PAYE63015 - Employment maintenance: filing online: employers: online employer responsibilities

All employers are required by the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003 to carry out certain actions when an employee starts or leaves employment. These Regulations apply equally to employers who opt to file Employment Maintenance forms online as to employers who continue to use paper versions.

Online employers are still required to submit forms P45 Part 1, P45 Part 3, P46 and P46(Pen) forms at the appropriate time but these notifications will be received online instead of on paper. Employers in RTI submit this information as part of their Full Payment Submission (FPS).

Once the computer has been updated, any other actions to be taken on the individual’s record are carried out in exactly the same way as for paper forms.

For more information on employer responsibilities for the following forms see

  • ‘Cease employment’ - ‘P45 part 1 overview’ at PAYE62010 
  • ‘Create employment’ - ‘Receipt of form P46’ at PAYE61035 
  • ‘Maintain employment’ at PAYE64000 onwards

For online filing to work successfully for the employer and processing office it is essential that employers understand what their responsibilities are so that they can carry out their PAYE obligations correctly and at the right time. Offices must be proactive in creating and maintaining a good working relationship with these employers in particular, so that the benefits of online filing can be achieved.

IMS, Electronic Business Unit provide support and advice to offices and employers to ensure the successful operation of these online processes.

Enquiries from employers or payroll software companies who contact offices for details of the online schemes should be referred to

HMRC Online Services Helpdesk 

Telephone: 0300 200 3600
Minicom: 0300 200 3603
Fax: 0300 200 3603