PAYE90011 - Reconcile individual: underpayments: work item 236 - issue request for voluntary payment

Work item 236 is created when an underpayment of £3000 or more arises or, the underpayment is less than £3000 but cannot be coded out (PAYE12070).

Work item 236 - interaction with work item 93 and work item 173

As the creation criteria around work item 236 is similar to that applicable to work item 93 (PAYE12071) and work item 173 (PAYE13009), in certain circumstances all three work items or, a combination of any two of them may be created in respect of the same underpayment. Where this is so and

• Work item 173 along with either / both work item 93 and / or work item 236 has been created in respect of the underpayment
• Follow work item 173 guidance (PAYE13009) to determine whether or not updating estimated pay will allow the underpayment to be coded out. If the underpayment
• Can be coded, close work item 173 and any work item 93 / 236 created in respect of the underpayment
• Cannot be coded, close work item 173 and work the remaining work item 93 / 236 in accordance with the instructions below
• Work item 93 and / or work item 236 are open
• Where the underpayment cannot be coded out and it is a SA underpayment, follow work item 93 guidance at PAYE12071. You should do this whether or not the work item concerned is work item 93 and / or work item 236
• Where the underpayment cannot be coded out and it is a NPS underpayment, follow work item 236 guidance below

When reviewing work item 236 you should first consider the following issues.

From October 2011 when more than one work item 236 is created for a NINO they will be merged. There may be multiple legacy work items 236.

Underpayments removed from CY code may still have a ’coded’ status in Accounting so Coding History must be checked for underpayments coded CY.

For underpayments less than £3000, estimated pay should always be reviewed and updated in accordance with the guidance at PAYE130045, which will ensure underpayments are coded where possible.

In cases where the customer has contacted us prior to work item 236 being reviewed, the estimated pay figure may already have been updated and a Contact History note put on the case of ‘EST pay updated DD/MM/YY - Clear WI236’. Where the note refers to the work item 236 underpayment you are reviewing you should close the work item and take no further action.

Work items 236 created for the following types of underpayment can also be closed without any further action being taken

• Potential underpayment - as we cannot request voluntary payments for potential underpayments
• Underpayments with a ’cancelled’ status in Accounting
• Duplicate work items created for the same underpayment

For a deceased case, where work item 21 has been produced (PAYE103017, step 28) you do not need to action work item 236 and you should

• Update the work item with a note of ‘Work item 236 closed: the case will be resolved through work item 21’
• Close the work item

For an underpayment arising in respect of years up to and including 2009-10, the underpayment concerned may be working with the Underpayment Support Team (UST) by the time you commence your review of work item 236. You will be able to identify whether or not this is so as cases concerned will have an appropriate UST Contact History note on them. Where such a note is on the case being worked you should BF work item 236 for 12 weeks (the UST will clear the work item during their review of the underpayment) and move on to the next work item 236 case requiring review.

Note: If you have cause to review the tax calculation(s) associated to work item 236, and in doing so, you notice that a reason for the underpayment is found to be employer error (for example the employer operated an incorrect code in the year) you must follow the guidance at PAYE90020 before you pursue the customer for the underpayment concerned.

To clear work item 236, follow the guidance at PAYE90012.