Who is Eligible?
Any employer with a UK payroll and a UK bank account can claim
What is it?
The scheme is called the “Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). If there is no work at present for your employees, they can be “Furloughed” rather than be made redundant. This measure is designed to preserve valuable job-skills as well as the ability of businesses to re start their economic activity as soon as circumstances allow
Tell me more…
Subject to the various conditions being met, staff can be Furloughed. Employers can then claim 80% of the Gross pay (up to maximum of £2,500/month for each qualifying employee) + the related ER’s NIC + (basic) Pension contributions
Claims can be made from the date staff were Furloughed (no earlier than 01/03/20). Staff are not allowed to do any work relating to their employment during Furlough – but can undertake training or charity work. Those with multiple jobs could be working on some jobs whilst being furloughed from others. All amounts claimed must be passed over to the staff in full -no admin or other charges should be deducted by Employers. A number of anti-abuse provisions have been put in place; so Employers are warned not to abuse the system. The power to retrospectively audit and investigate claims, launching an online Fraud Hotline and making any abuse a criminal offence are some examples
How do I do this?
HMRC activated the online claims portal on 20/04/20
Eligible employees must have been on an RTI submission to HMRC by 19/03/20. This cut- off was previously set at 28/02/20, but following a considerable amount of lobbying, HMRC relented and extended the cut-off, which is good news for hundreds of thousands of employees. For those with less than 100 employees – you need to enter each claim manually. For those with more than 100 employees – HMRC will allow you to upload the data. HMRC have promised to process reimbursements from around 6 working days
TIP: This is a Grant – not a Loan. So, Businesses benefit from “free cash” to pay staff during these exceptional times. It also helps staff who may have otherwise been made Redundant to receive up to £2,500/month (£30k pa pro-rated) and ease the economic pain somewhat.
This is quite a complicated claim, so speak with your Accountant or feel free to contact us for a free 15-minute consultation with an expert
The above HMRC guidance is accurate at time of publishing, but please note that most of the COVID related reliefs are constantly evolving and liable to change. Please call us or refer to www.Gov.UK for the latest guidance
Comments