Compliance calendar for UK employers
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
A compliance calendar gives UK employers a structured view of the payroll, reporting and employment law deadlines they must meet each tax year, helping them avoid penalties and keep employees paid correctly.
How the UK employer compliance year is structured
The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Most employer obligations are anchored to this cycle, with some falling on fixed calendar dates and others triggered by events such as a new hire or a leaver.
The backbone of in-year compliance is Real Time Information (RTI). Under RTI, you must submit a Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC on or before each payday, every time you pay employees. There is no end-of-year batch submission for payroll data — the obligation is continuous throughout the year.
Key dates from April to July
6 April — the new tax year begins. Update tax codes issued by HMRC, apply any revised National Insurance rates or thresholds, and confirm that pension contribution settings still meet the auto-enrolment minimums (employer 3%, employee 5% of qualifying earnings).
19 April (or 22 April for electronic payment) — final PAYE and NI payments for the previous tax year must reach HMRC.
31 May — issue P60s to all employees who were on your payroll on 5 April. The P60 summarises total pay and deductions for the year. Failure to provide it on time can draw HMRC attention and inconveniences employees who need it for tax returns or mortgage applications.
6 July — P11D deadline. Submit P11Ds (expenses and benefits) and the P11D(b) Class 1A National Insurance return to HMRC. Class 1A NI is charged at 13.8% on most taxable benefits in kind and must be paid by 19 July (22 July electronically).
This April-to-July window is the busiest period for annual reporting obligations.
Ongoing in-year obligations
Beyond the annual milestones, several duties run continuously.
Payroll and RTI. Every FPS must be submitted on or before payday. Income tax is deducted using the PAYE system: employees pay 20% on earnings between the personal allowance (£12,570) and the basic-rate limit, 40% above that, and 45% above the additional-rate threshold. Employee National Insurance is 8% on weekly earnings between the primary threshold and upper earnings limit, then 2% above. Employer NI is 13.8% on earnings above the secondary threshold (category A).
Pension auto-enrolment. Eligible employees must be enrolled in a qualifying scheme. Contributions must be deducted and paid to the pension provider by the date specified in your scheme rules, typically within a few weeks of the relevant pay period. Keep enrolment and opt-out records; the Pensions Regulator can audit these at any time.
Statutory payments. Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and other family-leave payments must be administered correctly and funded through your payroll. From April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay applies from day one of sickness — there are no longer any waiting days — as a result of the Employment Rights Act 2025.
New starters and leavers. Issue a P45 to every leaver. For new starters, collect a starter declaration or P45 to assign the correct tax code before their first FPS.
Employment law triggers and probationary periods
Several employment rights attach from the first day of employment, regardless of length of service. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Royal Assent December 2025), genuine day-one rights include the right to request flexible working, day-one Statutory Sick Pay (from April 2026), and day-one entitlement to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.
Unfair dismissal protection currently requires two years of continuous employment. That qualifying period will reduce to six months for dismissals on or after 1 January 2027. There is no statutory probation period — probation is a contractual arrangement, not a legal category. Employers wishing to manage performance during an early stage of employment should ensure their contracts and procedures are well drafted, because the reduced qualifying period in 2027 will narrow the window in which dismissal carries lower legal risk.
Annual leave entitlement of 5.6 weeks (28 days including bank holidays for a full-time five-day-week worker) accrues from day one and must be reflected accurately in payroll calculations for leavers.
Looking ahead: changes taking effect in 2027
Employers should begin planning now for two further Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms due in 2027: guaranteed-hours provisions and restrictions on fire-and-rehire practices. Both will affect workforce contracts and operational flexibility. The reduced unfair-dismissal qualifying period (six months) also takes effect from 1 January 2027, which will require tighter documentation of performance management from an earlier stage in employment.
Building these dates into an internal HR and payroll calendar now — alongside the fixed annual milestones — reduces the risk of last-minute scrambles and costly errors.
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