Employment income criteria

In this section we cover:

Income proofs

Work report

To reduce the number of proofs we need, we use a tool called Work Report from Experian.

This tool can automate income verification and provides us with digital payroll data. This can remove the need to upload payslips proofs on cases where it finds a match.

How it works:

  • NFI Online includes a screen in the 'Employment and Income section'
  • You'll need to provide your applicant(s) employer and National Insurance number
  • If the company is registered to the service, and the data matches, you will not have to upload the payslip.

We use Work Report to check for:

  • Employed income
  • Basic salary (this will not include any bonus, overtime or commission income)
  • Primary employer income (you can't use this for more than one employer)

For further information on Work Report and how we use your client's information, you can visit our Nationwide customer website.

Validating proofs

We won't request to see any proofs if we can validate your client's income using credit bureau information. Please don't attach proofs to an application if they aren't requested. This may delay the progress of your case.

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Income from employment

Provide the latest payslip for:

  • Basic pay (3 months’ payslips for National Rail and supermarket workers)
  • Car/shift/location allowance
  • Mortgage subsidies
  • Pension benefit fund
  • Police housing allowance
  • Teaching and Learning Responsibility payment (TLR) 1 or 2
  • Value account.

For more details, download our guide to payslip requirements (PDF, 46.9KB).

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Bonus, overtime and commission income (BOC)

When you include BOC in your client's application, we average it. The number of payslips you need to average and include as proofs depends on how frequently BOC is paid.

Payslips must be consecutive and from the same employer.

How often is BOC paid? Number of payslips to prove BOC
Weekly 8
Fortnightly 6
Four weekly 3
Monthly 3
Quarterly 3 - the oldest payslip should be no older than 12 months before DIP
Half yearly 4 - the oldest payslip should be no older than 25 months before DIP
Annually 2 - the oldest payslip should be no older than 25 months before DIP

Keying BOC

  • Add up the BOC shown on each payslip and divide to get the average figure. Don't forget to include any payslips that show £0 in the average.
  • For fortnightly pay, divide by 12 and key as weekly.
  • If you want to include a combination of BOC, such as both a bonus and overtime, each type of BOC must be on the provided proofs.

Special cases

  • If BOC was not paid on the latest payslip, you must provide the next payslip that shows BOC when it is available. We'll then calculate the BOC average including that payslip.
  • Weekly/Fortnightly paid applicants who were not paid BOC on the latest payslip, do not need to provide an additional payslip if it shows holiday/sick pay.
  • We accept BOC for Fixed Term Contractors.
  • We will only consider the cash element if part of the bonus or commission is paid directly into a pension.
  • Tronc is a common term for tips and service charge payments in restaurants and hotels. We treat this as Commission. For employees using TipJar, we'll accept the applicant's 'Your Tip Share' statement. They can provide this by printing it from the online portal or a payment breakdown statement. If shown on the statement, we'll use the 'Tips before tax' figure for affordability purposes.

Additional income - not labelled bonus, overtime and commission

If there is additional income on your client's payslips that is not clearly labelled as bonus, overtime, or commission, check our unacceptable income list. If it is not on that list, and it is paid on all payslips, it can be used.

Is the additional income the same across all payslips?

  • If your client is paid weekly/fortnightly/four weekly/monthly: treat as basic pay.
  • If your client is paid quarterly/half yearly/annually: treat as overtime.

Is the additional income a variable amount, but appears on all payslips?

  • Treat as overtime no matter how often your client is paid.

We need a number of payslips as proof of income treated as bonus, overtime or commission based on how often your client is paid, as listed above.

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Other types of employment income

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Temporary employment and zero hours contracts

Temporary employees have contracts which are limited to a certain period of time. The arrangement may be via an agency or directly through the employer. We treat temporary agency workers and those employed directly the same.

A zero hours contract is an open ended contract with no guaranteed minimum working hours.

Example of roles using these types of contracts include:

  • Bank nurses (NHS & private), Locums, Supply teachers
  • Retained/on-call Firefighters and Armed Forces Reservists

We treat temporary workers and those on zero hours contracts the same, so key both as 'Employed Temporary'.

Applicants must:

  • have been employed on this basis for at least 12 months with the same employer.
  • NHS bank nurses or locums and supply teachers require a 12 month history, but this does not need to be with the same NHS trust or school.
  • You can only use income from temporary or zero hours contracts where it's not the primary income of the applicant. There must be another form of income which is higher. This can include employed, self-employed, or pension income.

As proof of temporary employment income, we need the latest P60 and most recent payslip. Take the income from the most recent payslip and calculate income over a year. Compare this to the latest P60 total and use the smaller amount as income.

Fixed term contracts

This is where a job is only for a set period, although the contract may be renewed or extended. For example, parental leave cover.

Applicants must:

  • have been employed on a fixed term contract basis for a minimum of 12 months or have at least 24 months remaining on their current contract.
  • not have gaps between contracts of more than 12 total weeks in the past 12 months.
  • provide a copy of the current employment contract as proof of income and employment.

If the current contract is unlikely to be renewed, we'll consider:

  • length of time with current employer
  • if the contract has been renewed before
  • remaining term of the current contract
  • their prospects for new employment in the same type of work at a similar salary
  • if the contract is connected to a specific project.

If your client is employed on a fixed term contract and invoices the employer via a Limited Company that they're not the sole director/shareholder of, we will treat them as self-employed. See our Contractors section for more details.

NHS staff

You should treat Trainee/Junior NHS staff as permanent employees. This includes, but isn't limited to, specialty registrars, trainee nurses, and foundation/training doctors.

Piecework/Pricework

If an employee is paid at a fixed rate per unit produced or action performed, this is piecework or pricework. We can assess this using the temporary worker/zero hours contract criteria.

Applicants must:

  • have been employed on this basis for at least 12 months with the same employer.
  • You can only use income from temporary or zero hours contracts where it's not the primary income of the applicant. There must be another form of income which is higher. This can include employed, self-employed, or pension income.

If your client's piecework or pricework contract includes a minimum number of guaranteed hours or states that their income won't fall below the National Minimum Wage, we can:

  • Treat the guaranteed element as basic income.
  • Treat anything over and above the guaranteed element as overtime.
  • Waive the 12 month minimum time with employer requirement.
  • Key the applicant as permanent or employed.

To do this, you must provide a copy of the applicant's employment contract, along with the latest 3 months' payslips.

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Contractors

Employed contractors

Where an applicant is a contractor and has been trading on a self-employed basis for two or more years, their income can be considered as self-employed or as employed.

Treating a contractor as employed

  • key as 'employed' on a fixed term contract.
  • include the full income amount on the contract.

Limited Company contractor treated as employed

A self-employed contractor who has a Limited Company can choose to be treated as employed. Additional criteria apply in some scenarios.

Joint applications

  • Where the contractor's Limited Company is in their sole name, income from their latest contract can be used.
  • Where the contractor's Limited Company is in the joint names of both applicants, income from one applicant's latest contract can be used, but not both. No income from the limited company can be used for the other applicant.

Umbrella companies

If the applicant has 12 months working via an umbrella company we will treat them as a fixed term contractor.

The umbrella company must deduct full PAYE tax and National Insurance.

With effect from 30 June 2021, where applicants have been employed less than 12 months via a UK based Umbrella Company they must be able to prove a minimum 12 months continuous consecutive Fixed Term Contract history to meet our criteria.

  • Applicants should be keyed as a Fixed Term Contractor with the umbrella company keyed as the employer.
  • As salary, you must key the 'day rate' x 'no of days' x '52 weeks'
  • If the umbrella company has listed expenses separately to the earned income, then only the earned income should be used.

Proofs

  • We need to see the employment contract between the applicant and the Umbrella Company.
  • If the contract does not show their income, we also require a letter from the Umbrella Company confirming the last 12 months earnings paid to the applicant.
  • If 12 months proof of earnings is not available, we'll accept a letter from the Umbrella Company confirming the start date, daily/hourly rate and number of days/hours worked.
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Employment status

In some circumstances, we may need to see more information about your client’s employment.


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