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Your UK payroll audit guide & checklist

  • Find out what a payroll audit is and how to run one confidently

  • Minimise human errors to avoid costly fines and unhappy employees

  • Follow our step-by-step checklist for a more compliant UK payroll system

FormatPDF
Publication dateDecember 22, 2025
AuthorThe PayFit team

Frequently asked questions

This checklist includes the steps UK businesses should take to determine just how accurate your payroll is. It will help you to identify potential vulnerabilities in your system, including compliance issues. It examines the common areas where problems can occur, and provides advice and steps for remedying these.

It’s best practice to run a payroll audit semi-regularly, be it once a year or more frequently. It’s probably best to avoid conducting an audit of your payroll around the end of tax year, as things can be a little hectic. You may even consider setting up a dedicated end of tax year checklist to ensure proper payroll compliance.

Summertime is a traditionally quieter time in the world of UK payroll, so can be an ideal time to run an audit.

Yes, our payroll audit checklist is totally free to download. All we ask is that you enter a couple of details regarding your job role. This way, we are able to better tailor our website’s content to suit your needs. If you’re happy for us to, we’ll send you resources from time to time that we feel will be of real value to you and your UK organisation. You can read more about our privacy policy here.

After conducting your payroll review, it is important to put together a report that you can sit down and digest with relevant members of your organisation. Out of this will come action points, as well as owners for each. Part of the process should be to research alternatives to your current setup, for example investing in a payroll software that can resolve some of the core issues that arise. We have produced a guide for researching UK payroll software, and weighing up the cost vs value of any new approach.