Leaving a job in Britain: when is final pay due and how do I check it?

The usual due date is your normal payday

Acas guidance for Great Britain says final pay should arrive on the date you are normally paid. Leaving halfway through a month does not normally require payment on your last working day, but payroll's internal cut-off is not by itself a new contractual payday. Check the agreed payday and whether the contract provides a different arrangement. For example, if your normal October payday is 30 October 2026 and you leave on 15 October, the usual expectation is payment on 30 October. Northern Ireland uses separate employment guidance. Your final pay may differ from a normal month because it covers only part of the period and includes holiday, notice or agreed deductions.

Reconcile five items rather than one bank payment

List: (1) earned wages through the employment end date, including any agreed overtime; (2) accrued untaken statutory holiday pay; (3) notice pay or payment in lieu, if owed under your termination arrangement; (4) commission, redundancy or other payments only where the relevant entitlement exists; and (5) each deduction. Record expense reimbursements separately from wages. The last day you physically worked may differ from the date employment ended during paid notice. There is no single daily divisor for every monthly salary: identify the contract or payroll method before accepting salary ÷ 30 or salary ÷ working days. Request both the gross items and the net reconciliation to the bank payment.

Holiday and deductions need their own checks

The employer must pay for accrued untaken statutory holiday when employment ends. Obtain the holiday-year start, entitlement, accrued balance through termination and days already taken; contractual leave above the statutory amount can have different payment rules. If you took more holiday than you accrued, a final-pay deduction requires prior agreement in the contract or in writing. For a training deduction, check the agreement made before training and the minimum-wage restrictions; it is not enough to show that the company spent money. Also separate tax, National Insurance, pension and repayment of a wage advance: they have different bases. An item called 'other deduction' is not an adequate explanation of which amount was recovered.

Complete example: a mid-month final payslip

Hypothetical illustration: the agreed part-month method pays £120 for each of nine worked days, and the verified untaken statutory holiday balance is three days also payable at £120. Assume no notice payment, overtime, bonus or redundancy entitlement in this example. Wages are 9 × £120 = £1,080; holiday pay is 3 × £120 = £360; gross wages plus holiday are £1,440. Suppose payroll's verified tax and National Insurance deductions total £200, an authorised outstanding wage advance is £100, and separately approved expenses are £40. Expected bank payment is £1,440 − £200 − £100 + £40 = £1,180. The £200 is an assumed verified deduction, not a tax calculation. If only £820 arrives because the £360 holiday payment was omitted, the difference to reconcile is £360; payroll must recalculate statutory deductions when correcting the gross holiday pay.

Prepare a small reconciliation pack

Keep the contract and payday clause, resignation or termination confirmation, last work and employment-end dates, time records, holiday balance, deduction agreements, final payslip and relevant bank entry. Create three columns: item, amount you calculate, amount payroll used. In the example, holiday pay is £360 versus £0, while all other assumed entries agree. This pinpoints the dispute without asserting that the entire salary was unpaid. Ask for a final payslip explaining payments and deductions. The employer must also give you a P45 when you leave; a P45 is a tax document and does not replace the payslip or settle a disputed wage amount.

A correction request you can use

Write: “My employment ended on [date] and the agreed payday was [date]. The final payment was [amount]. My reconciliation shows [item] should be [amount], but the payslip records [amount]. Please provide the part-month pay method, accrued holiday balance and itemised deductions, and confirm when any correction will be paid. I attach [records].” If no payment arrived, say that explicitly and include the normal payday and bank record. Suggest a clear reply date, such as seven calendar days after the message, as your requested response period rather than a statutory legal deadline. Keep both the request and the reply.

If payday has passed or payroll refuses the correction

Raise the specific unpaid item with payroll first, then use the employer's grievance procedure if necessary. If you are considering an employment tribunal claim, notify Acas within the applicable limit; completing the internal process is not a prerequisite to protecting that limit. For most wage claims concerning a problem on or after 1 October 2026, the initial limit is six months minus one day; before that date it is usually three months minus one day. For example, a wages shortfall on 30 September normally has an initial deadline of 29 December 2026, while one on 1 October normally has 31 March 2027, before early-conciliation adjustments. Series of deductions, contract claims and Scottish exceptions require their own assessment. Prepare the missing-pay calculation and exact employer name before using the Acas notification route.

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