The gap between "you're hired!" and a correct first payslip is about five admin tasks — all fine if done in order, all painful in arrears.
Before the first payday
- Register as an employer with HMRC for PAYE — do it when the offer's accepted; you can't file without the references.
- Check right-to-work documents and keep copies. Not optional, ever.
- Issue a written statement of employment particulars — required from day one, not "within a couple of months" as it used to be.
- Set up auto-enrolment. Every eligible employee (22+ earning £10,000+) must be enrolled into a workplace pension — minimum 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from you. NEST and similar schemes are free to set up; you must also complete a declaration of compliance with The Pensions Regulator even if your only worker is exempt.
- Run payroll through software, on time. Real Time Information means a submission to HMRC on or before every payday. Miss patterns of these and penalties start.
The true cost of a £30,000 hire
- Salary: £30,000
- Employer NI: 15% above £5,000 ≈ £3,750 — though the Employment Allowance wipes up to £10,500 of employer NI for most eligible small companies, often making your first hires NI-free in practice
- Pension (3% of qualifying earnings): ≈ £700
- Kit, software seats, insurance uplift: £1,000–2,500 realistically
Budget roughly 1.1–1.2× headline salary, and put the start date into your cashflow forecast the moment the offer goes out — hiring dates are the biggest burn lever a startup has (see our runway guide).
What it costs to have done for you
Our payroll runs from £8 per employee per month (£25 minimum), pensions administration from £2 per enrolled employee — payslips, RTI, starters and leavers, pension submissions, all handled. For a first hire that's less than the cost of one founder-hour a month doing it badly. Get started.
