Some employers need to pay their employees earlier than usual in December. This can be for several reasons, such as businesses closing during the festive period and needing to pay workers earlier than normal. This is to remind you of the permanent easement on reporting Real Time Information (RTI) that applies during this time.

If you do pay early over the Christmas period, you must report your normal or contractual payment date on your Full Payment Submission (FPS).

For example, if you pay on 19‌‌‌ ‌‌December 2025 but your normal payment date is 31 ‌‌‌December 2025, please report the payment date as 31‌‌‌ ‌‌December 2025. In this example the FPS would need to be sent on or before 31‌‌‌ ‌‌December 2025.

Doing this will help to protect your employees’ eligibility for income-based benefits such as Universal Credit, as an early payment could affect current and future entitlements.

The overriding PAYE reporting obligation for employers is unaffected by this exception and remains that you must report payments, on or before the date the employee is paid.