Mar 032008
When to Register as an Employer
As soon as you take anyone on where any of the following conditions apply, you need to register with HMRC as an employee.
- the employee already has another job
- the employee receives a pension (state or occupational)
- the employee will earn at or over the PAYE (tax) threshold
- the employee will earn at or over the lower earnings threshold for National Insurance
- you are providing the employee with employee benefits.
You can register up to 4 weeks in advance.
If you are the sole employee of your own limited company and are paying yourself a wage/salary where the above conditions apply, you will need to register as an employee. In this case, you would be both an employer and an employee!
How to Register as an Employer
It is generally possible to register as an employer by telephone or email (if special circumstances apply, you may have to register via and HMRC office). Either way, you will need the following information to hand:
- general information about yourself and your company (including your national insurance number and UTR number – unique taxpayer reference number)
- information about your employees (including number of employees, date of first payment, frequency of payments)
- if a limited company, then details about the company (registration number, UTR, registered office, directors’ personal details – including their national insurance numbers and UTR)
- if a partnership, then details about the partnership (Limited liability partnership – LLP number, if applicable, partners’ personal details – including their national insurance numbers and UTR)
