Client worked for very small employer who started paying WTC during 2003. Client had no payslips - payments by cheque, sometimes separate cheques for pay and WTC, sometimes combined. On occasions, amount of pay and WTC written on envelope containing cheque; sometimes not. Client queried amounts of WTC with employer several times - no satisfactory answer. Client then got 03-04 P60 showing WTC amount in excess of total she had received. We queried with TCO July 04. Have just got their answer which says they have to take the P60 figure as correct and cannot "consider replacing this amount without proof (from the client) that this money was never received". (They also say client should have ensured she received payslips, which is fair enough in theory but we all know many small employers don't provide them.)

How do you prove a negative? In the absence of payslips the only evidence is the entries on her bank account, but some cannot be reconciled to TC payments because they also include pay. Also, do IR (not necessarily TCO) carry out some auditing function on employers tax returns, WTC payments etc which should pick up this sort of thing?

I would appreciate comments or ideas on how to proceed.

The P60 should also show the client's pay for the tax year. If she has bank statements for the whole year you could add up the total amount of payments she received from her employer, and then compare this with the pay and WTC figures shown on the P60. This would be evidence that there has been an underpayment of something, though I don't know how you could argue this was WTC rather than pay. It would certainly be evidence to present to the employer that they owe your client money. If they did not pay up, you should have some basis for a further challenge although I'm not sure what form such a challenge would take.

Hi Derek,

The IR compliance manual insists that all required documentation to support claims must be originals. I mention this only to make the point that they are doing their own thing when it comes to establishing claims etc (I can see no basis for having to rely on originals in the actual claims rules). Accordingly, I am not surprised that the IR say that must take the P60 must be believed unless there is evidence to the contrary...more doing their own thing. I suppose you could ask the IR ever so nicely on what legal basis the P60 is held to be sacrosanct.

Not sure where you can go with this query. There is presumably not a TC entitlement figure you can appeal about. If there is doubt about whether client has received the TC, I wonder if a strongly worded letter to the employer, muttering about a wages based employment tribunal claim, would do the trick? You might subsequently get the data on discovery if the client went to an ET, but then again, the client may end up with a P45 to add to their P60 (and not want to have to claim unfair dismissal etc).

I would have thought that the IR would be extremely sensitive to employers who might be ripping off employees but taking a slice of the TC cake.

Steve

Thank you both. Unfortunately, the employer was a business owned by one person and she sold it and is uncontactable. However, when I checked our file I found we queried this problem with TCO 4 times in 2003 and they appear to have done nothing about it, despite telling us they would take it up with the employer. I'll be going back to them on this and see how we go.