMRC’s current starter checklist. HMRC updated the guidance on 2 March 2026. The checklist is used to add the employee to payroll, establish the initial tax-code treatment, identify relevant student or postgraduate loan information and tell HMRC about the new employment. Use HMRC’s current starter checklist.

An employee may still need starter information when they have a P45: their details may differ, they may have another employment, they may be returning after self-employment or a break, or payroll may need student or postgraduate-loan information. A P45 and starter checklist are not always mutually exclusive.

The employee supplies the declaration

The employee provides accurate facts and makes the applicable starter declaration. The employer must not alter that declaration to produce a preferred tax outcome. Payroll uses the supplied information with current HMRC rules and payroll software to determine the supported starter treatment. HMRC may subsequently issue a different tax code. The employee does not choose a preferred tax code, and the employer does not choose a preferred declaration.

Pay attention to first jobs, other current jobs, recent benefits and student or postgraduate loans. A P45 does not necessarily contain every loan detail needed for payroll. Apply later HMRC notices through the controlled notice process rather than silently replacing the original evidence.

Exception: information arrives after first pay

Retain the late evidence and the date it was applied. Follow the current software route rather than resubmitting the employee as a new starter. Check HMRC’s late P45 and starter-checklist guidance.

The £8,500 informs the supported cumulative tax treatment; it is not Riverside pay.

Record a complete pay instruction

A salary or hourly rate is not enough on its own. Record the amount, effective date, pay frequency, normal hours or unit, contractual payday and approver. For variable workers, define which time or rota record feeds payroll, who approves it and the cut-off for the pay period.

Keep different pay and deduction items distinct. Basic salary, approved hours, overtime, statutory payments, expenses, pension contributions, student loans, court orders and voluntary deductions may follow different rules. Lesson 6 will teach how authorised elements build gross pay; this lesson only ensures that the source, approval and effective date are present.

Protect bank and payment details

Collect bank details through an approved secure route. Restrict access and make later changes visible to a reviewer. A request sent from a familiar email address can still be fraudulent, so verify a bank change using an established contact method rather than replying to the same message. Secure collection and independent change verification are recommended fraud controls, not HMRC starter-reporting requirements.

Do not store bank details, National Insurance numbers or starter declarations in open spreadsheets, general project boards or manager chat threads merely for convenience. Define where the authoritative record lives, whether Workmax or another provider acts as a processor, who can see it, how information is transferred, how long it is retained and how access is removed when roles change. Use the ICO security guidance alongside your controller and processor responsibilities.

Hand pension assessment to Lesson 5

Collect the identity, age, pay and employment information needed for the employer’s pension process. Do not mark the employee as enrolled, postponed or exempt simply to finish starter setup. Lesson 5 owns assessment, enrolment, communications, opt-in and opt-out handling.

Complete the pre-payroll review

Review the starter as one joined-up record rather than checking random fields in isolation:

• Does the legal name, address, date of birth and payroll-reporting gender match the supplied starter evidence?
• Is the employment start date authorised and consistent with the employment instruction?
• Is the National Insurance number recorded when known, without a fictional replacement?
• Is the payroll ID unique for this employment?
• Was a usable current-year P45 or employee-completed starter declaration retained?
• Are student and postgraduate loan details supported by the information received?
• Are pay rate, effective date, frequency and variable-input route authorised?
• Is paid-director status identified for the correct specialist treatment?
• Were bank details collected securely and high-risk changes reviewed?
• Has another authorised person completed the pre-payroll review where staffing allows?

Report the employee when first paid

Include the starter details on the FPS the first time the employee is paid and normally send it on or before that payday. Include the information collected from the employee, the supported starter declaration and tax-code treatment, and pay and deductions since they started working for this employer. Do not add previous-employment figures to the new employer’s current-period pay.

Check the FPS response and retain the payroll record, source evidence and review trail. A successful technical submission does not prove every input was correct, so compare the first payslip and employee record with the approved starter instruction.

Three key takeaways

1. A payroll starter record is connected to onboarding but has a narrower purpose, owner and access boundary.
2. Use a valid P45 or an employee-completed starter checklist; never invent missing information or choose the employee’s declaration.
3. Validate the complete record, then report the starter on the first FPS using pay and deductions from this employment.

What comes next

Continue to Lesson 5, Understand workplace pensions and automatic enrolment, to use the starter’s age, pay and employment information for assessment, enrolment and contribution responsibilities.

Related resources: HMRC employee-information requirements, HMRC’s starter checklist, late P45 or starter checklist, registering a new employee, ICO data-protection principles, and Workmax payroll.