EIM42220 - Employment income: basis of assessment for general earnings: earnings received before an employment starts or after it ends

Sections 15(3), 22(3), 26(3) and 27(3) ITEPA 2003

General earnings are taxable in the year they are received (or, in some special cases, received in the United Kingdom) whether or not the office or employment is held at the time of receipt.

So if earnings are received before a job starts or after it ends you look at the year to which the emolument relates to see if it is taxable (see generally EIM40001 onwards). If it is, it’s taxable in the year of receipt even if the job had not started when it was received or had ended before it was received.

See:

If it’s claimed that earnings cannot be attributed to any period during which the job was held, see EIM40005.

For earnings paid after the death of the employee, see EIM42380 to EIM42400.