New Year UK Payroll Checklist: 6 Things to Check Before Your January Payroll Run

The first payroll run of the year is often when things get missed, especially after Christmas leave, new starters, shift changes, and end-of-year admin.

To help you start the year smoothly, we’ve put together a quick checklist you can run through before processing your January payroll.

Whether you run payroll yourself, manage it across spreadsheets, or use payroll software, these checks can help you avoid errors, delays, and unhappy employees.

Note: Many teams find payroll becomes far easier when time, leave and employee details are stored in one place so you're not chasing approvals and updates every pay cycle.

Your Quick New Year Payroll Checklist (UK Employers)

Before you process payroll this month, make sure you’ve reviewed:

• Pay rates and contracted hours
• Annual leave accruals and leave balances
• Pay schedules and cut-off dates
• New starters and leavers
• Timesheet approvals
• HMRC and compliance details

Let’s break these down (and explain why each one matters).

1) Check pay rates and contracted hours are up to date

Why it matters

Even small changes to hourly rates, contracted hours, or role-based pay can cause incorrect payments and fixing them after the fact takes time.

What to check

• Have any pay rates changed since the last payroll run?
  
• Are contracted weekly hours correct for each employee?
  
• Are any allowances, bonuses, or deductions due this month?
  

Tip: If you manage pay changes manually, keep a clear log so nothing gets missed.

2) Review Annual leave accruals and leave balances

Why it matters

Christmas leave and annual leave carryovers can throw off leave balances and mistakes often lead to confusion or disputes later.

What to check

• Are annual leave balances accurate after the Christmas period?
  
• Have any employees taken leave that wasn’t recorded properly?
  
• Are you carrying over leave into the new year? If so, does it match your policy?
  

Tip: If leave is tracked in more than one place (emails, spreadsheets, managers), this is often where errors appear.

3) Confirm pay schedules and cut-off dates

Why it matters

January often includes delayed approvals and late submissions after the holiday period, which can push payroll into last-minute territory.

What to check

• What is your payroll cut-off date this month?
  
• Have managers submitted timesheets by the deadline?
  
• Are you processing weekly, fortnightly, or monthly payroll?
  

Tip: Communicating cut-off dates clearly in advance helps reduce late corrections.

Want a smoother payroll process this year?

If you're spending hours chasing timesheets, leave approvals, or employee updates every pay cycle, it may be time to streamline your process.

With Workforce.com, teams can manage payroll inputs like time and leave in one place, which helps reduce errors and admin.

Watch the 2-minute overview or Book a 5-minute walkthrough.

4) Review new starters and leavers (and any onboarding paperwork)

Why it matters

New starters and leavers impact tax, final pay, and payroll records. Missing paperwork can cause delays or incorrect payments.

What to check

• Are all new starters added with the correct details (tax codes, NI numbers, bank details)?
  
• Have leavers been marked correctly in your system?
  
• Are final pays and entitlements (like accrued annual leave pay) calculated correctly?
  

Tip: A checklist for onboarding/offboarding helps ensure nothing is missed when things get busy.

5) Double-check timesheet approvals (especially around the holidays)

Why it matters

This is one of the biggest sources of payroll errors, especially in shift-based workplaces where managers approve timesheets late.

What to check

• Are all timesheets approved?
  
• Do the hours look correct (overtime, missed shifts, public holiday shifts)?
  
• Are there any missing clock-ins or manual adjustments?
  

Tip: Standardising approvals and setting deadlines makes payroll smoother and reduces errors.

6) Make sure HMRC + compliance details are in order

Why it matters

Payroll is tightly tied to compliance and mistakes can lead to penalties or corrections.

What to check

• Are employee details accurate (address, NI numbers, tax codes)?
  
• Are right-to-work checks and documentation stored correctly?
  
• Are you confident your payroll process aligns with reporting requirements?
  

Tip: The earlier you catch compliance issues, the easier they are to fix.

Want a smoother payroll process this year?

If you’re managing payroll across spreadsheets or chasing managers for timesheets and leave approvals every pay cycle, it may be worth streamlining the process.

Many UK teams use Workforce.com to:

• centralise employee records and pay conditions
• automate timesheet approvals 
• track leave accurately
• reduce payroll admin and errors

Watch the 2-minute overview or Book a 5-minute walkthrough.