HMRC have now released further information for employers on the procedure to claim grants under the Job Retention Scheme (furlough).
Most importantly is the news that the portal to make claims will open on Monday 20th April. An equally pleasing aspect is that claims are expected to be paid within 6 working days of submission.
The team at NR Barton are here to help with furlough claims. It is our aim to support clients to ensure that their claims are processed as quickly and efficiently as possible ensuring that the cashflow impact of the business is minimised.
Please call us on 01942 242245 or email us at accounts@nrbarton.co.uk to find out how we can help with your claim.
A full transcript of HMRC’s communication can be found are below:
Dear customer,
We wrote to you last week to help you prepare to make a claim through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. We are now writing to tell you how and when to access the system with some more information about what you will need to have ready before the system goes live.
We are also updating you on an important change to the scheme relating to employee eligibility:
• 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 on this can be found on GOV.UK.
How to claim
As you prepare to make a claim, please note:
• the online claim service will be launched on GOV.UK on 20 April 2020 – please do not try to access it before this date as it won’t be available
• the only way to make a claim is online – the service should be simple to use and any support you need available on 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.
Information you will need before you make a claim
In addition to the information in our previous email, you will need to have the following before 20 April 2020:
• a Government Gateway (GG) ID and password – if you don’t already have a GG account, you can apply for one online, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for ‘HMRC services: sign in or register’
• be enrolled for PAYE online – if you aren’t registered yet, you can do so now, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for ‘PAYE Online for employers’
• the following information for each furloughed employee you will be claiming for:
1. Name.
2. National Insurance number.
3. Claim period and claim amount.
4. PAYE/employee number (optional).
• 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.
If you want 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
• 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.
Guidance on GOV.UK is being regularly updated so please review it frequently.
We continue to wish you all the best at this challenging time.
We’re here to help
With all the legislative changes and updates over recent days in these ever changing and uncertain times, our teams are briefed and here to help you and your business.
Whilst our physical offices are closed following the ‘lock down’ advice, the team at NR Barton are working remotely from home. If you have any questions you should not hesitate to contact your engagement partner or manager who will be happy to assist; our contact details can be found here.
For anyone unsure of who to contact, we are still answering phones (01942 242245) and we are answering emails to accounts@nrbarton.co.uk.
We’re here to help.
All the best
The NR Barton team
Want to read more of this?
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