Workplace still has me on their payroll and wont delete me

Question

So a good majority of last year I worked in two workplaces. My main job and my part time job. During my employment in my part time job I remember that I had re-sign my contract and we were under new management as the owner had sold the business. But the name was pretty much the same. I left in November last year, and I was hoping to see my main and only job tax stop being so high. And it still continued. People are working less than me and getting more in their wage at my main job.

I was still getting emails about my wage slip at my part time job. I kept replying back saying I don’t work here take me off the payroll records. But every week an email saying here's your payslip with nothing paid to me. I figured that's why I was getting taxed high still because I was still there. So I went there and they showed me a p45 they had generated. Assuming it was correct I took it and just thought the payroll clerk was just sending them out by mistake.

I've checked my payslip today and I'm still getting taxed high, and someone suggested I go to the government website and check my income tax code. And I was shocked to see they still have me as working at the old part time workplace.

The baffling thing is that below there is a record I worked at the same company and left in July, and then I realised it was when it was under the old management. The p45 is dated for July. And they still have me on their current payroll!

I rang them up and told them to delete me and inform hmrc that I no longer work there from November 2019 and they keep saying we gave you a p45 that's proof we have said you're not working here, you need to speak to hmrc. While I'm saying that its because they terminated my contract with the old company not the new. But they say its out of their hands. I've tried updating to hmrc but they said I can't report it until after the 28th march because they are waiting for them to contact hmrc because I received a payslip in February 2020. I worked out I was taxed a total of £1500+ extra and I need that money back.

What do I do.

Answer 1

Full disclaimer - I am not an accountant.

It sounds like this is almost certainly your former employer's fault rather than HMRC. You're clearly still on the payroll system (which HMRC will have a record of), the P45 issued in July clearly isn't valid for a job you left in November (you can't issue a P45 6 months in advance, that's ludicrous) and thus it's only to be expected that HMRC will assume you're working two jobs and give you an appropriate tax code.

If it were me, I would take two approaches:

• Contact your former company again. State that you have not received a P45 in relation to your employment terminating in November 2019, and that you are clearly still on the payroll system as you are still receiving payslips. Forward them any correspondence / proof of you leaving in November 2019. Tell them, in no uncertain terms, you need to be sent your P45 and they need to remove you from payroll immediately, as it's negatively affecting your tax status and has been happening from November without your consent. Assuming you left with all the correct paperwork in place, this is very likely illegal.
• Assuming that doesn't work, contact HMRC and explain that your former employer is refusing to remove you from payroll, and refusing to issue you with a P45 (ignore the one when your company changed names, that's irrelevant and may just confuse things.) It's important you do this rather than just ask them what's happening, as then they'll just likely redirect you to your employer again. HMRC should then get involved, contact your former employer and send them various warning letters. Their weight will carry much more influence than yours.

You could also choose to hire an accountant to expedite the above - they will likely know the exact wording to send to your employer and HMRC (and heck, in your employer's case, just the headed paper from an accountant will likely be enough to get them to take it seriously.) That obviously comes with a cost though.

Timings are tricky to predict with this sort of thing. If the worst comes to the worst then you will still get a tax refund, but you will have to wait for the end of the tax year (April) for that to come through.

Answer 2

Also not an accountant, this isn't tax advice, etc. etc.

As far as your taxes are concerned, the view of HMRC is simply "did you pay the right amount of tax - for your income as a whole for the year".

So the first piece of good news, is that no matter what - you will get this money back at the end of the tax year (after calling them) when they re-calculate your total tax burden.

---

Everything on top of that, monthly taxes, splitting your tax code etc. is meant to just make your life easier. Unfortunately, it's this that's causing you the problems this time.

The setup, in the simplest form is:

• You have a single pool of "untaxable allowance"

• This is split through the year, to try to help you spread the burden of taxes evenly on each paycheck. For this part to work, it assumes you do not change your job during the year.

• This also needs to be split across employers. If you have two jobs, the easiest solution is that the entire allowance is given to one job, and none to the other. This assumes one job pays more than the total of your allowance, by itself.

• The company's each then withhold an amount of your paycheck as tax, based on the untaxable allowance they've been told to use.

---

In your situation, you had two jobs. If one of these was full-time, it is nearly guaranteed that it's income exceeded your untaxable allowance - as such, HMRC will have given them the full tax code, and given your other employer the dreaded "0T" code (no allowance). This was correct while working both jobs, now you're working just one of them - you're likely getting none of your untaxable allowance, as the second employer is still using 0T.

Unfortunately, losing one job in the middle of the year - can be a real pain, as far as getting HMRC to update their system is concerned.

However, you always have the right to contact HMRC and request that they change the split of your tax code. In this case, this may be the simplest solution - calling them and requesting that the re-assign the code so that your (only real) job gets the full allowance, and the other "job" gets "0T". It should work as a short-stop measure until you can get off the books properly.

It may also be worth talking to your employer directly (the real one), and asking their payroll team for advice. It could be possible for them to change your tax code themselves, or liaise with HMRC to resolve it for you.

---

For the longer-term "get me off the books" situation - please see other answers. But, hopefully this will get your tax situation sorted for the short term - and in April, you'll be able to get the full rebate of all overpaid taxes with a "quick" phonecall.

Answer 3

But every week an email saying here's your payslip with nothing paid to me

Since you are being taxed, it means your payslips are not zero! But they havn’t paid accordingly (presumably)

So simply call them and claim the wages that they haven’t paid!

It should force them to take an instant measure to correct it with HMRC.

Do not expect them to really pay, but if they did, do not forget my commission!