How to Get Your P60 and P45 as NHS Staff (ESR)

This guide is for NHS staff who need a P60 or P45, whether for a mortgage, a tax rebate, a new job or the end of a contract. It covers ESR employers (England and Wales); if you work in Scotland or Northern Ireland, ask your employer how documents are issued. FrontlinePay is independent and not affiliated with NHSBSA, HMRC or any employer.

P60 and P45: the difference

Getting your P60

NHSBSA's ESR guide lists a Payslips/P60s portlet on the self-service home page where employees view their payslips and P60s. Sign in, open it, and pick the tax year. Our guide to seeing your payslip on ESR explains the portlet, and ESR login help covers sign-in problems.

• • Due date: by 31 May after the tax year ends, if you were employed on 5 April (GOV.UK).
• • One per job: if you hold two NHS posts, you should expect two P60s, one for each assignment.
• • Not there? Ask your payroll team. The deadline is a legal duty on the employer.
• • Still stuck? GOV.UK says you can find the same information in your HMRC personal tax account or the HMRC app, or by contacting HMRC.

If you are planning to claim tax relief, say on uniform costs, see our NHS uniform tax rebate guide.

Getting your P45

GOV.UK says to ask your employer when you will get your P45 as you hand in your notice. A paper P45 has several parts, and GOV.UK says that when starting a new job you give your new employer Parts 2 and 3 and keep Part 1A. Your new employer uses the P45 to work out how much tax to take, and without one you may pay the wrong tax. If you are not working and are claiming taxable benefits, you give it to Jobcentre Plus instead.

If something on the P45 is wrong, GOV.UK says to ask your previous employer for an amended one, and if they cannot do that, to tell HMRC through the Check your Income Tax service. If it is only the tax code, give the P45 to the new employer and HMRC should correct the code after your first pay.

The ESR Leavers Dashboard

NHSBSA's Leavers Dashboard page on the ESR Hub says it lets ex-employees download their last four payslips, their P45, and their P60 where applicable, for their most recent assignment and any other assignments active in the last 13 months. Access starts once you have left, for a maximum of 90 days. NHSBSA's FAQ adds the detail that matters in practice:

• ✓ Employers choose how long leavers keep access. The default value is the 90-day maximum, and an organisation can change it, or opt out entirely.
• ✓ Only the most recent P60 is available, not historic ones.
• ✓ P11Ds are not available there.
• ✓ Four payslips are available per assignment. If you had a monthly main post and a weekly bank post, you can download four of each.
• ✓ The Dashboard is read only. You cannot complete the exit questionnaire from it.
• ✓ Leavers before 1 July 2024 are not covered, because the access cannot be assigned manually.
• ✓ Employees are recommended to set up multi-factor authentication, which lets you remember your login on a device. NHSBSA warns that if you forget your login details you will need another way to reset your password because you will no longer have your work email.

Moving to bank work or another NHS job

NHSBSA's FAQ separates the cases. If your employer moves you to bank without terminating the employee record, either by replacing your assignment number or adding a secondary one, you are not treated as a leaver and you can still reach your old payslips through your normal dashboard. If the record is terminated and a new one is created for the bank post, the old record counts as a leaver record, so you get Leavers Dashboard access as well as the dashboard for the new record, and once the Leavers access ends you lose access to the old payslips. For a TUPE or NHS-to-NHS transfer where the sending organisation terminates your record, NHSBSA says you can use the Leavers Dashboard if the organisation has opted in. Ask your employer how yours is being processed, and see our guides on moving between NHS trusts and TUPE transfers.

If you have already left and want to check what your final pay should include, try the NHS Leaver Final Pay Checker.

Lost it, or never received it

• • Lost P45: there is no replacement. Complete a starter checklist for your new employer (GOV.UK). You can download your pay and tax details for the last 5 tax years from your HMRC personal tax account or app.
• • Lost P60: ask your employer for a replacement, then try your personal tax account or the HMRC app (GOV.UK).
• • Employer will not give you a P45: GOV.UK says to ask your previous employer, and without it you may pay the wrong tax. Raise it with payroll, and if it still does not arrive, our guide on who to contact about wrong pay sets out the route.
• • Too much tax taken: see our payslip codes decoder for tax codes and the NHS payslip checker.

Before your last day: a checklist

• ✓ Sign in to ESR and confirm you still can.
• ✓ Check the email address on your ESR record is one you will keep, not your work address.
• ✓ Download your last payslips and your latest P60.
• ✓ Ask payroll when your P45 will be issued and how you will get it.
• ✓ Note your assignment numbers and your NHS Pension membership reference, which is shown on your payslip.
• ✓ Ask whether your employer has Leavers Dashboard turned on and for how long.

Sources and date checked

Checked 19 October 2026.

• GOV.UK: P60
• GOV.UK: P45
• ESR Hub: Implementing Leavers Dashboard, with the Leavers Dashboard FAQ (PDF)
• ESR Hub: Implementing Employee Self Service, with the functional guide (PDF)

Related guides

General information based on GOV.UK and NHS Business Services Authority material at the date shown. Not tax advice and not affiliated with HMRC, NHSBSA or any NHS employer.