Wait, when did the P45 become part of the screening process in the UK. I have my P45 and the only parties that have asked for it are banks and credit agencies. If a recruiter asks for a P45 off he bat I'm marking them as spam.

Looks like he's not wrong: https://www.gov.uk/paye-forms-p45-p60-p11d/p45

As you say, I don't see any legitimate reason for a recruiter to have it though, just a new employer when you begin employment?

Well, if tried a strategy of not telling the new employer direct what your salary is, or worse, lying, they will quickly see when the P45 is passed onto their payroll to sort out your P45. Which is why it is better to simply state you promised the agent that you would discuss the salary with them, and would then focus on discussing the specific about the role with the employer.

You know you do not have to provide a P45 to your new employer

Just say "sorry I lost it put me on the emergency Tax code"

I Have started jobs with out a p45 and unless you have complex tax status its not a big deal.

Wouldn't they still be able to work it out when your tax code is corrected?

In my experience, you're being a bit pessimistic there. The only people who'll need to see your P45 are the employers you're joining, in the first few weeks of your joining. And if they've already hired you, they've already agreed a salary with you, so they probably won't care too much about this.

Even if they do hassle you, you can easily say that you just asked for the amount you wanted -- or that you were counting income you've made from independent projects that you won't be able to pursue in this demanding new job.

Of course, this does all hinge on your giving a number that they find reasonable... but then, that's a given.

At what point are you actually required to disclose your current salary during the interview process? I had one recruitment agent actually asked me to bring documentary evidence of my current salary with me to the onboarding interview.

I did at the time, but I have no desire to work with that recruiter again, especially as they lied to me about the nature of one of the interviews I would be attending. The whole process ended up feeling really shady.

I've never given an employer a P45 ever. I would never give an employer a piece of paper which stated previous salary. There's no legal requirement to do this and if I was asked it would be a dealbreaker.

Don't put up with these kinds of demands.

Is it? I haven't seen any legal rulings on this area in the UK.

Agencies would get in trouble with the Data Protection Act if they asked to see your P45.

And I just recalled you do not have to provide a p45 its just makes seting up PAYE slightly easier

I would not worry too much about it. P45 does not show your base salary, it only shows how much you've actually earned, it's not necessarily the same thing.