Overview
Employee Details is where you manage the employment and payroll information for each team member. This includes their employment type, pay settings, tax details, and leave entitlements.
Each employee has an Employee Card that stores their employment details. When you toggle someone on as an employee, Beeswax automatically creates their card with sensible defaults for your region.
The UK view is laid out in two columns:
- HMRC P45 Details (left) — fields that appear on the employee's P45 / starter checklist, listed in P45 box-number order so you can copy values across directly.
- Workplace Pension & Leave Entitlements (right) — internal-only fields that drive payroll calculations.
A summary banner shows employment type, payment basis, pay frequency, and annual gross at the top of the page.
Missing Information Banner
If any of the following five fields are blank, a warning banner appears at the top of the page with a Complete now button that opens the edit modal:
- NI Number — required for FPS submission to HMRC.
- PAYE Tax Code — required to calculate Income Tax.
- Home Address — reported on FPS and used on the payslip PDF.
- Date of Birth — used to determine NI category boundaries (under 21, apprentice under 25, State Pension age) and pension auto-enrolment eligibility.
- NI Category — required to calculate National Insurance contributions.
Pension fields fall back to statutory defaults (Net Pay arrangement, 5% employee, 3% employer) when blank, so they aren't flagged as missing. You can override these once you know the scheme details.
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Employment Fields
Employment Type
Defines the employee's working arrangement.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Full Time | Standard full-time employment. Hours per pay period are automatically calculated from your business working hours. |
| Part Time | Reduced hours. You must manually enter the contracted hours per pay period. |
| Casual | No guaranteed hours. You must manually enter hours per pay period as needed. |
| Other | Any arrangement that doesn't fit the above categories. |
Payment Basis
How the employee's pay is calculated.
| Basis | Description |
|---|---|
| Salary | A fixed annual amount, divided by the pay frequency to determine each period's gross pay. |
| Hourly | A per-hour rate, multiplied by the hours per pay period to determine each period's gross pay. |
Pay Frequency
How often the employee is paid.
| Frequency | Working Days per Period |
|---|---|
| Weekly | 5 days |
| Fortnightly | 10 days |
| Monthly | ~21.74 days |
| Quarterly | ~65.22 days |
Hours per Period
The expected working hours in each pay period. This is used to calculate gross pay for hourly employees.
- Full-time employees: This value is automatically calculated from your business working hours (set in Account Settings) multiplied by the working days in the pay period. You do not need to enter it manually.
- Part-time and casual employees: You must enter this value manually to reflect their contracted hours.
Example: If your business hours are 9am to 6pm (9 hours/day) and you pay monthly, the auto-calculated value is 9 × 21.74 = 195.65 hours.
Gross Amount
The employee's annual gross salary (for salaried employees) or hourly rate (for hourly employees).
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The employee's annual gross salary (for salaried employees) or hourly rate (for hourly employees). This is the amount before any PAYE, National Insurance, or pension deductions.
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Tax & Deductions (Australia)
Tax Scale
The ATO tax scale used to calculate PAYG withholding for this employee. Beeswax uses the scale's coefficients to determine the correct tax amount each pay period. The scale you select should match the employee's Tax File Number Declaration.
HELP / HECS Liability
Toggle this on if the employee has a Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) or Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) debt. When enabled, an additional repayment is calculated based on ATO repayment rates and deducted each pay period.
Medicare Levy
Toggle this on if the employee is liable for the Medicare Levy (currently 2% of taxable income). Most Australian residents pay the Medicare Levy. Employees who hold a valid Medicare Levy exemption certificate should have this turned off.
Personal Details (United Kingdom)
These fields are entered once and rarely change. They appear on the employee's P45 (Part 3) when they leave, and on every Full Payment Submission (FPS) sent to HMRC.
National Insurance Number
The unique reference HMRC uses to identify each worker. Format: two letters, six digits, one suffix letter (e.g. JW024971D).
Beeswax validates the format on save and rejects HMRC's reserved prefixes (BG, GB, KN, NK, NT, TN, ZZ) — these are never issued to real taxpayers.
Required for FPS. Without a valid NI number, the employee cannot be reported to HMRC. If a new starter has lost theirs, see HMRC — Find a lost NI number.
Date of Birth
Used to determine:
- NI category boundaries — Category M (under 21) and Category H (apprentice under 25) end on the employee's birthday.
- Pension auto-enrolment eligibility — workers must be aged 22 to State Pension age and earning above the trigger to be automatically enrolled.
- Statutory payment eligibility (SSP, SMP, SPP) — some payments require the employee to be over 16.
Home Address
The full residential address (street, city, postcode) — required on FPS submissions and shown on the payslip PDF. Postcodes are stored in upper case.
Tip: If an employee changes address, update it before the next pay run so the change is reflected on their next payslip and FPS.
Tax & Deductions (United Kingdom)
PAYE Tax Code
Your employee's tax code, issued by HMRC, determines how much Income Tax to deduct each pay period. The code reflects their Personal Allowance and any adjustments.
Common tax codes:
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1257L | Standard Personal Allowance (£12,570 tax-free). Most common code for employees with one job. |
| BR | Basic Rate — all income taxed at 20%. Typically used for a second job. |
| D0 | Higher Rate — all income taxed at 40%. |
| D1 | Additional Rate — all income taxed at 45%. |
| 0T | No Personal Allowance. Used when allowance has been used up or a new starter hasn't provided a P45/starter checklist. |
| NT | No tax deducted. |
Scotland and Wales prefixes:
- Codes starting with S (e.g. S1257L) apply Scottish Income Tax rates.
- Codes starting with C (e.g. C1257L) apply Welsh Income Tax rates.
K codes: A code starting with K (e.g. K100) means you have income that is not being taxed another way and it's worth more than your tax-free allowance.
Important: HMRC will notify you of each employee's tax code. Always use the code HMRC provides. At the start of a new tax year, carry forward the previous year's code unless HMRC instructs otherwise. Do not carry over any Week 1 or Month 1 markings.
Reference: HMRC — Understanding your employees' tax codes
National Insurance Category
The NI category letter determines the rate of National Insurance contributions for both employer and employee. HMRC assigns the category based on the employee's circumstances.
| Category | Who It Applies To |
|---|---|
| A | Standard rate. Most employees under State Pension age. |
| B | Married women and widows with a valid reduced rate election (certificate of election, CA4139). |
| C | Employees over State Pension age. No employee NICs, but employer NICs still apply. |
| H | Apprentices under 25. Employer pays zero-rate NICs up to the Upper Secondary Threshold. |
| M | Employees under 21. Employer pays zero-rate NICs up to the Upper Secondary Threshold. |
Note: Additional categories (D, F, J, L, N, V, Z, etc.) exist for specific circumstances such as contracted-out pension schemes or Freeport/Investment Zone employees. If your employee falls outside the standard categories, consult HMRC guidance.
Reference: HMRC — National Insurance category letters
Student Loan Plan
If HMRC has issued an SL1 or PGL1 start notice for an employee, you must deduct student loan repayments through payroll. Select the correct plan type:
| Plan | Who It Applies To | Repayment Threshold (2026–27) |
|---|---|---|
| Plan 1 | English and Welsh students who started before 1 September 2012, and all Northern Irish students. | £24,990/year |
| Plan 2 | English and Welsh students who started on or after 1 September 2012. | £27,295/year |
| Plan 4 | Scottish students. | £31,395/year |
| Plan 5 | English and Welsh students who started on or after 1 August 2023. | £25,000/year |
| Postgraduate | Postgraduate Master's or Doctoral loan. Can be deducted alongside another plan. | £21,000/year |
Deductions are calculated on earnings above the threshold at 9% (Plans 1–5) or 6% (Postgraduate).
Important: Only start deductions when HMRC instructs you via an SL1 or PGL1 notice. Do not rely on the employee telling you — always wait for the HMRC notification.
Reference: HMRC — Student loan repayment guidance for employers
Workplace Pension
Under the Pensions Act 2008, employers must automatically enrol eligible employees into a workplace pension scheme. This applies to workers aged 22 to State Pension age who earn above £10,000 per year (the auto-enrolment earnings trigger).
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Enrolled | The employee is enrolled in the workplace pension. Minimum contributions apply (currently 8% of qualifying earnings: 5% employee, 3% employer). |
| Opted Out | The employee has chosen to opt out. You must re-enrol them every 3 years on the anniversary of your duties start date. The pension fields below are hidden when an employee is opted out. |
Note: Employees can opt out within one month of being enrolled and receive a full refund. After this period, they can stop contributions but cannot recover what has already been paid. Employers cannot encourage or induce employees to opt out.
Pension Tax Relief Method
How tax relief on the employee's pension contribution is applied. The default for new GB accounts is Net Pay arrangement, but most NEST and auto-enrolment workplace schemes use Relief at Source — check with your scheme provider.
| Method | How It Works | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Net Pay arrangement | Employee contribution is deducted from gross pay before Income Tax is calculated. Tax relief happens automatically. | Many trust-based occupational schemes. |
| Relief at Source | Employee contribution is deducted from net pay after tax. The pension provider claims 20% basic-rate relief from HMRC and adds it to the pot. Higher-rate taxpayers reclaim the rest via Self Assessment. | NEST and most personal/group personal pension schemes (the default for auto-enrolment). |
| Salary Sacrifice | The employee agrees to a lower contractual salary in exchange for the employer paying the equivalent amount into the pension. Reduces both Income Tax and NI for the employee, and Employer NI for the company. | Schemes operated under a formal sacrifice agreement (must not take pay below National Minimum Wage). |
Choosing the wrong method changes the figures reported to HMRC. If you're not sure, ask the pension provider — Beeswax uses this setting to determine whether the deduction reduces taxable pay (Net Pay / Salary Sacrifice) or only NI-able pay differently from PAYE pay.
Reference: GOV.UK — Workplace pensions: tax relief
Employee Pension Rate
The percentage of qualifying earnings the employee contributes. Defaults to 5% (the statutory minimum under auto-enrolment) when blank. Available rates: 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 12%, 15%.
Employer Pension Rate
The percentage of qualifying earnings the employer contributes. Defaults to 3% (the statutory minimum) when blank. Available rates: 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 10%.
Combined statutory minimum is 8% (5% employee + 3% employer). Many schemes operate above this — for example, 5%/5% or 4%/8% — and contributions can be calculated on either qualifying earnings or the full salary depending on the scheme rules.
Reference: The Pensions Regulator — Contribution levels
Leave Entitlements
Annual Leave
Full-time employees accrue annual leave at a rate of 20 days per year (4 weeks), pro-rated from their start date. This is calculated automatically based on weeks worked.
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All workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave per year. For a full-time employee working 5 days per week, this equals 28 days — the statutory maximum. The default in Beeswax for UK employees is 28 days.
Employers may include bank holidays within the 28-day statutory entitlement or offer them on top. The Annual Leave Entitlement field on each employee allows you to set their specific allowance.
Part-time workers receive a pro-rated entitlement. For example, an employee working 3 days per week is entitled to 3 × 5.6 = 16.8 days.
Leave accrues from the employee's start date, pro-rated across the year.
Reference: GOV.UK — Holiday entitlement
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Sick Leave
Full-time employees accrue 10 days of paid personal/carer's leave per year under the National Employment Standards. The Sick Leave Days field allows you to override this default per employee.
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In the UK, there is no statutory entitlement to a set number of paid sick days. Instead, employees who are too ill to work may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
The Sick Leave Days field in Beeswax allows you to set a company-specific sick leave allowance per employee for internal tracking purposes. The UK default is 8 days. This is separate from SSP obligations.
Key SSP rules (from 6 April 2026):
- SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence (the previous 3-day waiting period has been removed).
- SSP is £123.25 per week or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
- The previous Lower Earnings Limit requirement has been removed — all eligible employees qualify regardless of income.
- SSP is payable for up to 28 weeks.
Reference: GOV.UK — Statutory Sick Pay employer guide
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Employment Dates
Start Date
The date the employee commenced employment. This is used to:
- Calculate pro-rated leave accrual
- Determine the period of service shown on the employee profile
End Date
If an employee is leaving, set their end date. This is displayed on the employee profile and used to cap leave accrual calculations. Setting an end date does not deactivate the user — use the Deactivate User option from the action menu for that.
The end date appears as box 4 (Leaving date) on a P45. When you set it, you must also pick a leaving reason:
| Code | UK Label |
|---|---|
| V | Resignation |
| I | Ill health |
| D | Deceased |
| R | Redundancy |
| F | Dismissal |
| C | End of contract |
| T | Transfer (e.g. TUPE) |
Once an end date is set, the employee's final payslip is marked as a Final Payslip in the payroll list and the leaving date is included on the next FPS submission to HMRC.
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The end date is the cessation date reported via STP Phase 2. When you set it, you must also pick a cessation reason and (for terminating employees) any Employment Termination Payment (ETP) details.
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Linked Product / Service
Each employee can be linked to a Product / Service from your account. This determines which product or service is used when logging time against tasks assigned to this employee.
When time entries are created for the employee, the linked product's rate is used to calculate the cost of that time. If no product is linked, time entries will not have a cost rate applied.
Tip: Set this up when onboarding each employee to ensure accurate time-based cost tracking from day one.
Toggling Employee Status
On the Employees page, each user has an employee toggle. Turning this on:
1. Creates an Employee Card with regional defaults
2. Makes the employee visible in payroll workflows
3. Enables leave tracking and time-based cost calculations
Turning the toggle off is only possible if the employee has no existing employee activity (payslips, leave records, etc.). If they do, the toggle is disabled — use the Deactivate User option instead to prevent further access.
Permissions
| Action | Owner | Super Admin | Manager | Accountant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View employee details | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit employment details | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Toggle employee on/off | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Change user role | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Deactivate user | ✓ | ✓ | ✓* | ✗ |
*Managers can only deactivate users they outrank. They cannot deactivate Super Admins or Owners.
Tips
- Set business working hours first. Hours per pay period for full-time employees is derived from your Account Settings working hours. Make sure these are correct before onboarding employees.
- Use the correct tax details. Always use the tax code and NI category provided by HMRC, not what the employee tells you.
- Review leave entitlements. The default leave days are based on statutory minimums. If your company offers more generous leave, update each employee's entitlement.
- Link products early. Assigning a Product / Service to each employee ensures time tracking reflects accurate costs from the start. <!-- region:GB -->
- Clear the missing-fields banner before your first pay run. NI Number, Tax Code, Home Address, Date of Birth, and NI Category are all needed for accurate FPS submission and a correct payslip — fix them once and they're done.
- Confirm the Pension Tax Relief Method with your scheme provider. The default in Beeswax is Net Pay arrangement, but NEST and most auto-enrolment schemes use Relief at Source. Choosing the wrong method changes the tax figures reported to HMRC.
- Use P45 box numbers as a checklist. When transcribing a new starter's P45, the field labels in Beeswax show the same box numbers (2 = NI, 5 = Student Loan Plan, 6 = Tax Code, 9 = Start Date, 15 = Address, 17 = Date of Birth). The order in the modal matches the form so you can copy straight down. <!-- /region -->