United Kingdom: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) now live

published on 18 June 2020 | reading time approx. 3 minutes

• To make a claim – What you need

• Who can make the claim

• If you’re putting more than 100 employees on furlough

• How to claim

• After the claim

• If you make an error when claiming

• End of Scheme

• Audit claims

The CJRS has formally closed to new entrants as of 30 June 2020. The only exception to this is where the individual is returning from maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave. If they are due to return after 10 June, they can be furloughed.

 
Before you can start to make a claim, you will have to check that both you and your furloughed employee can use the scheme and work out how much you can claim.

 
Please see the following links:
Eligibility; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

  
Work out how much you can claim: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

 
For the purposes of eligibility to make a claim, the required instruction to cease work is satisfied if:

• The employer and employee have agreed that the employee will cease all work in relation to their employment (this includes by a collective agreement between employer and trade union).
• The agreement/collective agreement specifies "the main terms and conditions upon which the employee will cease all work”.
• The agreement is "incorporated (expressly or impliedly) in the employee's contract"; and
• the agreement is made in writing and
• the agreement (including a collective agreement) or confirmation is retained by the employer until at least 30 June 2025.

To make a claim – What you need

In order to make a claim, you will need:

• to be registered for PAYE online
• your UK bank account number and sort code
• your employer PAYE scheme reference number
• the number of employees being furloughed
• each employee’s National Insurance number
• each employee’s payroll or employee number (optional)
• the start date and end date of the claim
• the full amount you’re claiming for including employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum pension contributions
• your phone number
• contact name

 
You will also need to provide the following details either:

• your name (or the employer’s name if you’re an agent)
• your Corporation Tax unique taxpayer reference
• your Self-Assessment unique taxpayer reference
• your company registration number

Who can make the claim

If you use an agent who is authorised to act for you for PAYE purposes, they will be able to make a claim on your behalf. If an agent makes a claim on your behalf you will need to tell them which bank account you would like the grant to be paid into. If you use a file only agent they won’t be authorised to make a claim for you and you will need to make the claim yourself. Your file only agent can assist you in obtaining the information you need to claim (which is listed above).

If you’re putting more than 100 employees on furlough

If you’re claiming for more than 100 furloughed employees, you’ll need to upload a file containing each employee’s:

• full name
• National Insurance number
• payroll number (optional)
• furlough start date
• furlough end date (if known
• full amount claimed

 
Pease note that the format of the file you upload must be either: .xls, .xlsx. .csv or .ods

How to claim

To make a claim, you will need to log on to: https://www.access.service.gov.uk/login/signin/creds

 
You’ll need the Government Gateway user ID and password you got when you registered for PAYE online. If you require any assistance with making claims, please contact us directly via email at sumera.ehsan@roedl.com or alternatively visit our website.

After the claim

Once you’ve claimed, you’ll get a claim reference number. HMRC will then check that your claim is correct and pay the claim amount by Bacs into your bank account within 6 working days.

 
You must:

• You must keep a copy of all records for 6 years, including:
• the amount claimed and claim period for each employee
• the claim reference number for your records
• your calculations in case HMRC need more information about your claim
• usual hours worked, including any calculations that were required, for employees you flexibly furloughed
• actual hours worked for employees you flexibly furloughed
• the claim reference number for your records
• your calculations in case HMRC need more information about your claim
• tell your employees that you have made a claim and that they do not need to take any more action
• pay your employee their wages, if you have not already

If you make an error when claiming

If you have made an error in a claim that has resulted in an overclaimed amount, you must pay this back to HMRC. You can contact HMRC about an overclaimed amount as part of your next claim. When making the next claim, you will be asked whether you need to adjust the amount down to take account of a previous error. Your new claim amount will be reduced to reflect this. You do not need to take further action but should keep a record of this adjustment for six years. If you have made an error that has resulted in an underclaimed amount, you should contact HMRC to amend your claim.

End of Scheme

Please note that the CJRS will close on 31 October 2020. You must decide, depending on your circumstances, as to whether employees can return to their normal hours. If not, it may be necessary to consider reducing their hours, or a termination of employment (redundancy). Normal redundancy rules apply to furloughed employees.

Audit claims

HMRC will retain the right to retrospectively audit all aspects of your claim. HMRC will check claims made through the scheme. Payments may be withheld or need to be repaid in full to HMRC if the claim is based on dishonest or inaccurate information or found to be fraudulent.

Sources

www.gov.uk