From today, businesses can claim online for a grant for 80% of their furloughed employees’ salaries, up to a maximum of £2,500 per employee per month.
This Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be open until the end of June – but to receive payment by April 30, businesses will need to complete an application by this Wednesday (April 22)
The Government advises that, before making a claim:
* Read all the available guidance on GOV.UK
* Gather all the information and the precise calculations you need before you start your application – if you have a payroll provider, they will be able to help you with this
* You can find out more in the calculation guidance where you can access a claim calculator – this will enable you to check your claim for most employees who are paid the same amount each pay period
* Access a simple step-by-step guide for additional help.
After you have made a claim:
* Keep a note or a print-out of your claim reference number – you won’t receive a confirmation SMS or email
* Retail all records and calculations for your claims, in case HMRC needs to contact you about them
* Expect to receive the funds six working days after you apply, provided your claim matches records that we hold for your PAYE scheme – do not contact HMRC before this time
* Ask furloughed employees not to contact HMRC directly – it will not be able to provide them with any information on individual claims.
“We expect to be very busy so we would ask that you only call us if you can’t find what you need on GOV.UK or through our webchat service – this will leave our lines open for those who need our help most,” Jim Harra, First Permanent Secretary and chief executive of HMRC, said in a letter to employers.
HMRC stresses that it will check claims made through the scheme and will act to ‘protect public money against anyone who makes a claim using dishonest or fraudulent information’.
