Coronavirus Job Retention Claim portal is now live

Employers and their agents wishing to make a claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can now do so as the claim facility is now open.

To make a claim, employers (or their agents) will need to be registered for PAYE Online. Employers must also have a UK bank account into which the claim money will be paid.

Employers and their agents wishing to make a claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can now do so as the claim facility is now open.

The following must also be provided:

• employer PAYE reference;
• the number of employees being furloughed;
• for each furloughed employee, their National Insurance number;
• the start and end date of the claim;
• the full amount being claimed (including associated employer’s National Insurance contributions and minimum employer pension contributions);
• phone number, employer’s name and a contact name;
• the employer’s corporation tax or self-assessment unique tax reference or company registration number.

A claim can be made by an agent who is authorised to act for the employer for PAYE purposes, but not by an agent who is only authorised to file on behalf of the employer.

Claims can be made online at www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wages-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

HMRC will check claims and employers should receive the money into their accounts within six days. Where the money is needed to pay the April 2020 payroll, claims should be made without delay.

Claims can be made for furloughed employees who were on the payroll on 19 March 2020 and in respect of whom an RTI submission had been made to HMRC by that date. A claim can be made for 80% of the employee’s wages (capped at £2,500 per month), plus the associated employer’s National Insurance and minimum pension contributions. Claims can also be made for employees who were made redundant or stopped working for the employer on or after 28 February 2020 and who are put back on the payroll after that date. The minimum furlough period is three weeks, and furloughed employees cannot work for the employer while furloughed.

For full time or part-time employees, the claim is based on their normal salary. Where an employee’s pay varies, the claim can either be based on their earnings for the same pay period in the previous year or on their average earnings for 2019/20.

The CJRS portal is effectively “self-serve” which means clients will need a lot of hand-holding and help from their accountants/advisers.

In general the portal works as follows:

• Claims will not be made by phone, it will be an online service.
• File only agents, including Payroll Bureaus, will not be able access the service due to data protection reasons.
• Businesses will need the above information on each of their furloughed employees:
• the service is designed to be self-serve with guidance in place.

Whilst the most basic CJRS claims can perhaps be processed by employers, we fully expect most employers to require help from their advisers to hand-hold them through the process.

As such we understand that these are troubling and uncertain times for you and your organisation. The team here at Shipleys Tax are here to answer your questions. We will support you through the difficult times and help you make the right decisions.

If you need help with any financial or tax issues relating to COVID-19 please call us on 0114 272 4984 or email info@shipleystax.com.