Multiple PAYE References: Why it is essential for parties to Check payslips on the SafeRec Platform

For most businesses in the recruitment supply chain, a PAYE reference is probably not something that receives much attention.

It sits in the background of payroll, doing an important but largely unseen job: identifying the PAYE scheme through which workers are paid, information is reported to HMRC and liabilities are recorded. But when an umbrella company operates more than one PAYE reference, that small piece of payroll administration suddenly becomes much more significant.

For supply chains, understanding which PAYE references are being used, and how workers are being processed through them, is an important part of due diligence, and it becomes particularly important where a business is operating more than one.

Having more than one PAYE reference isn't, by itself, unusual or evidence of wrongdoing. There are plenty of entirely legitimate reasons an employer might run multiple PAYE schemes. The important question is whether the supply chain has enough visibility to understand what's actually happening across them, and under JSL, that question now carries real consequences for you, not just for the umbrella.