{"id":207790,"date":"2025-04-27T00:47:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T00:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/accounting\/what-is-an-employer-reference-number\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T00:47:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T00:47:25","slug":"what-is-an-employer-reference-number","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790","title":{"rendered":"What Is An Employer Reference Number?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>An Employer Reference Number (ERN) is a unique set of letters and number used to identify your business. Also called your employer PAYE reference on tax forms, you\u2019ll be given an Employer Reference Number when you first register as an employer with HM Revenue and Customs.<\/p>\n<p>Your Employer Reference Number will consist of a 3 digit HMRC tax reference number and a reference number that\u2019s unique to your business. It\u2019s split into two parts and will look like this: 123\/AB12345.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll be provided with your ERN in your employer\u2019s welcome pack, which you\u2019ll receive when your register as an employer. You\u2019ll also find your ERN on communications received from HMRC.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to apply for an employer PAYE reference \u2013 you\u2019ll automatically be issued one when you register as an employer.<\/p>\n<p>If your business has separate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kashflow.com\/blog\/setting-up-paye\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PAYE schemes<\/a> over multiple locations, then you may have been issues multiple Employer Reference Numbers. It\u2019s therefore important that you keep track of these PAYE reference numbers across your different structures.<\/p>\n<p>Your ERN can be used in several ways. Employees may ask you for it, as they\u2019ll need it when applying for Student Loans or tax credits. You should include it on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kashflow.com\/blog\/paye-forms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">employee payslips, P60s, P11Ds and P45s<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you purchase employer\u2019s liability insurance, then you\u2019ll need to use your ERN to identify the times at which an employee worked for you should a case be made.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll also need your Employer Reference Number when you\u2019re contacting HMRC about Income Tax and National Insurance. In particular, you\u2019ll need it when you\u2019re completing your end of year PAYE return to ensure everything is filed properly.<\/p>\n<p>End of year returns are most commonly rejected due to invalid or absent ERNs, so it\u2019s important you store this number safely through the year.<\/p>\n<p>If you can\u2019t find your original employer\u2019s welcome pack, then you should be able to find your Employer Reference Number on other material from HM Revenue and Customs \u2013 including P45s and P60s from your employees.<\/p>\n<p>You might not have to register under PAYE, and therefore you won\u2019t get an Employee Reference Number, if your employees:<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll also be exempt if your business is based in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.<\/p>\n<p>If you make an insurance claim, your Employer Reference Number will be used by the Employer\u2019s Liability Tracing Office (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.elto.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ELTO<\/a>). They\u2019ll use your PAYE reference number to identify when the insurance claimant worked for you and whether you were insured at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Your PAYE reference number will help establish that the business had appropriate insurance when any claimant was employed by you, even if this is in the distant future. Once you can prove this, the insurer would pick up the compensation bill instead of you. You should therefore share your ERN when you\u2019re arranging your policy with your insurance broker.<\/p>\n<p>Employment Liability insurance is a legal requirement for most businesses with employees, so it\u2019s a good idea to involve your PAYE reference number and secure yourself for future.<\/p>\n<p>KashFlow payroll is designed to keep payroll for small businesses simple, including all the essential features and streamlining the process to keep your admin time to an absolute minimum. Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kashflow.com\/payroll\/\">payroll software<\/a> now to see how we can make paying your staff simple!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Employer Reference Number (ERN) is a unique set of letters and number used to identify your business. Also called your employer PAYE reference on tax forms, you\u2019ll be given an Employer Reference Number when you first register as an employer with HM Revenue and Customs. Your Employer Reference Number will consist of a 3 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":207791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11759],"tags":[11090,4755,8831],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-207790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accounting","tag-employer","tag-number","tag-reference"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Is An Employer Reference Number? - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is An Employer Reference Number? - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An Employer Reference Number (ERN) is a unique set of letters and number used to identify your business. Also called your employer PAYE reference on tax forms, you\u2019ll be given an Employer Reference Number when you first register as an employer with HM Revenue and Customs. Your Employer Reference Number will consist of a 3 [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-27T00:47:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"What Is An Employer Reference Number?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-27T00:47:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790\"},\"wordCount\":581,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Employer\",\"Number\",\"Reference\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Accounting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790\",\"name\":\"What Is An Employer Reference Number? - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-27T00:47:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":640},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is An Employer Reference Number?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is An Employer Reference Number? - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is An Employer Reference Number? - Som2ny Network","og_description":"An Employer Reference Number (ERN) is a unique set of letters and number used to identify your business. Also called your employer PAYE reference on tax forms, you\u2019ll be given an Employer Reference Number when you first register as an employer with HM Revenue and Customs. Your Employer Reference Number will consist of a 3 [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-04-27T00:47:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"What Is An Employer Reference Number?","datePublished":"2025-04-27T00:47:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790"},"wordCount":581,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg","keywords":["Employer","Number","Reference"],"articleSection":["Accounting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790","name":"What Is An Employer Reference Number? - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-27T00:47:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/partnership-2750197_960_720.jpg","width":960,"height":640},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=207790#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is An Employer Reference Number?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=207790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/207791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=207790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=207790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=207790"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=207790"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=207790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}