Previous Employer kept my tax rebate?!

RedHitman

Hi all,

Hoping someone can help. I left my old job on September 25th 2015 quite abruptly (my position was made untenable) and I haven't obviously spoken to them since. I resigned, I wasn't sacked.

I have just been made aware by the Tax Office that I was issued 2 tax rebates in October 2015 totaling £100 through my previous employer, but I never received them.
There is also something else dodgy (see why I left?!) in that the Tax Office have no record of me paying tax with that company, although I actually did and have the wage slips to prove it.

The reason all this is coming out is because I knew I was due a tax rebate due to me leaving my old job and obviously having paid tax whilst I was there (I didn't earn enough from that point on to go over the tax threshold).

So the question is, what do I do now?!
The Tax Office say they have paid part of the rebate I'm due to my old employer when I left and I obviously should have received it!

Darksparkle

Did you get a P45 when you left?

HMRC don't send tax rebates to employers.

RedHitman

I didn't. I got my P60 this April from my new employer and it only has on it the wages I earned from them, not the wages from the previous employer.

I requested a document through the tax office to see how much I'd earned up until my new employer and this is how all this has come about. My old employer didn't declare I'd left them until 2 months later, and the document says I paid no tax with them (which of course I did and have my wages slips to prove it).... Because I was on a zero hour contract the tax office still had me as employed but not earning anything, so started to pay back the tax I had been being so far (this is common on zero hour contracts). Over that 2 months they paid back the tax I had already paid to my old employer, who then never paid it to me.

Darksparkle

Ask on the tax forum. So far it doesn't make sense as that's not how rebates are dealt with.

Mersey_2

Darksparkle wrote: »

Did you get a P45 when you left?

HMRC don't send tax rebates to employers.

I have known this happen.


Although admittedly it was in 2009 - so maybe no longer current practice - and it was to a current employee. From memory it was paid in with monthly pay in a Summer month to correct the March overpayment of income tax (ie previous tax year) when the then new employee was placed on a temporary coding. I assume it happened to others in large firms.

Mersey_2

RedHitman wrote: »

My old employer didn't declare I'd left them until 2 months later, and the document says I paid no tax with them (which of course I did and have my wages slips to prove it).... Because I was on a zero hour contract the tax office still had me as employed but not earning anything

Definitely inform HMRC of this asap - enclosing copy wage slips - as sounds like a rogue employer. In fact it has to be either that or a failure in matching the NI number.


The only time I've known this occur and it not be the employer's fault was when the firm had 3 offices and HMRC/the firm had failed to list/match employees of 1 of the 3 offices. Letters to HMRC similar to your case simply received 'we have no trace of your employer at this post code' responses (which was worrying). You'd hope since RTI, HMRC can now trace almost all employees asap however.

RedHitman

So I have spoken to HMRC this morning and what I assumed happen, has indeed happened.
They confirmed that my previous employer had kept me on their books for an additional 2 months and in that time they were instructed to pay me weekly rebates (the chap on the phone explained they don't physically send the money, which makes sense).

They now deal in real time tax he said. Every month, all employers send their wage details to HMRC and everything is updated monthly. They can see I was paying tax from April until September (when I left) and then they can see there's no more wages paid to me, but I'm still classed as an employee - thus they instructed to start paying back the overpayment of tax so far (about £50 a week).

So I was right. My previous employer has actually been sneaky, kept me on their books and never paid me back the money I was owed. !!!!!!.

I now have to write a letter to HMRC detailing all this and they will speak to my previous employer as to why they didn't pay it and to instruct them to do so (no way will they).

I imagine this will end with me taking them to claims court. !!!!!!.

stator

Did you break your notice period?

Mersey_2

RedHitman wrote: »

So I have spoken to HMRC

So I was right. My previous employer has actually been sneaky, kept me on their books and never paid me back the money I was owed. !!!!!!.

I now have to write a letter to HMRC detailing all this and they will speak to my previous employer as to why they didn't pay it and to instruct them to do so (no way will they).

I imagine this will end with me taking them to claims court. !!!!!!.

Well done for pursuing it.


Yes, hopefully the HMRC letter will prompt payment.


If not, it's certainly worth the Court Fee to gain the c£500 you're owed.


It's £25+ for the MCOL (online).


Or £35+ to issue in the County Court (this is best and you need to if you wish to attach docs such as emails to the Claim Form).


www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview




Good Luck either way.

Savvy_Sue

I'm a bit confused by the expectation that the employer will pay the OP these tax refunds, because HMRC hasn't sent them this money, it's just reduced what they owe to HMRC for last tax year.

Surely with the information given to HMRC, they will politely request the company to send a P45 correctly dated, and make a previous year adjustment?

Madbags

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I'm a bit confused by the expectation that the employer will pay the OP these tax refunds, because HMRC hasn't sent them this money, it's just reduced what they owe to HMRC for last tax year.

Surely with the information given to HMRC, they will politely request the company to send a P45 correctly dated, and make a previous year adjustment?

That's what they should do now.


They shouldn't have put through zero payments for 2 weeks which triggered the tax rebates. They should have issued P45 correctly at the time or if there was a possibilty you were returning put you on hold.


They will need to correctly adjust the payroll and pay the difference to the HMRC. The employee will then not be entitled to the tax rebate as quite clearly you shouldn't have been in the first place.