Wrapping Up the Year: A guide to Christmas pay dates 2025

With December round the corner, we have provided some guidance on what dates should be included on your Full Payment Submission (FPS) during the festive period.

Regardless of whether you intend to pay your employees early at Christmas, you must still report your payroll with the normal payment date, even if the usual pay date falls on a weekend or bank holiday.

For example, suppose you pay on Friday, December 19th, 2025, but the normal/contractual payment date is Wednesday, December 31st, 2025. In that case, you should still report the payment date on the FPS as 31st December and ensure the submission is sent on or before 31st December.

The rationale behind this is to protect your employee’s eligibility for Universal Credit, as the assessment period for Universal Credit is determined by the dates submitted on the FPS.

Universal Credit is a social security payment provided to those on low earnings or out of work to support them with their daily living costs.

If it looks as though someone has received two payments in one assessment period, it may affect their eligibility for Universal Credits and therefore leave them struggling financially.

Although we have focused on the Christmas pay period, ensuring you submit your FPS on the regular pay date should apply throughout the remainder of the year.

Where an employee is normally paid on the 25th of each month but is paid on the 23rd January 2026 (as the 25th is a Sunday, which is a non-banking day), the employee must have 25th January reported as the payment date.

Contact our Payroll Team if you have any questions about the processing of your payroll on 01254 688110.