Being an employer → Becoming an employer + PAYE registration
Becoming an Employer + PAYE Scheme Registration — LEL £123/week 2025/26
You must register as an employer with HMRC and operate a PAYE scheme as soon as you pay anyone at or above the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL: £123/week / £533/month / £6,396/year for 2025/26), OR pay any director, OR provide expenses or benefits-in-kind to any worker, OR engage someone who already has another job or pension. The trigger is LEL — NOT the secondary threshold (£5,000) and NOT the personal allowance (£12,570). Register via HMRC PAYE Online before the first payday. Allow 4-6 weeks lead time: HMRC typically issues the employer PAYE reference + Accounts Office reference within 5 working days but can take 10+.
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Guidance, not advice. We explain the rules, we don't assess your situation. Always seek financial or tax advice from your accountant, or contact HMRC. Read our editorial scope →
In plain English
The single most-misunderstood point: the PAYE trigger is the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL), not the personal allowance or the secondary NI threshold. For 2025/26 the LEL is £123/week (£6,396/year). The moment you pay anyone at or above that level, you must operate a PAYE scheme. Even below LEL, you trigger PAYE if you pay any director, provide any taxable benefit/expense, or engage someone with another job or pension (because their other employment uses up the personal allowance — you need a tax code to deduct correctly). Don't conflate this with the Class 1 secondary NIC threshold (£5,000 from April 2025) — that is the point at which employer NI starts to bite, not the point at which a PAYE scheme is required. Register via HMRC PAYE Online before the first payday. HMRC issues two references: the Employer PAYE reference (e.g. 123/AB45678) and the Accounts Office reference (e.g. 123PA00012345). You need both for RTI submissions and payment. Allow 4-6 weeks lead time — most registrations come back in 5 working days but 10+ is common in busy periods.
How it works
Identify the trigger
Run through: (a) am I paying anyone at or above £123/week? (b) am I paying any director? (c) am I providing any taxable BiK or expense? (d) is anyone I am paying also employed or in receipt of a pension elsewhere? Any 'yes' = register for PAYE.
Register via HMRC PAYE Online
Set up a Government Gateway business account. Apply for PAYE for Employers via the 'Get an employer PAYE reference' route. Provide: business name; trading address; UTR (if any); date first employee starts; estimated number of employees; payment frequency. Online registration only; no paper alternative for new schemes.
Wait for credentials
HMRC posts the Employer PAYE reference + Accounts Office reference. Typical 5 working days; allow up to 4 weeks. Do NOT make first PAYE payment to HMRC until you have the Accounts Office reference — payments without it route incorrectly and require manual reallocation.
Choose payroll software
Options: (a) HMRC Basic PAYE Tools — free, suitable for up to 9 employees; (b) commercial payroll (FreeAgent / Xero / QuickBooks / Sage / BrightPay / Moneysoft / IRIS — categorical reference only). Software must be HMRC-recognised for RTI submission. Confirm Auto-Enrolment integration (TPR Declaration of Compliance is a separate submission).
Pre-first-payday checklist
Employer Liability Insurance (Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 — min £5m cover; mandatory subject to narrow family-employee exception); written statement of employment particulars (day-one ERA 1996 s.1); pension scheme chosen + assessed; right-to-work check (Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006); GDPR-compliant employee data handling.
Who this applies to + key conditions
- Paying anyone at or above LEL (£123/week 2025/26)
- Paying any director (no LEL floor for directors)
- Providing any taxable benefit-in-kind or expense
- Engaging anyone with another job or pension (tax code needed)
- Operating in the UK — PAYE is UK-territorial
- Subcontractor payments in construction: register separately for CIS
Statute + manual references
Primary: Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 + Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2682) — the PAYE regime.
Related: Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 — LEL + Class 1 NICs; Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/1004); Finance Act 2013 + Schedule 24 — RTI penalty regime (refined by Sch 24 FA 2021); Income Tax (Construction Industry Scheme) Regulations 2005 — separate CIS scheme triggered by construction subcontractor payments
HMRC manual: PAYE Manual (PAYE20000+ scheme set-up); NIM02000+ (LEL + thresholds); CWG2 (Employer Further Guide)
Common mistakes + traps
- Believing the personal allowance (£12,570) is the PAYE trigger — the trigger is the LEL £123/week
- Believing the secondary NI threshold (£5,000) is the PAYE trigger — that is the NI threshold, not the PAYE trigger
- Paying a director below LEL and assuming PAYE not required — director payments always trigger
- Making first PAYE payment to HMRC without the Accounts Office reference — payments mis-allocate
- Forgetting Employers' Liability Insurance — £2,500/day penalty for non-compliance
- Skipping right-to-work checks — Home Office civil penalty up to £60,000 per illegal worker (Feb 2024 onwards)
Worked example
Priya, sole trader plumber, hires her first apprentice on £200/week
Priya has run her plumbing business as a sole trader for 3 years. From 1 June 2025 she hires Sam, age 18, as an apprentice on £200/week (above LEL £123/week — PAYE triggered). Sam has no other job. Priya has no other employees.
- Step 1 — Confirm trigger: £200/week ≥ LEL £123/week → PAYE scheme required.
- Step 2 — Register for PAYE Online by mid-April (target 4-6 weeks before 1 June start).
- Step 3 — Receive PAYE reference (e.g. 475/PQ12345) + Accounts Office reference (475PA00067890) by ~late April.
- Step 4 — Choose payroll software (HMRC Basic PAYE Tools free, fits Priya's 1-employee scheme).
- Step 5 — Arrange Employers' Liability Insurance (£5m min); choose AE pension scheme (NEST is default; Sam is 18 so below AE eligibility age 22, but Priya must still assess monthly).
- Step 6 — Apprentice NMW rate £7.55/hour (Sam is 18, in first year, so apprentice rate applies); £200 / 30hr week ≈ £6.67/hour BELOW £7.55 — must increase to avoid NMW breach.
- Step 7 — Issue Sam written statement of employment particulars on day one (ERA 1996 s.1).
- Step 8 — Submit FPS on or before each payday; pay PAYE + NIC monthly by 22nd (electronic) / 19th (post).
Outcome: Priya is PAYE-registered with HMRC, has lawful employment infrastructure, must adjust Sam's pay to clear apprentice NMW, and operates Basic PAYE Tools at zero software cost.
How this connects to the rest of the framework
Once registered, FPS and EPS submissions become the operational core of PAYE.
Class 1 employer NI starts at the £5,000 secondary threshold — different from the PAYE registration trigger.
PAYE registration triggers AE duties when you hire eligible workers — separate TPR submission.
If you operate in construction, you also need a separate CIS scheme for subcontractor payments.
Determine status before assuming PAYE — true self-employed engagements stay outside PAYE.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I miss the Self Assessment deadline?+
Do I need an accountant or can I file Self Assessment myself?+
How do payments on account work?+
What if I'm paying someone under £123/week — do I still need PAYE?+
How long does PAYE registration take?+
Can I use HMRC Basic PAYE Tools?+
Do I need to register for CIS at the same time?+
Free + regulated-body resources
- GovUK — register as an employer →
Official PAYE registration entry point
- HMRC Basic PAYE Tools →
Free payroll software (up to 9 employees)
- CWG2 Employer Further Guide →
Definitive operational PAYE reference
- HMRC Employer Bulletin →
Bimonthly updates
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