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UK Payroll Services for Overseas Groups with a UK Workforce

Running a UK Payroll as a Non-Resident Employer

If you are an overseas employer with one or more employees based in the UK, you are required to operate a UK payroll—even if you don’t have a UK branch, office, or formal establishment. We support non-resident employers with all aspects of UK payroll compliance, making it straightforward to employ UK-based staff directly.

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No UK Entity? No Problem

You don’t need a UK subsidiary, branch, or legal entity to employ someone in the UK. That means you can avoid the complications and cost of engaging an Employer of Record. Your employee will be directly employed by your overseas company—transparent and simple. Even if the employee works entirely from home and there is no UK office, UK employment law and payroll rules still apply.

Payroll Options for Non-Resident Employers

At a minimum, you must operate a National Insurance-only payroll. This ensures both employer and employee social security contributions (NICs) are calculated and paid. It also enables contributions to a workplace pension scheme. However, most of our non-resident employer clients choose to run a voluntary full PAYE payroll. This includes the deduction of income tax at source, which is familiar to UK employees and avoids them needing to file tax returns. It’s a better employee experience. We explain your options and help you decide what’s best for your business and your UK team.

How We Support You

We handle:
  • Payroll registration with HMRC
  • Monthly payroll processing
  • Payslips issued directly to employees
  • RTI (Real Time Information) submissions to HMRC
  • Employer payment summaries and reference details
  • Monthly bookkeeping journal templates for your finance team
We also help you manage:
  • Reimbursed expenses through payroll (optional)
  • P11D reporting for benefits-in-kind
  • Optional salary sacrifice arrangements, including workplace pensions

What is PAYE?

PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is the UK’s system for collecting income tax and National Insurance at source. It means:
  • Tax and NICs are deducted from employees’ gross salary
  • The net salary is paid to the employee
  • Taxes are remitted to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) monthly
Employees expect PAYE to be operated. If something is wrong with their payslip, they’ll come to you. That’s why accuracy and on-time payroll are essential.

Monthly Payroll Support – What We Do

We’ll guide you through:

  • Collecting monthly payroll data
  • Preparing draft payroll and reports
  • Providing payment references for salary, tax, NICs, and pensions
  • Issuing electronic payslips
  • Preparing monthly bookkeeping journal entries

Workplace Pension Scheme

Even as a non-resident employer, you must set up a compliant workplace pension scheme. We’ll help you:

  • Register a pension scheme
  • Assess and enrol eligible employees
  • Decide whether to offer salary sacrifice

Read more about Auto-Enrolment and Pension Guidance →

Bank Accounts and Payment Handling

You can pay net salaries and HMRC directly from your overseas bank account. But pension providers often require a UK bank account.

We can help with this by:

  • Using our trust (client) account to facilitate UK pension payments
  • Accepting a single monthly transfer covering all costs and making onward payments for you, saving you international banking fees

Employment Law and HR Support

UK employees must have:

  • A compliant contract of employment
  • Right to Work checks
  • Legally required policies (GDPR, grievance, disciplinary, etc.)

You cannot simply translate a contract from your home country. Our HR team will help you get it right.

Read more about employment law →

UK Tax Risk Assessment

Employing people in the UK may trigger other UK tax obligations—for example:

  • Corporation tax (Permanent Establishment risk)
  • VAT registration requirements

Our tax specialists will assess whether any other filings or registrations are needed.

Expense Reimbursements

If your UK employees incur expenses—such as travel, home office costs, or subsistence—you need to ensure reimbursements comply with UK tax rules. If not handled correctly, they could become taxable benefits.

We can advise on:

  • What can be reimbursed tax-free
  • Whether to report certain items on P11Ds or through a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA)
  • Including expense reimbursements in the monthly payroll

Read mote about reimbursing expenses →

UK Employees with Overseas Workdays

Many employees working for overseas businesses have dual roles—part in the UK, part in other countries. This can create tax liabilities in both jurisdictions.

We help you:

  • Avoid double taxation on the UK side
  • Track workdays to allocate income appropriately
  • Apply for an A1 certificate to ensure UK-only social security contributions

Read more about Overseas Workdays and A1 Certificate Guidance →

Your UK Payroll Partner

Whether it’s just one employee or a growing UK team, our payroll services are built for overseas employers with UK-based staff. We only work with non-UK businesses, so we understand exactly what you need—and what you don’t.

Simple setup. Ongoing compliance. Happy employees.

Get in touch to find out how we can support your UK payroll.

Sarah English

Senior Manager

Head of Direct Taxes

sarah.english@tuerner.com
+44 (0) 1636 526 075

Jack Waller-Smith

Assistant Manager

Payroll

jack.waller-smith@tuerner.com
+44 (0) 1636 526 075

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