The season has ended: what to check before you leave

Ask payroll — the person who calculates your pay — when you will receive your final payment. This is usually your normal payday, which is not necessarily your last day on the farm. Ask them to explain which dates and shifts the calculation will cover.

Compare your records of hours and pay rates with gross — your pay before deductions. Then check each deduction and net — the amount you will receive. Your final week may be incomplete, so comparing it only with your previous payment is not enough.

Save your final payslip and the bank statement showing the payment. If a shift is missing from the calculation, or a deduction for accommodation, transport or anything else is unclear, ask for a detailed calculation and the basis for the deduction in writing. Do not confirm receipt of money you have not yet received.

Please confirm my final payday and send a breakdown of my final pay, holiday pay and deductions.

• How to read your payslip and check deductions
• Acas: final pay

For England, Wales and Scotland: when employment ends, the employer must pay for accrued, unused statutory leave — the holiday you are entitled to by law. Ask to see the days or hours accrued, the holiday already taken, the rate used and the final balance. Additional leave above the statutory minimum may be governed by your contract.

Do not multiply all your pay by a single percentage without understanding the arrangement. For some workers with irregular hours or who work for part of the year, rolled-up holiday pay — holiday pay included in regular payments — is allowed. Check whether the arrangement applies and what has already been paid: the same amount is not paid twice.

If you have taken more holiday than you have accrued, a deduction from final pay in GB is possible where there is a written basis agreed in advance. Ask to see it. In Northern Ireland, check the rules separately through the Labour Relations Agency: do not automatically apply the GB arrangement.

• Acas: holiday pay when leaving
• GOV.UK: how holiday pay works
• Labour Relations Agency — Northern Ireland

Download your contract, payslips, time records and correspondence about pay. Request a P45 when your employment with the employer ends, and confirm how it will be sent if you have already left. Finishing work on one farm and ending employment with the same employer are not always the same event — check this with payroll.

Your P45 contains your income and the Income Tax deducted for the tax year up to the date you leave. Check your details, leaving date and amounts. A P60 is a different document: it is issued by 31 May if you were employed by that employer on 5 April. After a summer or autumn season, you do not need to wait for a P60 instead of a P45.

Save copies somewhere you can access after you return home. You do not need a passport, NI number, payslips or HMRC password to read Svoi. Do not send these documents to a public chat. Give your employer a contact they can reach you on and check that you can receive messages there.

• P45, P60 and other documents: detailed guidance
• GOV.UK: P45 — issue, loss and errors
• GOV.UK: P60 — who gets one and when

A short season does not mean HMRC will refund all the tax deducted. The outcome depends on your income for the tax year, the Income Tax already deducted, your entitlement to Personal Allowance and other circumstances. National Insurance is a separate contribution: leaving the UK does not in itself entitle you to a refund of it.

Prepare your income and tax details and your actual travel dates for your application. When you leave, HMRC uses P85 or Self Assessment — the choice depends on your situation. Do not conceal planned returns to the UK to obtain a refund. The existing guide explains the differences and how to apply yourself for free.

Ask your bank how to use your account after moving abroad and receive payments you are expecting. Do not automatically close it before all payments have been settled; conditions for living abroad and receiving cheques depend on the bank. Keep access to HMRC, update your contact details and keep your enquiry reference number. We cannot promise the payment date or amount in advance.

• Estimating and claiming an Income Tax refund
• How to choose between P85 and Self Assessment
• GOV.UK: tax when leaving the UK

Agree in writing the date you will leave your room or caravan, how to hand over the keys, when charges end and how any money you have paid will be returned. Check your agreement: accommodation tied to work and private renting may be subject to different rules. Do not assume the date of your last shift automatically answers every question about your accommodation.

Take photographs of the condition of the accommodation, get confirmation when you hand over items and keys, and keep receipts. Ask for a separate calculation for each deduction and a contact for further correspondence. The guide explains deposit rules and ending your stay, specifying the territory concerned.

Check your passport, ticket, luggage and journey from the farm to the airport. Check the end date of your permitted stay in your eVisa and UKVI notifications; if your work ends early, check the situation with your operator. Do not assume that a promise of another job or a tax refund allows you to stay. For questions about your personal status, you need qualified immigration advice.

• Leaving accommodation and disputed deductions
• eVisa and travel documents
• GOV.UK: Seasonal Worker conditions

Write a short message explaining when you worked, which shifts or amounts have not been included, and what you want checked. Attach only relevant copies and keep the originals. Send it to your employer/payroll, then to your sponsoring operator. Record the dates you contact them and their replies.

For advice on an employment dispute in England, Wales and Scotland, contact Acas; in Northern Ireland, contact the Labour Relations Agency. The time limit depends on the date of the event, the territory and the claim. An internal complaint does not automatically pause the time limit: check it straight away, even if you have been promised that the issue will be dealt with later.

If you are already home, keep access to your correspondence and documents. Leaving does not replace raising the issue and does not guarantee you will get your money back. If you face threats, coercion or the withholding of personal documents, use the rights and support section as well as corresponding about pay.

• Acas: tribunal time limits
• LRA — help in Northern Ireland
• Rights and help when they are breached

Compare the pay you actually received with your payslip. Check whether your P45, a reply about accommodation and any HMRC messages have arrived. If you are waiting for a document, remind your employer and specify a convenient way to receive it. Keep confirmation of applications you have sent.

Do not give an intermediary your bank password, HMRC password or login code. If you choose paid help with a refund, establish the cost, the authority you will be giving them and who will receive the money in advance. You can submit the appropriate application to HMRC yourself for free.

The next season is a separate recruitment process, not a guaranteed continuation of the current one. Check the information with your operator and the conditions for the new trip. It is useful to keep old documents, but they do not replace new permission and current requirements.

• Operators and official application channels
• Tax refunds and choosing help