Employer hasn't been paying NI or tax for me for 3 years

shibby91

I have been working for a small company for around 3 years now. It started as a government work placement for 6 months which led to being kept on. I get paid weekly by cheque and have never received a payslip or a p60. Some weeks it's a struggle to even get the pay.

I have record of me sending my information (ni, dob, address) in 2015 so i thought everything was good and they were paying my national insurance and tax. I recently found out when i asked for my p60 that they haven't been putting me through the books at all and there is no record of me for the years i've worked here.

I am basically at a loss and need to know my rights and what to do in this situation. Am i at fault for letting this go on so long or where does the fault lie? And what consequences will this have in the future for me, i am starting to get worried.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Pennywise

How much were you being paid? If low enough, there may have been no tax/nic due and they may have no obligation to report to HMRC etc.

agrinnall

Report tax evasion here

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/reporting-tax-evasion

I can't tell you whether it's anonymous or not, although in your case you need to tell HMRC who you are so that you can get your tax and NI properly credited in the long run. Your job may be at risk if your employer finds out it was you that reported them, but do you really want to carry on working there anyway?

comeandgo

You get paid by cheque, is it a business cheque, is the signature name at the bottom the business name? If it is they will be putting you through the business expenses. Are you the only employee? Maybe the company is ignorant on how to run PAYE.
Have you ever had any letters from HMRC telling you your tax code?

shibby91

Thank you for the replies, the pay has varied over the years. It started at 200 a week for the first year maybe, i believe this to be below the tax threshold.

After asking i started to get paid 250 a week, then eventually up to 300, and finally 350 which is what i am currently on. It's got to the point where I've had to enquire about why i have never received payslips/p60 and find out i haven't been on the system at all. I have record of me sending my details on two occasions (2015, 2017) so i have saved these as evidence which could help.

If i report them then my job is basically gone as they will know it's me so i need to be careful. I am actively seeking a new job but this is starting to worry me to the point that i feel trapped here because of what has been happening.

Is it up to me to make these contributions up that i owe or if i get a large bill in the post will it be them who has to pay? If there is no record of me for the last three years will i even be expected to pay anything?

shibby91

It's a confusing situation, the company i work for also operates under another name, which is the name on the cheques i receive. There are 8 other employees in here, most of them get paid monthly and get their payslips/p60 after me going and asking everyone what the craic was.

There is another two employees in the same boat as myself so we are starting to get worried something dodgy is going on.

shibby91

No i have never received any letters from HMRC or anything which is why i assumed everything was legit.

spadoosh

Unless theyve been deducting tax from your salary but not passing it on to HMRC you will be liable for any tax due.

It can happen in a few ways, they can send you a bill in a lump sum. They can alter your tax code going forward so you eventually catch up or they can set up a repayment plan.

The lack of documentation from HMRC should be a warning sign that something is amiss, they should send you out a new tax code every year and you should recieve an annual tax sumamry.

The company isnt really anything to do with you, in that stirring the pot will probably only end one way. It sounds like some kind of self employed arrangement, one which probably shouldnt be in place and one which youre not aware of. But without knowing what theyve done exactly and what you have contract wise its pure speculation.

Work out how much tax and ni you shouldve paid. Ge tin touch with HMRC, the mount of detail you give will almost inevitably end up pointing them in the direction of your employer. I would take the proactive approach in this case as head in sand will just look like its been done deliberately.

Reassure yourself that youve not done much wrong, HMRC should be fairly understanding but they will want paying. Theyll be a lot more understanding if you approach them than if they happen to find you. You might be able to get away with it completely unnoticed but large fines and prison time would make me reluctant to take that approach.

shibby91

I was told yesterday that i would receive three months worth of payslips as i had only been in the books for the last three months. I don't really believe anything they say now so i'm not buying it. I'm waiting to see if these payslips ever come to fruition so i have some sort of documentation to my name.

I will be following this up with HMRC to see what my options are and tallying up from my bank statements exactly how much i should be paying.

Thank you for your help, if i get anywhere i will update!

[Deleted User]

spadoosh wrote: »

Unless theyve been deducting tax from your salary but not passing it on to HMRC you will be liable for any tax due.

It can happen in a few ways, they can send you a bill in a lump sum. They can alter your tax code going forward so you eventually catch up or they can set up a repayment plan.

The lack of documentation from HMRC should be a warning sign that something is amiss, they should send you out a new tax code every year and you should recieve an annual tax sumamry.

The company isnt really anything to do with you, in that stirring the pot will probably only end one way. It sounds like some kind of self employed arrangement, one which probably shouldnt be in place and one which youre not aware of. But without knowing what theyve done exactly and what you have contract wise its pure speculation.

Work out how much tax and ni you shouldve paid. Ge tin touch with HMRC, the mount of detail you give will almost inevitably end up pointing them in the direction of your employer. I would take the proactive approach in this case as head in sand will just look like its been done deliberately.

Reassure yourself that youve not done much wrong, HMRC should be fairly understanding but they will want paying. Theyll be a lot more understanding if you approach them than if they happen to find you. You might be able to get away with it completely unnoticed but large fines and prison time would make me reluctant to take that approach.

Unless matters have changed since my day this would not be the case where an employee was paid without deductions. The employer would become liable, not the employee who would be deemed to have received payments net of tax and NI.

HMRC will treat payments to the person 'not on the books' as net pay. The employer will be liable difference between this and the grossed up amount plus the employer's NIC. On top there would most likely be a penalty. The whole arrangement would form part of a PAYE settlement in return for HMRC taking no further action against the employer.

Of course, from the op's perspective HMRC would need to be 'informed' and this will have repercussions for his job.

Perhaps those still practising can enlighten us.

spadoosh

Im going from the angle that OP is working on a self employed basis. In which case the 'employer' is doing all that is requested of them (paying an agreed amount) and as such wouldnt be liable for the tax. Bearing in mind theyve probably had it signed off by an accountant for 3 years, all be it with the information provided from the business.

The employer would only be done if they havent taken 'reasonable care' and without knowing exactly whats happened its hard to definitively say they havent. Dont get me wrong it doesnt sound like they have a clue what theyre doing but benefit of the doubt.