Does the India-UK Trade Deal Remove National Insurance From My Payslip?

Only "detached workers": someone living in India, already employed by an India-based employer, who is sent to the UK temporarily. Their UK National Insurance contributions, employee and employer, stop for the assignment, and they keep paying into India's scheme instead. A local hire is not a detached worker. As GOV.UK puts it, an India resident who moves to the UK and secures a job "will pay UK NICs in the same way as everyone else from the start".

The exemption is not automatic on the payslip. It runs on a certificate that proves contributions are being paid at home. Without it, the employer deducts National Insurance as normal.

1. 1

   The home country issues the certificate

   For an Indian worker coming to the UK, India's Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) issues a certificate of coverage confirming the worker stays in India's scheme.

2. 2

   The employer switches the NI line off

   With a valid certificate, the UK employer stops the employee and employer National Insurance deductions for the assignment. Income tax carries on.

3. 3

   The reverse direction runs through HMRC

   A UK worker posted to India applies to HMRC on form CA9107 for the equivalent certificate, so no Indian social security is due.

Yes, and this is the trade-off behind the higher net pay. A tax year counts as a UK State Pension qualifying year only when you pay or are credited with enough UK National Insurance. Because the DCC switches your UK NICs off, those months add nothing to your UK State Pension record. GOV.UK is explicit: Indian detached workers "will not build entitlement to the UK State Pension or other contributory benefits". You pay into India's scheme instead, so the credit builds there, not here.

No. The DCC covers social security, which is National Insurance only. Your income tax code and PAYE deductions sit outside it, and the deal does not change UK tax residency rules. On the payslip that means the NI line can drop to zero while the PAYE line stays as it was.

During a valid exemption, employee National Insurance shows as £0 and the employer NI cost disappears too. The PAYE income tax line is unchanged, so net pay rises by the NI you would otherwise have paid. Two limits matter. The exemption applies to postings that begin on or after 15 July 2026, and it ends at 60 months or when the posting ends, after which UK NICs resume in the normal way. GOV.UK confirms that an Indian employee already working in the UK immediately before 15 July 2026 does not become a detached worker under the DCC, and stays liable for UK National Insurance from that date.

The exemption runs on the certificate of coverage, not automatically. If NI is still deducted, the fix goes through your employer.

1. 1

   Check the certificate with payroll

   Ask your employer or payroll whether they hold a valid certificate of coverage for your assignment. Without it, they must deduct National Insurance as normal. Ask them to confirm the exact dates your certificate covers.

2. 2

   Let your employer correct it

   Your employer holds the certificate and corrects the deduction with HMRC, so raise it with them first rather than contacting HMRC yourself.

3. 3

   Claim a refund if NI was taken in error

   If National Insurance was deducted in error, GOV.UK's Check how to claim a National Insurance refund service explains how a refund is handled.