Adding a new employee in Sage Payroll
Set up a starter correctly first time so their tax code, pension and RTI submission are all right.
Getting a new starter wrong usually means an emergency tax code and an awkward conversation. Twenty minutes of care here saves that.
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Collect the paperwork
You need their P45 or a completed starter checklist, National Insurance number, date of birth, full address and bank details. Without a P45 you must use the starter declaration statements A, B or C.
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Create the employee record
Go to Employees, click New Employee and work through the wizard. Enter the name exactly as it appears on official documents — HMRC matches on this.
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Set the tax code and starter declaration
From a P45, enter the code and the previous pay and tax figures. Without one, pick the statement they signed: A gives the standard code on a cumulative basis, B the standard code on Week 1/Month 1, C gives BR.
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Enter pay and hours
Set the pay frequency, the rate, and the contracted hours. Hours matter for the RTI submission and for auto-enrolment assessment, so do not leave them blank.
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Assess for pension auto-enrolment
Run the pension assessment. Anyone aged 22 to State Pension age earning over the earnings trigger must be enrolled and given the statutory letter within six weeks.
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Submit the FPS on or before the first payday
Process the pay run as normal and submit the Full Payment Submission. The new starter details go to HMRC as part of it — there is no separate starter form.
Tip: Submitting even one day after payday can trigger a late filing penalty, so diarise it.
Common questions
The employee is on an emergency tax code.
That is normal without a P45. HMRC issues a P6 notice with the correct code, usually within a couple of pay periods, and the overpayment corrects itself on a cumulative code.