A UK payroll calendar is more than a list of pay dates. It has to carry the reporting deadline attached to each one, the tax week and month boundaries, and the fixed year-end dates that do not move for anybody.
The reporting deadline is tied to the pay date
Under real time information an employer reports what was paid on or before the day it is paid, so each pay date on the calendar carries a submission with it. Building the calendar without that column is how late submissions happen in months where the pay date moves for a weekend or a bank holiday, which is the usual cause.
Tax weeks and tax months are not calendar ones
The UK tax year starts on 6 April, so tax weeks and months run on their own boundaries. Payments near those boundaries fall into the period that contains the pay date, and getting that wrong shifts thresholds and allowances by a period. Put the tax period against every pay date on the calendar rather than working it out each time.
Moved pay dates need deciding in advance
Weekends, bank holidays and the Christmas period all move pay dates, and there are specific rules about how a payment brought forward should be reported. Decide the whole year's exceptions when you build the calendar, publish them, and note the reporting treatment beside each one so it is not a judgement call in December.
Year end has fixed dates that do not negotiate
The final submission for the year, employee statements, and the expenses and benefits returns all have deadlines that arrive whatever else is happening. Put them on the calendar at the same time as the pay dates, with an owner and a start date rather than only a deadline, because the work is not small in the week it is due.
Questions people ask about payroll calendar
When does the UK tax year run?
From 6 April to 5 April, which is why tax weeks and months do not line up with calendar ones.
What if payday falls on a weekend?
Most employers pay on the preceding working day. There are reporting rules about how that is treated, so check them before changing the date.
Should the calendar be published to staff?
Yes, at least the pay dates. Most queries in a normal month are people checking when they will be paid.