BrightPay does not currently provide a detailed change log or audit trail that shows exactly when a tax code was changed or who altered a particular payslip. However, there are several ways you can check whether a change has taken place.

Checking when a coding notice was applied

In Check for coding notices, you can see:

• When a coding notice was applied, and
• Whether a coding notice was ignored.

This can help you determine if a tax code change was made in response to an HMRC notice.

1. Compare payslips between periods

You can often identify changes by comparing payslips across pay periods.

1. View or download the payslip for:
   • The period in question, and
   • The previous period.
2. Compare the following on both payslips:
   • Tax code
   • Gross pay
   • Taxable pay
   • Tax
   • NIC
   • Any other deductions

If the tax code or any of these figures differ between periods, this confirms that a change has occurred, even though BrightPay will not show which user made the change.

2. Review the employee’s current tax settings

You can also check the employee’s current tax configuration to see if it reflects a change.

1. Go to Employee > Tax, NICs, RTI.
2. Review the employee’s:
   • Tax code
   • Tax basis
3. Cross‑check this information against:
   • Any HMRC coding notices (P6/P9), and
   • Any earlier payslips you have saved for the employee.

If the current tax code or tax basis differs from previous records, this indicates a change has been made.

3. Check if a payslip was reopened and re‑finalised

If you suspect a payslip was altered after it was initially finalised:

1. Locate any previously saved or issued payslips for the period (for example, PDF copies sent to the employee).
2. Compare these with the payslip currently visible in BrightPay for the same pay period.

If there are differences in pay, deductions or tax code, this shows that the pay for that period has been changed and the period re‑finalised.

Limitations

At present, BrightPay does not provide:

• A full user‑level change history
• A detailed audit trail showing who made each change and when

For this reason, the comparison methods outlined above are the only way to identify if a tax code or payslip has been changed.