An Employer Reference Number Number (ERN Number) or Employer

PAYE A pay-as-you-earn tax (PAYE), or pay-as-you-go (PAYG) is a withholding of taxes on income payments to employees. Amounts withheld are treated as advance payments of income tax due. They are refundable to the extent they exceed tax as determined ...

Reference is a unique reference number issued in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

HMRC His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the UK government responsible for the tax collectio ...

to an employer. Every organisation operating a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme is allocated an ERN, a unique set of letters and numbers used by HMRC (and others) to identify each employer, consisting of a three-digit HMRC office number and a reference number unique to each business. The ERN is alphanumeric (consisting of both letters and numbers) in the format of 123/XX12345, or 123/X12345 (prior to 2001), where the first three characters represent the Tax Office catchment area and the last six or seven characters represent a unique organisation or employer. The ERN can be found on mandatory HMRC documentation, including P45, P60, P11/D and payslips.Allianz Insurance
Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO)
accessed 6 October 2017 The

Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom. It operates independently of the UK Government and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financi ...

(FCA), which regulates

insurance companies Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

in the UK, requires insurers and

broker A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither ...

s to obtain the ERN from clients whom they are insuring or for whom they are arranging insurance for Employers' Liability, and to state the ERN in their Employers' Liability Register. ERN's are also used by the Employers' Liability Tracing Office, an independent industry body recognised by the FCA, who can assist employees to find their former employer's Employers' Liability Insurance provider if they need to make a claim for injury or illness incurred at work.Employer Liability Reference (ERN) – Information for Policyholders
accessed 6 October 2017

References

Corporate taxation in the United Kingdom Insurance in the United Kingdom {{tax-stub