UPDATES TO THE CORONAVIRUS JOB RETENTION SCHEME (CJRS)
HMRC have stated that he CJRS Portal will open on 20th April. They have also promised that the first payments will be made by 26th April, so will be in time for employers to meet their April wage payments.
The scheme has also been extended to include workers who were on the payroll at 19th March. However, an RTI submission must have been made on or before 19th March. Therefore, it will still exclude employees who joined before 19th March but who were not paid until after that date, ie monthly paid workers. Previously the employee must have been on the payroll at 29th February.
The scheme pays a grant of 80% of the employee’s regular wage up to a maximum of £2,500 per month, plus the associated employers’ National Insurance Contributions, plus the minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on that wage. This means that the maximum grant that can be applied for is £2,804 per employee per month.
The scheme runs from 1st March for a minimum of three months. However, the grant can only be claimed from the date that the employee was furloughed and ceased working for the employer.
Claims must be made on-line. Claims can be made on your behalf by an agent who is authorised to act for you in respect of PAYE. This does not include submission only agents. If you do not have an agent then you must:
- Have a Government Gateway ID and password. If you do not have one then you can apply online by going to GOV.UK and searching for “HMRC Services: sign in or register”
- Be enrolled for PAYE online. If you are not registered you can do so by going to GOV.UK and searching for “PAYE Online for Employers”
The following information will be required for each furloughed employee:
- Name
- National Insurance Number
- Claim period and amount. The period must be for a minimum of 3 weeks.
- PAYE/employee number (optional)
You will also need details of the bank account that you want the grant to be paid into.