Free Payroll Software for UK businesses
Ditch the fees, not the compliance. HMRC-recognised payroll software that auto-submits RTI, runs PAYE/NI and stays accurate. 100% free.
Take payroll off your plate. Run payroll in just a click, support compliance and manage important tasks in one easy workflow.
See how it works
Full payroll functionality at £0/month
Unlike other “free” tools with hidden limits, we give you everything needed to run payroll properly.
Core Payroll
- RTI submissions to HMRC
- Payslip generation
- Year-end P60s
- Multiple pay frequencies
- Holiday pay calculations
- PAYE & NI calculations
Compliance
- Auto-enrolment management
- Pension contributions
- National Minimum Wage checks
- GDPR-compliant data handling
- Statutory payments (SSP, SMP)
- Attachment of earnings
Convenience
- Unlimited admin users and employees
- Employee self-service portal
- Cloud-based access
- Accounting integrations
- Reporting & analytics
- Mobile-friendly interface
✓ No credit card
✓ No trial period
✓ No forced upgrades
Payroll stress cancelled.
Payroll stress cancelled
Configure your payroll process once, then sit back as smart automations run everything for you. Just review and approve.
Set and forget
Get a heads-up if something’s missing, with warning triggers and contingency pauses so nothing slips through the cracks.
Compliant. Not complex.
We’ll auto-submit RTI to HMRC, run PAYE/NI correctly, and handle Auto Enrolment pension submissions – so you’re always covered.
Loop in your team
Payslips are sent out automatically, so your team always knows when and what they’re getting paid.
Make compliance look easy
Prevent costly errors with built-in compliance guardrails and workflows:
- Auto-enrolment
Assess, enrol and re-enrol staff automatically in line with The Pensions Regulator. - Pension contributions
Calculate contributions and submit returns automatically. - Accurate pay, every time
PAYE/NI, 52-week averaging, National Minimum Wage checks and holiday pay handled for you. No manual work, no mistakes. - Smarter benefits
Customise your benefits and automate payrolled benefit calculations to reduce errors.
Big-picture reporting
Get real-time workforce insights with intuitive reports for making smarter decisions.
- Understand profitability drivers and make the right calls with reports like gross-to-net, pay run variance and pension contributions.
- Identify discrepancies and maintain accurate employee records with reports like employee audits, unpaid employee lists, and qualification tracking.
- Navigate complex legal requirements and ensure accurate submissions with reports like FPS submissions, EPS, and P60 generation.
Let employees DIY
Tired of chasing up leave requests, sharing payslips and repeating the same HR policies? Let employees manage everything employment in one easy app.
- Let your team access payslips and key payroll info available anytime, from anywhere.
- Let employees manage their own details and documents with a self-serve portal.
- Built-in GDPR compliance ensures appropriate levels of access to safeguard sensitive information.
TRUSTED BY 300k+ HAPPY CUSTOMERS
Don’t just take our word for it
See how our customers are using our free payroll software to save time and pay with confidence.
See what the experts think
Sarah Sharpe, founder of Payroll Ninjas and a leader in payroll consultancy, provides her expert review of our free payroll software, highlighting its key features and the benefits it brings to businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about cutting edge payroll software
Employment Hero’s free payroll software is for UK businesses looking to manage and automate core payroll and post-payroll tasks like calculations, payslip generation and RTI submissions.
Yes, Employment Hero’s free payroll software is rigorously tested and recognised by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). This ensures the software can accurately report PAYE information online in real-time (RTI), enabling businesses to meet their tax obligations and comply with HMRC regulations.
Yes, our free payroll solution is fully cloud based. This means that you’ll experience our continuous efforts to enhance and expand our capabilities as they go live. No need to wait for future version releases.
Employment Hero’s payroll solution is RTI-compliant, HMRC-recognised, GDPR-compliant and holds a triple ISO certification (27001, 27017, 27018). Our system is also kept up-to-date with the latest compliance and legislation requirements and changes such as National Minimum Wage and National Insurance Contribution rates to ensure automation is accurate and compliant.
No, Employment Hero’s free payroll does not have a limit when it comes to how many employees you can pay, unlike most free payroll software solutions in the market.
Employment Hero’s payroll solutions support all common pay frequencies in the UK, including weekly, fortnightly, 4-weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually.
Yes, multiple users can access the same payroll account. There are no limits on the number of users you can add to your account.
Yes, the system is designed to automatically calculate and report Tax (PAYE) and National Insurance (NI) deductions to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) via the Full Payment Submission (FPS) and Employer Payment Summary (EPS).
Furthermore, the software accommodates other statutory payments and deductions, including Pensions, Attachment of Earnings Orders, Salary Sacrifice Schemes, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), and various forms of Parental Pay, such as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Yes. Switch payroll solutions easily by importing employee time worked, leave taken and other employee details from your current payroll provider or accounting software into Employment Hero.
Employment Hero’s free payroll solution offers AI-powered tools to help you find the right answer to your queries. You also have access to an extended resource library with articles and videos with step-by-step instructions. Finally, you can raise queries with our expert customer support and they’ll get back to you with the best possible answers.
It’s free. All you need to do is to fill out the signup form here and set up your account by completing all the important information that helps the system to be configured in line with how you normally pay your people.
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