HMRC know that some employers pay their employees earlier than usual over the Christmas period, for example the business may close for Christmas and New Year. If you do pay early, please report your normal payment date on your Full Payment Submission (FPS).
For example: if you pay on 17 December 2021 but your normal payment date is 31 December 2021, please report the payment date as '31 December 2021'. In this example the FPS would need to be sent on or before the 31 December 2021.
Doing this will help protect your employees' eligibility for Universal Credit, because reporting an early payment could affect further entitlements.
For further information, please see the October 2021 Employer Bulletin.