Freelancers urged to pay more attention to wage slips

More than half (58%) of PA freelancers in the UK do not understand their payslips, with the main reason cited as “I don’t need that level of detail”. According to research released by payroll umbrella company Paraplus, the results are of some concern as more than one third of freelance PAs (36%) said they had already received an HMRC fine or penalty and more than half (54%) stated that they struggle to comprehend HMRC guidelines.

“An employer is legally obliged to provide a clearly itemised payslip and PA freelancers must take the time to scrutinise and fully understand all of the data, otherwise how will they know if they are overpaying on items like income tax or National Insurance?” comments Managing Director of Paraplus Phil McDonald.

McDonald adds that as freelancers are directly responsible for the accurate recording of their own financial data, such as expenses, failing to pick up on PAYE errors could leave them vulnerable to the risk of scrutiny from HMRC. This may lead to “potential legal and compliance issues in the future, which are easily avoidable yet costly mistakes.”