Sometimes an employee's final payslip shows a tax refund that looks unexpected. This is usually correct, and no action is needed.
Why this happens
If an employee's leaving date falls in a previous payroll period but isn't reported until the current period, the employee is processed as a current period leaver. When this happens, the payroll recalculates the employee's tax position to reflect that leaving date, which can generate a refund on a cumulative tax code.
What to check
Confirm the employee is on a cumulative tax code. Refunds of this kind are expected behaviour for cumulative tax codes, and don't apply in the same way to non-cumulative (week 1/month 1) codes.
If you want to double-check the figures independently, HMRC's PAYE tax calculator can confirm the calculation.
What NOT to do
Don't make a manual tax adjustment to correct or reverse the refund. The recalculation is the system working as intended, and a manual adjustment would create a discrepancy rather than fix one.
If the employee or your team has concerns about the refund amount that aren't resolved by the above, contact HMRC for advice.