Employer Won't Give You Your P45? (UK)
The useful thing to know first is that you do not actually need the P45 to start a new job or to be taxed correctly. That takes the panic out of it — and it also removes most of the leverage an ex-employer thinks they have.
The short answer
Your employer should give you a P45 without unreasonable delay when your employment ends — normally with or shortly after your final payslip, and without you having to ask. A P45 cannot lawfully be held back as leverage over a dispute, returned equipment or anything else. If you do not get one, your new employer can use a starter checklist instead, so you can still be taxed correctly.
Contents
You can start the new job without it
This is the part that matters most and is rarely said first. Where you have no P45, your new employer uses a starter checklist to work out your tax code. You may briefly be on an emergency code and overpay, but that corrects itself and any overpayment comes back. Nobody can stop you starting work.
Starting without one
- Tell the new employer you have no P45 and ask for a starter checklist
- Answer the checklist honestly — it sets your provisional tax code
- Expect a possible emergency code at first; overpaid tax is refunded
- You can also see your pay and tax record in your personal tax account with HMRC
It cannot be held as leverage
A P45 is a payroll record of pay and tax, not a favour. Withholding it until you return a laptop, sign something, or drop a complaint is not a legitimate use of it. Say so plainly and in writing — most withholding stops at that point, because it was never a defensible position.
If asking does not work
Escalate in order, and keep it short and factual at each stage. The value of the written request is that it turns an argument into a record.
Escalation order
- Write to payroll or HR, not just your old manager
- Give a deadline and ask for confirmation of the send date and address
- Contact HMRC — they hold your pay and tax record regardless of what the employer sends you
- If the employer is also withholding pay, that is a separate and more serious issue
Check the final payslip too
Employers who are slow with a P45 are often also wrong on the final payslip — untaken holiday, notice pay, or a deduction you did not agree to. Ask for both at the same time rather than making two requests a month apart.
Request for a P45
Edit this template with your facts, dates, and requested outcome before sending.
Subject: P45 — [your name], employment ended [date] Dear [Employer/Payroll], My employment with [company] ended on [date]. I have not received my P45. [If you have asked before: I requested it on [date] and have had no response.] Please issue my P45 without further delay, and confirm the date it was or will be sent, and to what address. Please also confirm my final pay figures and the date of my final payslip. Kind regards, [Your Name]
Common mistakes to avoid
- Delaying a new job because you think you cannot start without a P45 — you can
- Asking only your old manager, when payroll or HR is who actually issues it
- Accepting that it is being held until you return equipment or sign something
- Not asking for the final payslip at the same time, where errors often sit
- Never putting the request in writing, so there is no record of when you asked
- Assuming an emergency tax code is permanent — it is not, and overpayments are refunded
Next steps
- 1Note the date your employment ended and when you last asked
- 2Write to payroll or HR with a deadline, asking for the send date
- 3Ask your new employer for a starter checklist so you can begin work
- 4Check your pay and tax record with HMRC
- 5Review the final payslip for holiday, notice and unagreed deductions
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