Payroll services for UK small businesses and company directors
UniFi Advisory provides payroll services for small businesses and director-only limited companies across the UK. We register you as an employer, set the right director's salary, run weekly or monthly payroll, issue payslips and send every Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC. We also handle pension auto-enrolment, statutory pay, P60s and P11Ds, and tell you exactly what to pay HMRC and when.
What does our payroll service include?
Everything needed to pay your people correctly and keep HMRC and The Pensions Regulator up to date. The exact scope and how often you run payroll are set out in your quote before any work starts.
Registering as an employer
PAYE registration with HMRC before your first payday, so your employer PAYE reference arrives in time. Already registered? We take over your existing scheme.
Weekly or monthly payroll and payslips
Pay worked out each period with the right tax code, National Insurance, student loan and pension deductions, and payslips for employees on or before payday.
RTI submissions to HMRC
A Full Payment Submission on or before every payday, and an Employer Payment Summary when you need one, for example to claim the Employment Allowance.
PAYE payment reminders
A clear figure for the PAYE and National Insurance you owe HMRC, and when it is due, so the payment is never a surprise.
New starters and leavers
P45 details or a starter checklist for new staff, and a P45 for leavers, with the leaving date reported to HMRC on the next submission.
Payroll for directors
A director's salary set with your dividends and pension in mind, with National Insurance worked out on the annual basis that applies to company directors.
Auto-enrolment pensions
Assessing who must be enrolled, letters to staff, contributions through payroll and your declaration of compliance, then re-enrolment every 3 years.
Statutory pay
Statutory Sick Pay and maternity, paternity, adoption and other statutory pay worked out correctly, and the recoverable share of family pay reclaimed from HMRC.
Year end, P60s and P11Ds
The final submission for the tax year, P60s to employees, and P11Ds, the P11D(b) and Class 1A National Insurance on benefits in kind.
Who is our payroll service for?
Payroll for one director or for a growing team. The service is built around three common situations.
Sole directors on a £12,570 salary
Director-only payroll paying £1,047.50 a month, with the right National Insurance treatment for directors and every HMRC submission sent on time.
Small teams
Weekly or monthly payroll for a handful of staff: payslips, workplace pensions, sick pay and family pay, with the Employment Allowance claimed where you qualify.
Taking on your first employee
We register you as an employer, set up the starter paperwork and a workplace pension, and check pay meets the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour (age 21 and over, from 1 April 2026).
Do I need to register as an employer with HMRC?
Yes, if anyone you pay meets any of HMRC's conditions below, and that includes paying yourself a salary as a company director. Register before your first payday, but no more than 2 months before you start paying people. HMRC sends your employer PAYE reference by letter (GOV.UK: register as an employer).
You must register for PAYE if any of these applies to someone you employ in the current tax year (GOV.UK: PAYE for employers):
- they are paid £96 or more a week
- they get expenses and company benefits
- they are getting a pension
- they have had another job
- they have received Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit
GOV.UK says you must register even if you're only employing yourself, for example as the only director of a limited company. If you don't need to register, you must still keep payroll records. Once you run payroll, keep records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to: if they are incomplete, HMRC can estimate what you owe and charge a penalty of up to £3,000 (GOV.UK: keeping payroll records).
Director-only payroll: does a company director have to be on payroll?
Only if the company pays you a salary, expenses or benefits. If it does, it must register as an employer (GOV.UK: taking money out of a limited company) and run payroll, even if you are its only director and only employee (GOV.UK: register as an employer). Payroll for one person still means a Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before every payday.
For most directors in 2026/27, the usual starting point is a £12,570 salary, or £1,047.50 a month. It uses the Personal Allowance, so there is no income tax, and it sits at the Primary Threshold, so there is no employee National Insurance. Because it is above the £6,708 Lower Earnings Limit, it builds a qualifying year for your State Pension. The company pays 15% employer National Insurance on pay above £5,000, which is £1,135.50, and both the salary and that National Insurance reduce its Corporation Tax (GOV.UK: rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027). Our guide to how to pay yourself as a director sets out the full salary and dividend comparison.
Can a director-only company claim the Employment Allowance?
No. If your company has only one director, they must not be the only employee liable for employer (secondary) Class 1 National Insurance (GOV.UK: Employment Allowance eligibility). Once another employee, or a second director, is paid above £5,000 a year, the company can usually claim up to £10,500 a year off its employer Class 1 National Insurance, through an Employer Payment Summary once each tax year. It cannot be used against Class 1A on benefits or against employees' own National Insurance.
Does a director-only payroll need auto-enrolment?
Usually not. A company has no automatic enrolment duties if it has only directors and no other staff, and no more than one of those directors has an employment contract (The Pensions Regulator). Duties start if two or more directors have employment contracts, or as soon as you employ anyone else, even someone who does not need enrolling. If The Pensions Regulator writes to you, tell it the company is not an employer using its online form.
How is a director's National Insurance worked out?
Directors have an annual earnings period: National Insurance is worked out on total pay for the tax year to date, not pay period by pay period, and a director appointed part-way through the year has a pro rata period. Alternatively, if the director agrees and is paid regularly, National Insurance can be paid on account each payday and then recalculated on the annual basis at the last payment of the year (HMRC CA44: National Insurance for company directors).
Payroll rates and thresholds for 2026/27
These are the main figures your payroll uses for the tax year from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Scottish taxpayers have their own income tax bands and tax codes starting with S; Welsh taxpayers' codes start with C.
| Item | 2026/27 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employer (secondary) Class 1 National Insurance | 15% on pay above £5,000 a year (£96 a week, £417 a month) | GOV.UK |
| Employee Class 1 National Insurance | 8% on pay from £12,570 to £50,270 a year; 2% above | GOV.UK |
| Lower Earnings Limit | £129 a week (£6,708 a year) | GOV.UK |
| Tax codes | 1257L for most people with one job (£12,570 Personal Allowance); emergency codes 1257L W1, 1257L M1 and 1257L X | GOV.UK |
| Employment Allowance | Up to £10,500 a year off employer Class 1 National Insurance (not if a sole director is the only employee liable for it) | GOV.UK |
| Employer National Insurance for under-21s and apprentices under 25 | 0% on pay up to £50,270 a year | GOV.UK |
| Class 1A National Insurance on benefits in kind | 15% | GOV.UK |
| National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage (from 1 April 2026) | £12.71 an hour (21 and over); £10.85 (18 to 20); £8.00 (16 to 17, and apprentices under 19 or in their first year) | GOV.UK |
| Auto-enrolment earnings trigger | More than £10,000 a year (£833 a month, £192 a week), for staff aged 22 to State Pension age | TPR |
| Auto-enrolment qualifying earnings and minimum contributions | Earnings from £6,240 to £50,270 a year; 8% in total, at least 3% from the employer | GOV.UK |
| Statutory Sick Pay | £123.25 a week, or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower, for up to 28 weeks | GOV.UK |
| Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental bereavement and neonatal care pay | £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower (maternity and adoption pay: 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks) | GOV.UK |
| Student loan deduction thresholds | Plan 1 £26,900; Plan 2 £29,385; Plan 4 £33,795; Plan 5 £25,000 (all 9%); Postgraduate Loan £21,000 (6%) | GOV.UK |
Want to see what a new employee really costs? Try our free employer cost and National Insurance calculator, or check pay after deductions with the take-home pay calculator.
Payroll deadlines: when do I report to HMRC and pay?
Report to HMRC on or before every payday, and pay HMRC by the 22nd of the next tax month, or quarterly if your PAYE bill is small. The Full Payment Submission is due on or before each payday even if you pay HMRC quarterly, and the 22nd is the deadline for electronic payments (the 19th if you post a cheque). Tax months run from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next (GOV.UK: reporting to HMRC).
| Deadline | What is due | Source |
|---|---|---|
| On or before each payday | Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC, and payslips to employees | GOV.UK |
| 19th of the next tax month | Employer Payment Summary (EPS), if you are claiming the Employment Allowance, reclaiming statutory pay or paid nobody that month | GOV.UK |
| 22nd of the next tax month | PAYE and National Insurance paid electronically (by the 19th if paying by cheque through the post) | GOV.UK |
| 22 July, 22 October, 22 January and 22 April | Quarterly PAYE payments, if you usually pay HMRC less than £1,500 a month and can pay quarterly | GOV.UK |
| 31 May 2027 | P60 for 2026/27 to each employee | GOV.UK |
| 6 July 2027 | P11Ds, P11D(b) and employees' copies for 2026/27 expenses and benefits (a P11D(b) is still needed if you payroll benefits) | GOV.UK |
| 22 July 2027 | Class 1A National Insurance on 2026/27 benefits (by 19 July if paying by cheque through the post) | GOV.UK |
| Within 5 months of your duties start date | Workplace pension declaration of compliance, then a re-declaration every 3 years | TPR |
Late reports and payments can bring penalties and interest; see what happens if your payroll submission is late in the FAQs below. Every date is also in our tax deadlines 2026/27 calendar.
What are my pension and statutory pay duties as an employer?
You must put eligible staff into a workplace pension, and pay statutory sick pay and family pay to employees who qualify, all through payroll.
When do my workplace pension duties start?
On the day your first member of staff starts work, even if you think no one needs enrolling (The Pensions Regulator). Choose a pension scheme, assess your staff's ages and earnings, write to them within 6 weeks and complete your declaration of compliance within 5 months. You can postpone assessment for up to 3 months if you tell staff in writing. Every 3 years you put certain staff who have left the scheme, or reduced their contributions, back into it, and complete a re-declaration of compliance even if no one needs re-enrolling (The Pensions Regulator: re-enrolment). The Pensions Regulator can issue a £400 fixed penalty, and escalating penalties of £50 to £10,000 a day depending on how many people you employ (legislation.gov.uk).
What changed for Statutory Sick Pay in April 2026?
From 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first day of sickness absence, with no waiting days, and the Lower Earnings Limit no longer applies, so eligible employees qualify whatever they earn (business.gov.uk). If your sickness policy still mentions waiting days or an earnings threshold, it needs updating. Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave also became day-one rights on 6 April 2026.
Can I reclaim statutory maternity and paternity pay?
Usually 92% of it, or 109% if you qualify for Small Employers' Relief because your total Class 1 National Insurance in the previous tax year was £45,000 or less. The reclaim goes on your Employer Payment Summary. Statutory Sick Pay cannot be reclaimed (GOV.UK: recover statutory payments).
Why have your accountant run your payroll?
Because payroll decisions are tax decisions. When the same Chartered Accountant runs your payroll and prepares your accounts and tax returns, nothing is decided in isolation.
- Salary and dividends planned together. Your director's salary is set alongside your dividends and pension contributions, using the 2026/27 dividend rates of 10.75% and 35.75%, both up 2 percentage points from 6 April 2026 (GOV.UK: tax on dividends).
- Employment Allowance checked, not assumed. We check whether you qualify, for example once a second director or an employee is paid above £5,000, and claim it on the Employer Payment Summary.
- Family on the payroll done properly. If you employ your spouse or children, the work must be genuine and the pay reasonable for it, and different rules apply to school-age children. See our guide to paying your spouse and children.
- One set of numbers. Payroll figures flow into your books in software such as Xero, so salaries and employer National Insurance are already in your accounts and your Corporation Tax computation.
- Planning before you hire. Our business advisory service shows what a new role costs and whether your cash flow can carry it.
How does payroll with UniFi Advisory work?
Four steps, and you know the cost before anything starts.
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1
Free call and a clear quote
Tell George who you pay, how often and what they receive. You get a clear quote setting out exactly what's included.
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2
Set up or take over
We register you as an employer or take over your existing PAYE scheme, collect starter details and set up your workplace pension.
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3
Every payday
You confirm any changes. We run payroll, issue payslips, report to HMRC and tell you what to pay your staff, your pension provider and HMRC.
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4
Year end and review
P60s, P11Ds and re-enrolment handled on time, and your director's salary reviewed for the new tax year.
Moving payroll from another accountant or provider? See how changing accountants works.
Free white paper
How do I pay myself? 2026/27
Salary, dividends and pension contributions compared for limited company directors, with the 2026/27 rates and why a £12,570 salary is the usual starting point.
Tools, guides and services that go with your payroll
Employer cost calculator
The full cost of an employee in 2026/27, including employer National Insurance and pension.
Calculate now Free toolTake-home pay calculator
What an employee keeps after income tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan.
Calculate now Free toolTax deadlines 2026/27
Every payroll, VAT, company and Self Assessment date, in month order.
See the dates GuideHow to pay yourself as a director
Salary vs dividends in 2026/27, with a worked example and the director's salary explained.
Read the guide GuidePaying your spouse and children
How to employ family members through payroll and stay within the rules.
Read the guide ServiceBusiness advisory
Cash flow forecasts and budgets, so you know when you can afford your next hire.
Find out moreFrequently asked questions
Does a director have to take a salary?
No. A company only has to run payroll for you if it pays you a salary, expenses or benefits. If it does, it must register as an employer, even if you are its only director and only employee. GOV.UK lists company directors among the people not entitled to the National Minimum Wage, so a director's salary is usually set for tax reasons. For most directors in 2026/27 that means £12,570 a year, with further income taken as dividends.
Can my accountant do my payroll?
Yes. Accountants often run payroll for their clients, and we do. We register you as an employer if needed, run each pay period, issue payslips, send the Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before payday and tell you what PAYE to pay and when. Because we also prepare your accounts and tax returns, your salary levels, Employment Allowance claim and pension contributions are planned alongside your Corporation Tax and personal tax.
How much does it cost to outsource payroll in the UK?
It depends on how many people you pay, how often you run payroll, and whether you need auto-enrolment, benefits in kind or statutory pay handled. Whether payroll sits alongside your bookkeeping and accounts also makes a difference, and a monthly director-only payroll is simpler than a weekly payroll for a team. Book a free call and you will get a clear quote setting out exactly what is included before any work starts.
Is it a legal requirement to give employees payslips?
Yes. Employers must give employees and workers a payslip on or before payday. It must show gross and net pay, the deductions that change each pay period, such as tax and National Insurance, and the hours worked if pay varies with time worked. Fixed deductions must be explained, either on the payslip or in a separate written statement. Payslips can be printed or electronic.
Should I payroll benefits in kind or file a P11D?
Until April 2027 payrolling benefits is voluntary, and you register with HMRC to do it; otherwise you report benefits on P11D forms. For 2026/27, a P11D(b) reporting Class 1A National Insurance at 15% is due by 6 July 2027 either way. From 6 April 2027 payrolling becomes mandatory for company cars, car fuel, vans, van fuel and medical benefits, and from April 2028 for most other benefits. Employer-provided loans and accommodation have no mandatory date yet.
Can I pay HMRC quarterly instead of monthly?
Possibly. If you usually pay HMRC less than £1,500 a month in PAYE, you may be able to pay quarterly instead, and HMRC's payment helpline can tell you. Quarterly payments are due by 22 July, 22 October, 22 January and 22 April. You still send a Full Payment Submission on or before every payday.
What happens if my payroll submission to HMRC is late?
HMRC can charge a monthly penalty for a late or missing Full Payment Submission: £100 for 1 to 9 employees, £200 for 10 to 49, £300 for 50 to 249 and £400 for 250 or more. The first failure in a tax year is not penalised, and there is no penalty if the submission is late but every payment on it is within 3 days of payday. Late PAYE payments bring separate penalties of 1% to 4% of the amount paid late, plus daily interest.
Sources: paying a salary from a company, registering as an employer, who gets the minimum wage, payslips, payrolling benefits from April 2027, paying HMRC, late payroll reports and late PAYE payments (GOV.UK).
Written and reviewed by George Nicholson BFP ACA, ICAEW Chartered Accountant. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. This page is general information, not personal advice.
Want payroll that just happens, on time?
Book a free call with George. You'll get a clear quote before any work starts, and payroll joined up with your tax planning from then on.