Articles and information in relation to UK Payroll for business, employers and employees.
Number of illegal working arrests skyrocket by 63% as Immigration Enforcement carry out highest level of raids in British history. Arrests for illegal working have soared to their highest levels since records began, following an uplift in enforcement action. Under Operation Sterling, the government invested £5 million into Immigration Enforcement, to target, arrest, detain, deport … Continue reading Largest crackdown on illegal workers
SLC has received more than 1.1 million refund requests through its Digital Refund Service, which offers a self-serve route for customers to request Below Threshold refunds. The figure has been announced 29th October 2025 as the Studemt Loan Company (SLC) issues its annual Student loan repayments via PAYE eligible for refund - Tax Year 2024/25. The … Continue reading Student Loan Refund requests exceed 1.1 million
New report exposes major AI skills gap holding UK businesses back - but 3 new tools launched will help unlock up to £400bn growth potential by 2030 Skills England unveils new AI Skills Framework, Adoption Pathway and Employer Checklist to support wider and more responsible AI use Separately, 7.5 million UK workers are set to gain essential AI skills by 2030 … Continue reading Help for UK businesses to fill £400bn AI skills gap
Reforms to open up affordable home charging to thousands more households new proposed planning reforms to cut red tape giving renters and motorists without driveways greater access to cheaper charging at home residents could save up to £250 on application fees with wider proposals to help renters and leaseholders install chargers more households … Continue reading Electric vehicle (EV) charging at home to be easier
Consultation on extending legislation to prevent illegal working (the Right to Work Scheme) to other working arrangements This Home Office consultation is now live. It is open to businesses across the UK and seeks views on how the checks should be implemented in the wider labour market (gig economy, zero hours, flexible working arrangements). This … Continue reading Preventing illegal working (the Right to Work Scheme) to other working arrangements
Self Assessment filers reminded to file their tax return with 100 days to go to the deadline Self Assessment filers have 100 days to file their tax return and pay any tax owed before the 31st January 2026 deadline. 3.5 million people have already submitted their tax return for the 2024 to 2025 tax year. … Continue reading 100 days to Self Assessment deadline
Consultations launched on key Make Work Pay measures including protections for pregnant women and new mothers at work, bereavement leave and trade union reforms The public are invited to share views on reforms including dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers at work, and bereavement leave. Business and workers are to shape trade union … Continue reading Bereavement and pregnancy protections to be shaped by businesses and workers
Victims and direct witnesses of crime who sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) will no longer be gagged from speaking out Government clampdown on misuse of NDAs as “gagging orders” to conceal crime. Change will ensure victims can talk about criminal conduct to anyone, for any purpose, without fear of breaching an NDA. Part of the … Continue reading Victims freed from NDA silence
Half a million workers are set for a pay boost as over 16,000 employers are signed up to pay the real Living Wage, including IKEA, Everton FC and Aviva. Popular high-street retailer Uniqlo is the latest to announce it is joining the Living Wage movement. The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate independently calculated based on what is needed to … Continue reading Real Living Wage Rates Increase to £13.45 in UK and £14.80 in London
Guidance for employers on making employees’ student loan and postgraduate loan deductions in different circumstances has been updated with a correction (21st October 2025). The change made: Information about what to do if an employee dies has been corrected. Student loan and postgraduate loan repayment guidance for employers Previously the guidance implied that student loan … Continue reading Student Loan deduction guidance corrected
As part of the October 2025 shaming list of employers who have been named and fined for National Minimum Wage regulations breaches, 11 of the 491 related to various types of deduction from wages which reduce the average pay rate below National Minimum Wage rates which act as minimum legal amounts to pay for time … Continue reading Pay deductions can cause minimum wage breaches
(c)2025 PAYadvice.UK Direction about the approved method of electronic communication to give an employee notice of a tax code. The HMRC Commissioners’ Direction has been updated. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) give the following direction about the approved method of electronic communication which may be used to give an employee a notice of a tax … Continue reading Employee Notice of Tax Code – Commissioners’ Direction
(c)2025 PAYadvice Ltd HM Revenue and Customs have shared that they are aware that users of their web and app services have been having problems accessing online services. This is due as part of global issues affecting Amazon Web Services. HMRC are now pleased to confirm that the earlier global outage affecting Amazon Web Services … Continue reading HMRC impacted by Amazon internet problems
Although employers may have set payment rates at or above the National Minimum Wage for their workers and employees, some even using the higher Living Wage (the voluntary living wage foundation rate), many appear to also get their workers to do extra time for free or count certain work activity as unpaid. All work time … Continue reading Another 103 employers caught not paying for time worked!
In-work poverty causing misery as over half of low-paid parents forced to turn to food banks UK workers paid below the real Living Wage face severe hardship as prices rise. Many have no financial buffer to absorb higher costs or deal with emergencies. Housing costs in particular are putting pressure on household budgets. The financial … Continue reading In-work poverty causing misery as over half of low-paid parents forced to turn to food banks
Of the 491 recently shamed employers for breaching National Minimum Wage (NMW) by the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) audit teams, the largest failures related to apprentices. Of those caught, 190 were for breaches of NMW related to apprentices. There are some important considerations for those who claim to or do employ apprentices: That there … Continue reading Apprentices – not a reason to underpay!
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) audit teams from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have caught and fined another 491 employers across the United Kingdom for underpaying their workers for a variety of reasons. Some are well known household brands. Large numbers of employers are struggling to understand their obligations to their workforces to pay them … Continue reading Where are October 2025 shamed employer minimum pay breaches happening?
£6 million repaid to workers as Government cracks down on employers underpaying their staff Nearly 500 employers fined over £10 million for failing to pay the National Minimum Wage. £6 million put back into the pockets of working people as Government delivers the biggest overhaul of workers’ rights in a generation, as part of its … Continue reading Another 491 employers fined £10million+ for National Minimum Wage breach
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are replacing physical immigration documents with a digital immigration status, known as an eVisa. Moving to a digital immigration system UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are developing a digital immigration system. This means replacing physical documents with a digital record of identity and immigration status. This is known as an … Continue reading Update on the move to eVisas
all pupils will sit a mandatory reading test at age 13 to drive up reading standards. A national focus on reading at the start of secondary school is to drive up standards to ensure every young person can achieve and thrive, as the government announces a mandatory reading test for all children at age 13. … Continue reading Focus on reading to drive up standards
HMRC publishes the Employer Bulletin 6 times a year, giving employers and agents the latest information on topics and issues that may affect them. Some of these topics have already been covered by PAYadvice.UK in articles and blogs and further articles and blogs may now additionally be published. The October edition of Employer Bulletin includes … Continue reading Employer Bulletin: October 2025
Over 40,000 more sick or disabled people will receive intensive employment support to move into secure, fulfilling work and out of poverty, thanks to a £167.2 million boost to the Connect to Work programme. Nine further areas across England to benefit from a £167 million investment in Connect to Work – the programme that refuses … Continue reading Job advisers to be embedded in GP surgeries as tens of thousands more sick and disabled people offered help into work
Matthew Taylor to lead Government's new Fair Work Agency from April 2026. Taylor Review author Matthew Taylor appointed as first Fair Work Agency chair to support the government’s mission to kickstart economic growth. New agency to transform labour market enforcement, protecting workers from bad employers who flout minimum wage and other labour laws, levelling the … Continue reading FWA chair appointed to crack down on minimum wage underpayment and worker exploitation