New job and Tax code

MrsBartolozzi

I was just wondering how long it usually takes to get your tax code sorted properly once you start a new job.
I started a job on 15th October and gave them a current P45 on the 18th (when I received it from the job centre). My first pay slip on 5th Nov had my tax code as BR, and my second pay slip today still has me as BR. I was thinking that this seems like quite a long time, but is this usual? I should not be paying tax at all this year and so the amount I am owed (and really need to live on) is mounting up.
Is there anything I can do to hasten this at all?

Thanks.

jimmo

In the first place this is down to your employer. Why are they operating code BR when you have given them a valid P45?
You should be playing hell with your employer but I guess you also want to keep your job.
Rumour has it that HMRC is currently working about 12 weeks behind and so, if your employer will not do the decent thing and has notified HMRC of the start of your employment it will be 12 weeks before HMRC send you the standard enquiries.
When you reply to HMRC it will take them another 12 weeks to respond and issue the correct code.
So, unless you can persuade your employer to put things right it could easily be the best part of 6 months before you get your tax back.
Talk to your employer.

kingmonkey

What? This is an extreme example that jimmo gives.

Just call or visit your payroll department and tell them your tax code is wrong. They may want to see another copy of your p45, those carbon copies can be hard to read sometimes. Payroll dont have to involve HRMC to get your taxcode as its on your p45.

Do it Monday so that it gives them plenty of time to work out your pay by the end of the month. Tax will be paid back to you through your salary once your taxcode is correct.

I change employer every year and give it 2 months (1st month seems to be always wrong) before i start chancing these things. Definitely get it sorted before April as filling in forms for HRMC to claim taxback (although easy) is more of a hassle.

MrsBartolozzi

Ah ok thanks, so it's my employer that's at fault then. Explains why everyone else at work I spoke to about it is still on BR too (I work in a newly opened retail store and everyone started at the same time - approx 150 people). I had hoped it would be sorted by now (second pay), but as you say I don't want to be seen as a troublemaker and they may just be struggling with the workload rather than just lazy.
Hmm, I'll ask about and see if anyone else is willing to approach the management about it. (no HR in store)

jimmo

I am really struggling to appreciate why kingmonkey says "This is an extreme example that jimmo gives.". Possibly that's down to separate personal experiences.
It is quite a number of years since I last worked on PAYE as a taxman but, in my experience, when a person is wrongly put on code BR at the beginning of an employment the fault is more likely to be with the individual or the employer rather than with HMRC.
As you work in a retail store and you think that up to 150 people employed in the same store are in a similar position to yourself that really suggests to me that your employer is at fault.
If you were working for a major retailer such as ASDA, Tesco or Comet I like to think that they would have more sophisticated procedures in place than to leave an employee on code BR when it is not justified. However if things went wrong you would have a pretty good chance of complaining to payroll or HR without the danger of somebody from payroll or HR reporting you to your direct manager as a troublemaker.
If you were working for a small employer, owning one retail outlet I find it easy to believe that your employer has a system in place which absolutely ensures that they do not deduct insufficient tax from your earnings, but maybe doesn't go far enough to protect its employees from over-deductions.


To me, that is your problem. You are paying too much tax. HMRC should sort it out eventually but if you go on the attack how safe is your job?