Missing years.. Dodgy employer

cptncrackoff

Hi. 

I recently saw a post relating to checking your state pension and any gaps. Thought I'd check mine out.

To my suprise I have a handful of missing or incomplete years (even though I've worked since leaving school at 16).

I won't probably need these years filled, I'm early 40s and only need another 10 years for full state pension. 

At the time I was employed, it appears my employer was not reporting/paying my earnings or taxes etc. 

The company has since ceased trading and the owner of the limited company has died. 

Question is, should I mention this to the tax office or DWP? 

I'm pretty sure I have pay slips to prove this, even though it was 20 years ago or more.

Or is this likely to cause an issue where the DWP or HMRC will want me to pay for any taxes or contributions that weren't paid by employer at the time? 

MallyGirl

If you have pay slips which show tax and NI were deducted then I can't see how you would be pursued - but I am no expert

la531983

Dont see how mentioning it will help if you are sure you will get another 10 years anyway.

vacheron

I'd concur (but also not an expert). If you were given payslips that show deductions which weren't actually paid to HMRC, then then any criminal intent / activity was commited by your employer or their company, not by you. 

After all, you were paid less, so never recieved the proceeds of these "deductions" in the first place, so didn't profit from the activity. 

If he was giving you a payslip showing deductions, but then giving you the gross pay in your hand, that would be a different scenario. 

westv

la531983 said:

Dont see how mentioning it will help if you are sure you will get another 10 years anyway.

Nor do I. HMRC won't credit the missing years and the business owner is dead so no action could be taken against them 

molerat

Agree with the general direction here.  If you want an investigation and the possibility of those years being made up (whilst enduring the pain of banging your head against a brick wall dealing with HMRC over the next couple of years) go for it.  Otherwise just let it go and get on with your life.

Sw_gardener

Just adding my experience with a very similar situation. Dodgy employer about 20 years ago, always dragged their feet about written contract and payslips, so I left after 4 months or so (still being owed some money). Company closed shortly afterwards.

But in my case it was HMRC who contacted me a couple of years later and enquired where I'd worked during that period. 

All I could offer them was bank statements and explaining that the incoming pay corresponded to agreed salary minus expected tax. And that I'd heard of similar issues from other former colleagues. 

They returned my bank statements without any further correspondence, and when I later checked there were no gaps in my state pension years so they must have accepted it.

This is just to say that it wasn't half as bad as I initially thought. Of course this was 20 years ago and I may have been just lucky with a very understanding HMRC CSA (who took pity on a foolish young person who started somewhere without a signed contract). 

But if you are sure you're won't need the missing years and nobody has chased so far, you may as well leave it.

cptncrackoff

Thanks everyone!
I guess if it won't positively affect me I will just leave it! 
Having double checked i need 11 more years out of the next 28 so I should be fine. I guess I was just butt hurt seeing it hadn't been paid or reported when I was having it deducted! 

artyboy

westv said:

la531983 said:

Dont see how mentioning it will help if you are sure you will get another 10 years anyway.

Nor do I. HMRC won't credit the missing years and the business owner is dead so no action could be taken against them 

Well, I wouldn't put exhumation beyond the tactics of HMRC...

westv

cptncrackoff said:

Thanks everyone!
I guess if it won't positively affect me I will just leave it! 
Having double checked i need 11 more years out of the next 28 so I should be fine. I guess I was just butt hurt seeing it hadn't been paid or reported when I was having it deducted! 

Butt hurt? That's a new one on me.