The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which represents the protection of over a million jobs, according to chancellor Rishi Sunak, opened for applications at 8am yesterday and by 4pm more than 140,000 firms applied to HM Revenue and Customs.
With recent changes to the Scheme regarding eligibility, the number of employees that can now claim has increased further;
- you can claim for employees that were employed as of 19 March 2020 and were on your PAYE payroll on or before that date; this means that you will have made an RTI submission notifying us of payment of that employee on or before 19 March 2020
- employees that were employed as of 28 February 2020 and on payroll (i.e. notified to us on an RTI submission on or before 28 February) and were made redundant or stopped working for you after that, and prior to 19 March 2020, can also qualify for the scheme if you re-employ them and put them on furlough.
More information about eligibility can be found at; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
With firms eager to apply, as you prepare, please note the following;
- the only way to make a claim is online – the service is simple to use and any support you need is available on https://www.gov.uk/; this will include help with calculating the amount you can claim
- you can make the claim yourself even if you usually use an agent
- claims will be paid within 6 working days; you should not contact us unless it is absolutely necessary – any queries should be directed to your agent, representative or our webchat service
- we cannot answer any queries from employees – they will need to raise these with you, as their employer, directly.
There are a few things that you will need before you make a claim;
- a Government Gateway (GG) ID and password – if you don’t already have a GG account, you can apply for one online; https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services, or by going to GOV.UK; https://www.gov.uk/ and searching for ‘HMRC services: sign in or register’
- be enrolled for PAYE online – if you aren’t registered yet, you can apply online; https://www.gov.uk/paye-online, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for ‘PAYE Online for employers’
- your UK bank account number and sort code
- your employer PAYE scheme reference number
- the following information for each furloughed employee you will be claiming for:
- Name.
- National Insurance number.
- Claim period and claim amount.
- PAYE/employee number (optional).
- the full amount you’re claiming for including employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum pension contributions
- if you have fewer than 100 furloughed staff – you will need to input information directly into the system for each employee
- if you have 100 or more furloughed staff – you will need to upload a file with information for each employee; we will accept the following file types: .xls .xlsx .csv .ods.
- your Corporation Tax unique taxpayer reference
- your Self-Assessment unique taxpayer reference
- your company registration number
If you have an agent to act for you, please note;
- agents authorised to act for you on PAYE matters can make the claim on your behalf using their ID and password. If you use a file only agent (who files your RTI return but doesn’t act for you on any other matters) 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.
- you will need to tell your agent which UK bank account you want the grant to be paid into, in order to ensure funds are paid as quickly as possible to you.
You should retain all records and calculations in respect of your claims.
Should you have everything that you need, then here is the link to MAKE TO CLAIM …good luck!!
https://www.access.service.gov.uk/login/signin/creds
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.
With many businesses struggling with the downturn in business and markets, I am sure that this is a welcomed ray of sunshine….and hope for many!
