Can I add an employee to a completed pay run

Summary

What to do if you forget to add a new employee to a pay run in Sage Payroll.

Description

You can't add a missing employee into a pay run that’s already completed. You also can't process a second pay run within the same tax period for the relevant pay cycle.

In some situations, you can use a work-around. This includes temporarily processing an employee on a different pay cycle.

NOTE: It's only possible to switch between a weekly and monthly pay cycle.

CAUTION: Notify HMRC before following these steps to make them aware of the situation. Inform them that you’ll be submitting further RTI information for the Tax Period.

Resolution

Before you start

It's not possible to use the work-around below if you have already processed your other existing pay cycles for the same time scale. For example, if you didn't add a monthly employee to the monthly pay run then the work-around normally is to change the employee to weekly and complete four separate weekly pay runs. However, if you've already completed any of the weekly pay runs for those four weeks then you need to pay the missing amount in the next available monthly period instead.

It's your responsibility to ensure the employee is paying the correct amount of PAYE and NI if changing their pay cycle.

To help you determine what is possible, check the different tax periods in our Payroll tax calendar.

Work-around

Depending on your situation, you sometimes are able to:

Set up/use a different pay cycle for the missing period
Process their wages within that pay cycle
Move the employee back to their correct pay cycle for future pay runs

Alternatively, you can pay the employee the missing amount in the next unprocessed period.

Monthly pay run

▼Work-around steps

If you already have a weekly pay calendar, start from step 6.

Go to Settings, then select Pay Day Settings.
Select Set up Weekly Calendar.
In the Pay Day list, select the day of the week you want to pay your employee.
Select the First Pay Run box, then select the date of the first period you need to run.
Select Save.
To change the already assigned employee pay cycle, select the Employees tab from the menu bar.
Select the relevant employee.
Under Employment Details, in the Pay Cycle list, select Weekly.
Select Save.

You can now process your payroll for the number of weeks needed to complete the tax month for the new employee.

Use the payroll tax calendar to determine when this is.

Once you’ve completed all the pay runs needed, you can then switch your employee back to the monthly pay cycle.

Weekly pay run

▼Work-around steps

If you already have a monthly pay calendar, start from step 6.

Go to Settings then select Pay day settings.
Select Set up Monthly Calendar.
In the Pay On list, choose one of the following options:
- Same Day of the Month
- Last Day
Select the First Pay Run box, then select the date of the first period you need to run.
Select Save.
To change the already assigned employee pay cycle, select the Employees tab from the menu bar.
Select the relevant employee.
Under Employment Details, in the Pay Cycle list, select Monthly.
Select Save.

You can now process your payroll for the month you need to complete for the new employee.

Use the payroll tax calendar to determine when this is.

Once you’ve completed the pay run, you can then switch your employee back to the weekly pay cycle.

2 and 4 weekly pay runs

▼Options

You can only swap an employee between Weekly and Monthly pay cycles within payroll.

For an employee missed off a 2 weekly pay run your options are:

Pay them weekly for the rest of the tax year
Wait until the next 2 weekly pay run to pay them
NOTE: This sometimes results in the employee paying more PAYE or NIC than usual.

For an employee missed off a 4 weekly pay run your options are:

Pay them as monthly for the rest of the tax year
Pay them as weekly or 2 weekly for the rest of the tax year
Pay them as weekly to the end of the tax month and then swap to monthly
NOTE: Use the tax calendar from the link above to determine when the tax month ends.
Wait until the next 4 weekly pay run to pay them
NOTE: This sometimes results in the employee paying more PAYE or NIC than usual.

For help with setting up a new pay calendar, read our article Pay day calendar settings

Solution Properties

Solution ID: 222001000101510
Last Modified Date: Mon Aug 03 15:16:54 UTC 2026
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