# can new employer check what you earned



## Shaz (17 Feb 2006)

Can a new employer check what you used to earn in a previous job? ie can they check with Revenue Comm, can they ask previous employer?


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## ClubMan (17 Feb 2006)

Not if you have these details removed from your _P45_. However it's possible that they can still infer some or all of the details from the _P60 _details for the yaer in which you switched from one (or more) employment(s) to another. Why does it matter once you have secured the job and they're happy that you are the right candidate for the price they are paying?


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## tiger (17 Feb 2006)

A previous employer will (should?) not reveal your salary, but they will confirm this information if you give it to your new employer.


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## extopia (17 Feb 2006)

Did you negotiate your new salary by telling a few fibs about your previous salary?


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## SteelBlue05 (17 Feb 2006)

extopia said:
			
		

> Did you negotiate your new salary by telling a few fibs about your previous salary?


 
Is that not very common? I certainly have done it more than once...


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## extopia (17 Feb 2006)

I didn't say it wasn't. Was just wondering why he asked. I suppose it doesn't occur to most people when they inflate their salaries that they will in all likelihood catch themselves out the minute they hand over that P45 (or whatever it is) to payroll.


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## ClubMan (17 Feb 2006)

extopia said:
			
		

> I didn't say it wasn't. Was just wondering why he asked. I suppose it doesn't occur to most people when they inflate their salaries that they will in all likelihood catch themselves out the minute they hand over that P45 (or whatever it is) to payroll.


 If they don't have the _P45 _amended and reissued first to remove these details. Of course some of these details may still be possible to infer from _P60_ end of year details - I can't remember. To be honest - even allowing for legitimate privacy concerns - starting off with an employer telling lies and trying to hide details from them doesn't seem like a great platform for a trusting employee-employer relationship but that's obviously a subjective opinion.


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## DrMoriarty (17 Feb 2006)

Presumably, an employer who 'fibbed' at interview about the salary being offered wouldn't later (when the new recruit questioned their first pay cheque) get away with saying: 'Ah, yeah, but we really wanted you to accept the job...'?


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## woods (17 Feb 2006)

When an employer is filling in your P60 he is expected to fill in the amount that you received from previous employer and the amount of tax paid in year to date including from previous job.
How can he fill it in if he does not know it.
This would lead me to believe that he is entitled to that information.


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## buzybee (17 Feb 2006)

Sometimes peoples salary may not reflect their responsibilities accurately.  This may happen in the case of new graduates/school leavers.  They may be happy to take on a lot of responsibility for low pay, just to get the experience.

However, if these people are moving jobs, then the new employer should pay the 'going rate' for their experience.  Some new employers will still only pay 2k more than the employee is currently getting.

Also people who get made redundant might take a lower paying job just to stay in the workforce.  If they are changing jobs, surely they are entitled to a salary to reflect their previous experience/qualifications.  The employer should not have the attitude that X is only earning 22K, so they will be happy with 24K, even though they could have 20 yrs experience at a senior level.  Some employers actually use this just to get someone to work for low pay.

Also, changing jobs can be a bit of a gamble. A lot of things could go wrong.  If you are found to be unsuitable, you could be let go, and then you would have no job!!  You are taking a chance in that the new working conditions could be less desirable, the people could be difficult to get on with etc.  Add all this to the effort of starting a new job, putting in extra hours to learn this job, and an extra E20 net a week does not make this worthwhile.

I feel that I would need to get about 3 to 4 K extra in order to change jobs.  By the time you pay tax, you would need to take home E40 net extra.

The way to get around this with prospective employers is to cost out your benefits, eg free canteen, VHI etc.  When asked what salary you are on, you could add in these benefits and give a range e.g  30 to 35K for your job.  Then you are not caught out in a lie.  If there are any queries about your P45, you could say that you just got a pay increase in your last job.  You could always say that some of the benefits in your last job were non monetary.


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## ClubMan (17 Feb 2006)

woods said:
			
		

> When an employer is filling in your P60 he is expected to fill in the amount that you received from previous employer and the amount of tax paid in year to date including from previous job.
> How can he fill it in if he does not know it.
> This would lead me to believe that he is entitled to that information.


Not necessarily. I presume they get this from the _P45 _and that form can definitely be amended to remove previous earnings and hide the details from a new employer. In that case I guess the employer fills in the earnings from this employment and leaves the earnings from previous employments in the same tax year blank on the basis that they don't have the details.


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## ClubMan (17 Feb 2006)

buzybee said:
			
		

> Sometimes peoples salary may not reflect their responsibilities accurately.  This may happen in the case of new graduates/school leavers.  They may be happy to take on a lot of responsibility for low pay, just to get the experience.
> 
> However, if these people are moving jobs, then the new employer should pay the 'going rate' for their experience.  Some new employers will still only pay 2k more than the employee is currently getting.


Then that might be an indicator that such an employer is not worth working for. If the candidate and employer cannot discuss things frankly and negotiate openly then it would seem to me to bode ill for a trusting relationship in the future. Some people might not care but for me this could be a sticking point (from an employee point of view). If an employer didn't like the honest explanation about previous experience and the reason for lower earnings than I was seeking for the position in question and just wanted to apply a formulaic current + €xK to salary negotiations then I would have serious reservations about working for them myself.


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## DaithiOg (24 Feb 2006)

To clarify some of the incorrect points above- Most interviews presume people are lying about their current/previous salary when ask the question "how much are youon and what would it take you to move?".
Once that question is asked its time to play hardball. Unless you're a graduate and have no cards to play with. 
Your current empliyer has no right whatsoever to find out what you earned previously in any other job. To keep this info from them is quite simple. Ask the tax office to send out a week1 or month1 basis tax allowance cert, and tell them that you do not want your new employer to know your previous earnings and so they are not to sent out the details when they receive your p45. They are used to this request and most understand it. There is nothing underhand or strange about this request. 
If you undepay or overpay tax because of this week1/month1 basis you can sort it out after year end.

If your payroll get stroppy about not having all your details for the year, tell them its between you and the tax office. Because it is. The company you are working for isn't going to lose money. Most payroll people are clueless when it comes to peoples tax.


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## ClubMan (24 Feb 2006)

DaithiOg said:
			
		

> To clarify some of the incorrect points above


What specific points were incorrect?


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## DaithiOg (24 Feb 2006)

ClubMan said:
			
		

> What specific points were incorrect?


"
When an employer is filling in your P60 he is expected to fill in the amount that you received from previous employer and the amount of tax paid in year to date including from previous job.
 How can he fill it in if he does not know it.
 This would lead me to believe that he is entitled to that information."


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## ClubMan (24 Feb 2006)

OK - thanks. Wasn't sure what you were referring to.


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## z107 (24 Feb 2006)

With respect to the comments above about amending P45s, who is going to do this?

The P45 contains information such as total pay and tax paid. This information is required (by the new employer) if the employee is paid on a cumulative basis. If the Pay is overstated (and tax left the same) then the employee is going to get stung for tax on their first payment in the new job. If tax paid is increased, would this be like fraud?

An alternative would be to put the employee on emergency tax, but they'll still get hit for tax.

www.payback.ie


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## ClubMan (24 Feb 2006)

umop3p!sdn said:
			
		

> With respect to the comments above about amending P45s, who is going to do this?


Don't know but the option is certainly there on the _P45 _form.


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## santu (31 Aug 2006)

how to hide your previous PA salary which is 8K less then current new job? what should i do? pls advice!


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## MsGinger (31 Aug 2006)

You can't really hide it - your previous employer will send your P45 details to the tax office, who then issue a new tax cert to your new employer when he requests it.  P2C data now also includes previous earnings & tax and these are sent directly from revenue to the new employer.


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## Magoo (31 Aug 2006)

On a broader note, why mention your present pay anyway in negotiating with a prospective employer?

Why not just say "on the basis of my experience, I believe a salary of X is in order".  What you end up with is subject to negotiation but you shouldn't need to disclose your salary to support what you think you can legitimately claim. The employer is either willing to pay X or he isn't.  What you currently earn should be irrelevant.


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## Towger (31 Aug 2006)

santu said:


> how to hide your previous PA salary which is 8K less then current new job? what should i do? pls advice!


 
There is into on Revenue's web site on this. Somewhere.... Not the best search system in the world.

Basicly *you* send your P45 into Revenue, requesting your new Tax Cert be send to your new employer without your previous Pay and Tax. I think there is a form for this, but you should ring Revenue and ask. When they send the cert to your new employer they will but you on a Week/Month 1 Basis. This means your tax will be calculated Weekly/Monthly etc instead of yearly, so your previous pay and tax will figures are not required. At the start of next year you'll revert back to normal.

Towger.


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## Lauren (31 Aug 2006)

Magoo, I totally agree with you. During a recent job search, I simply avoided answering that question by responding with 'what I'm looking for is .....'.  If pushed I have stated that I believe the question to be irrelevant. Its all about having the confidence to declare your worth. I have mostly done negotiations through recuitment agencies so haven't often had to have this conversation with the employer.

Whilst in a perfect world we all want to have frank and open conversations with our employers and employees about pay and conditions, it is not always the case. Over the years I have learned to be ruthless (but pleasant) when it comes for asking for my 'worth'!


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## MsGinger (31 Aug 2006)

Even if you don't give your new employer your p45, once your previous employer gives your details to the revenue, your new employer can get them.  The employer can also request a certificate of tax credits, not just the employee.  I have done this on many occasions, not to find out what the person was earning, but I work in the construction industry, where most of our employees are paid net to gross, so it's in our best interests to make sure all of the information is correct.


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## porterbray (31 Aug 2006)

All pay and tax details between an employee and Revenue are confidential, even from an employer. If Revenue are giving these details out to an employer without the employee's knowledge or consent, they are in breach of data protection laws. The procedure for keeping information from your employer is contained in the Employee's Guide to PAYE [broken link removed]


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## Persius (8 Sep 2006)

Regarding being asked your current/previous salary at interview, I read an interesting tip on a foreign job site. Simply tell them that your current/previous contract precludes you from discussing your salary with third parties. I think this would be a valid answer in Ireland as well.


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