What are employer compliance checks?

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced by Tolley in association with Lesley Fidler
Owner-Managed Businesses
Guidance

What are employer compliance checks?

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced by Tolley in association with Lesley Fidler
Owner-Managed Businesses
Guidance
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The purpose of employer compliance checks

The purpose of an employer compliance check is to satisfy HMRC that all earnings and benefits have been identified and reported correctly by an employer, and that associated payments of income tax and NIC have been made within the statutory time limits. The checks will also consider whether statutory payments and deductions are correct. In the case of large employers (those to which a Customer Compliance Manager has been assigned by HMRC), periodic checks or visits may be made by HMRC. These are outside the scope of this guidance note.

Selection of employers for checks

HMRC’s Risk and Intelligence Service (RIS) identifies the cases for compliance checks. This is to remove any bias from the process. Whilst cases are usually selected because a risk has been identified, random selections are also made. Disgruntled former employees or former spouses / partners (of both the business and personal variety) of owners can be a source of HMRC information, although RIS officers are well aware that such information may be incorrect

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Lesley Fidler
Lesley Fidler linkedinicon

Employment taxes specialist at RSM

After several decades advising employers of all sizes on tax compliance including the Construction Industry Scheme and IR35, in 2016 Lesley decided to practice what she had preached by joining the tax team of a financial institution and working in-house. Although she no longer speaks on tax issues, she continues to write and retains a particular interest in the area of national insurance contributions. Lesley is a member of both the Chartered Institute of Taxation (sitting on its Employment Taxes sub-committee) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. After gaining a law degree and her initial training as a solicitor she joined the Inland Revenue as a direct entrant inspector before realising that she preferred advisory work and the opportunity for long-term collaboration that this can bring.

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  • 04 Sep 2025 15:40

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