Ex-employer messed up my P45, I've paid too much tax

jessicaswills

Hi,
I left my old employment at the end of Aug 2018 and went straight into a new job. My ex-employer (a school) uses a company to do all their payroll. That company messed up by not sending me or HMRC my P45. I was therefore put on an emergency tax code for Sept 18. When HMRC received notice from my new employer that I was working there, they amended my tax code and apportioned the tax-free amount between my old and new employers. I didn't realise this, I thought that as I didn't pay any tax in Oct/Nov then I was back to my original (proper) tax code.
In Dec, I was charged a bit of tax, and in Jan quite a lot.
My ex-employer has finally sent the P45 to HMRC and I've received a copy only to realise that they have sent them the wrong chuffing tax code. So I will be taxed again next month unless this is resolved.
My question is - do I have any form of recourse against my ex-employer for a) being out of pocket (I know I'll get the tax back eventually but I'm short this month and last) and b) stress!!!!
Any advice welcome,
Cheers

Pennywise

Be proactive and contact HMRC yourself, so that you'll get it corrected more quickly. There'll be a delay if you wait for them to notice it.

jessicaswills

Thank you, I will do that on Monday. I'm just bloody angry with my ex-employer and want to know if there's anything I can do by way of action against them with a view to seeking compensation.

YBR

You have to contact HMRC yourself.
When I was last transferred by TUPE ALL the employees had messed up tax codes (Unfortunately our French head office decided to TUPE on 1st April, too close to Tax year end). Every single person had to sort out their own by ringing HMRC. They must have heard the same story hundreds of times!

jessicaswills

Yes, I will do that. But the fact the employer has messed up not once (in not sending the P45) but twice (in providing the wrong code) - is there anything I can do to them through the courts?

Wyndham

jessicaswills wrote: »

Yes, I will do that. But the fact the employer has messed up not once (in not sending the P45) but twice (in providing the wrong code) - is there anything I can do to them through the courts?

You can try - but it will cost you money and you may, or may not, win.

Contact HMRC, get is sorted. I'm not saying it's fair, but.... it's life?

(Just for reference, one employer I had didn't tell HMRC I had left. New employer did tax, so HMRC assumed I had two jobs, and taxed me loads on what they thought was two incomes. Sorted by one phone call to HMRC, and refund dealt with quickly. Should I have pursued previous employer for incompetence? Maybe? Would I have been successful? Doubtful! Sorry, it's not what you want to hear, but it's how it rolls!)

p00hsticks

Did you fill in a new starter form for your new employer when you joined them ?

If you did, and you said that this was your only job then I don't think you should have been overtaxed even if HMRC hadn't yet had sight of your P45 from the previous job....

Ja7188

As I understand it, a reference in the education sector does include a piece written by (usually) the head teacher around how good you were - unless many sectors where all you're likely to get is a statement of your dates of employment - and that you normally use your two most recent employers. I'd suggest that by trying to take action against your former employer, you may encourage them to give you a poor reference...

Not saying that's fair - but again, that's life!

jessicaswills

Hmm. Good point about the reference ...
I'm just angry at the moment. Incompetence really riles me. I think having seen that the P45 is incorrect today I just want to email them again and have something to threaten if they don't sort it. I'll probably calm down soon. Thanks for the point about the ref!

Dazed_and_confused

Why do you actually think the tax code on the P45 is wrong?

What evidence do you have to back this up?

Do you realise the emergency tax code number is exactly the same number as the standard tax code most people have? Letting you earn nearly £1k/month before any tax is deducted.

Dox

Actually your current employer messed up by not asking you to complete a new starter form, which would have been the correct thing to do if your P45 wasn't available....