Troubleshooting FPS submissions in Core Payroll

Employee names in the FPS can only contain letters, dashes (-), and apostrophes (‘). Symbols, numbers, or other characters will cause a rejection.

For example:

• ✘ “John! Doe”, “Jane123”, “**Anne-Marie”
• ✔ “John Doe”, “Jane”, “Anne-Marie”

How do I fix this? 

Step 1: Edit employee information in the FPS 

• Go to Payroll and select Employees (Take me there)
• Find the employee whose name needs correction
• Select the employee's name to open their profile
• Edit the name field to remove any unaccepted characters
• Save the changes

Step 2: Delete the pay period containing the employee

• In the Payroll Overview, navigate to the Payroll Payment List
• Locate the pay period that includes the employee with the incorrect information
• Select the dropdown arrow in the actions column
• Select Delete and confirm the deletion

Step 3: Recreate the pay run

• Go back to Payroll 
• Create a new pay run for the same period
• Enter the correct information for the employee
• Review and finalise the pay run

Step 4: Submit the FPS

• Once the pay run is finalised, submit the Full Payment Submission (FPS)

Each address field in the FPS has a maximum limit of 35 characters (including spaces). Longer addresses can cause the submission to be rejected.

For example:

• ✘ “123 Long Street Name, Some City, Some County” (too long)
• ✔  “123 Long St Name, Some City” (within 35 characters)

How do I fix this? 

Step 1: Delete the pay period with the long address

• In the Payroll Overview, navigate to the Payroll Payment List
• Locate the pay period that includes the employee with the long address
• Select the dropdown arrow in the actions column
• Select Delete and confirm the deletion

Step 2: Edit the employee’s address

• Go back to Payroll
• Select Employees and find the employee whose address needs correction
• Select the employee's name to open their profile
• Edit the address fields, making sure each line is within 35 characters (including spaces)
  • For example, change "123 Long Street Name, Some City, Some County" to "123 Long St Name, Some City"
• Save the changes

Step 3: Recreate the pay run with the updated address

• Go back to Payroll
• Create a new pay run for the same period
• Enter the correct information for the employee
• Review and finalise the pay run

Step 4: Submit the FPS

• Once the pay run is finalised, submit the Full Payment Submission (FPS)

Certain National Insurance (NI) letters (B, E, I, and T) are specific to female employees. Using these for male employees can cause submission errors.

For example:

• ✘ Male employee with NI letter “B”
• ✔ Male employee with NI letter “A” (use “B” only for female employees)

How do I fix this? 

Step 1: Delete the pay period with the incorrect NI letter

• In the Payroll Overview, navigate to the Payroll Payment List
• Locate the pay period that includes the male employee with the incorrect NI letter
• Select the dropdown arrow in the actions column
• Select Delete and confirm the deletion

Step 2: Edit the employee’s NI letter

• Go back to Payroll
• Select Employees and find the male employee whose NI letter needs correction
• Select the employee's name to open their profile
• Edit the NI letter field to select the correct letter
  • For example, change the NI letter from "B" to "A" for a male employee
• Save the changes

Step 3: Recreate the pay run with the updated NI letter

• Go back to Payroll 
• Create a new pay run for the same period
• Enter the correct information for the employee
• Review and finalise the pay run

Step 4: Submit the FPS

• Once the pay run is finalised, submit the Full Payment Submission (FPS)

The National Insurance (NI) letter can't be B, E, I, or T if the date of birth is after 5 April 1961. If you see this error, you'll need to check your employee records to identify who has NI letters B, E, I, or T, and then verify their date of birth.

How do I fix this?

Step 1: Delete the pay period with the incorrect NI letter

• In the Payroll Overview, navigate to the Payroll Payment List
• Locate the pay period that includes employee with the incorrect NI letter
• Select the dropdown arrow in the actions column
• Select Delete and confirm the deletion

Step 2: Edit the employee’s NI letter

• Go back to Payroll
• Select Employees and find the male employee whose NI letter needs correction
• Select the employee's name to open their profile
• Edit the NI letter field to select the correct letter
  • For example, change the NI letter from "B" to "A" for a male employee
• Save the changes

Step 3: Recreate the pay run with the updated NI letter

• Go back to Payroll 
• Create a new pay run for the same period
• Enter the correct information for the employee
• Review and finalise the pay run

Step 4: Submit the FPS

• Once the pay run is finalised, submit the Full Payment Submission (FPS)

If your employee date of birth is after 5 April 1961, contact HMRC to confirm the correct NI letter, as the employee may be on a different code.