Can I run a credit check on a potential employer?

Yes. Any UK limited company has publicly filed information at Companies House: accounts, filing history, charges, and officer details. You have every right to check this before accepting a job. RecoupIQ aggregates this data with gazette notices, HMRC defaults, and ML risk analysis to give you a complete picture of the company financial health in seconds.

Why should I check my employer before starting a new job?

Because if the company goes bust in your first few months, you lose: your salary (which may go unpaid), any notice period, holiday pay owed, and the job itself. You also lose the opportunity cost of the other roles you turned down. Employees are preferential creditors in an insolvency but only for up to £800 of wages. Anything above that and you join the unsecured creditor queue (average recovery: 3.2p per £1).

What warning signs should I look for in an employer?

Key red flags: (a) accounts filed late or overdue, (b) confirmation statement overdue, (c) First Gazette Notice for strike-off, (d) declining net assets in the last 3 years of accounts, (e) director resignations in the last 12 months, (f) charges registered against the company (debt secured on assets), (g) directors with a history of dissolved companies. Any one of these is worth investigating. Multiple signals together is a serious warning.

What happens if my employer goes into liquidation while I work there?

You become a creditor. Employees are preferential creditors for up to £800 of unpaid wages and up to 6 weeks of accrued holiday pay. Above that, you are unsecured. The Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) can pay statutory redundancy, notice pay, and holiday pay up to statutory limits, but this takes weeks. Self-employed contractors have no employee protections at all.

Is an employment credit check free?

RecoupIQ offers a free instant search that shows basic company status, filing status, and key signals. For a deeper analysis including accounts forensics, director network mapping, gazette notices, and ML risk scoring across all company signals, a Quick Check costs £29. If you are a contractor considering a significant engagement, the Forensic Report (£167) covers everything.

Can I monitor my employer for ongoing signs of trouble?

Yes. RecoupIQ monitoring (from £19.99/mo) alerts you within 24 hours of any change: gazette notices, new charges, director resignations, late filings, or status changes. If you are in a role and want early warning before the company collapses, monitoring gives you time to find a new position before redundancy hits. Also available as the Microsoft 365 Trust Check app for teams.

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Employment Credit Check: Is Your Next Employer Going to Pay You?

You are about to hand in your notice, turn down other offers, and commit to a new company. Before you do, check whether that company is financially stable, or whether you are walking into a redundancy.

Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash

Every year, thousands of UK employees lose wages when their employer enters insolvency.

Preferential creditor status only covers £800 of unpaid wages. Everything above that, you join the unsecured queue. The statutory redundancy payment takes weeks to process and is capped. A 30-second check before you accept could save you months of financial pain.

Check your employer (or potential employer)

Enter the company name. See financial health signals, filing status, director history, and risk indicators instantly.

What to check before you accept a job

Is the company filing on time?

If accounts or confirmation statement are overdue, the company is either disorganised (bad) or deliberately hiding its financial position (worse). Companies that stop filing are often heading for dissolution or liquidation.

Are the accounts showing declining net assets?

Compare the last 3 years. If net assets are falling year on year and especially if they have gone negative, the company may be technically insolvent. A company with negative net assets is trading on borrowed time.

Have directors recently resigned?

Directors often resign before insolvency. If the company has lost multiple directors in the last 12 months, investigate why. A new, sole director appointed recently may be a "nominee" ahead of a liquidation.

Are there gazette notices?

A winding-up petition or First Gazette Notice for strike-off means the company is facing dissolution or forced insolvency. You should not accept a job at a company with active gazette notices without very good reason.

What is the directors' track record?

Check what other companies the directors run. If they have a history of companies entering liquidation or being dissolved, this is a pattern. RecoupIQ maps the full director network across all current and historical companies.

A diverse business team working together at a table in a modern office — Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash

Who should check

Employees accepting a new role

You are leaving a stable position. Before you hand in your notice, spend 30 seconds checking whether the new company can actually pay you in 6 months.

Contractors and freelancers

You have no employee protections. If the company goes bust, you are an unsecured creditor. Check before you start work, especially for large engagements or deferred-payment contracts.

Current employees with concerns

Wages arriving late? Suppliers pulling terms? Colleagues leaving? Check the company and set up monitoring so you have early warning and time to find a new position.

Recruitment agencies

Placing candidates at companies that go bust damages your reputation and your candidate's career. Check the client company before placing. Offer it as a value-add to your candidates.

Monitor your employer while you work there

A company can be healthy when you join and deteriorate over time. If you wait until wages are late, you have already lost money. Monitoring gives you the earliest possible warning.

RecoupIQ Monitoring (from £19.99/mo)

Get alerted within 24 hours of: gazette notices, director resignations, new charges, status changes, or late filings. Know before your colleagues do. Time to update your CV, not panic after the liquidator arrives.

Also available as the Microsoft 365 Trust Check app (per-seat for teams). RecoupIQ is a Microsoft partner.

See monitoring plans

A Quick Check costs £29. Losing 3 months of wages costs thousands.

RecoupIQ reads 72 signals across 12 data sources for any UK company. Filing patterns, accounts trends, director track records, gazette notices. The check that tells you whether this company will still be paying you next quarter.

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Last reviewed: July 2026. General information for UK employees and contractors. Not legal or financial advice. RecoupIQ Ltd, Company No. 16947526, ICO ZC077511. Microsoft Partner.