HMRC Furlough Portal Goes Live on 20 April 2020

HMRC have confirmed that the CJRS Portal will go live on Monday 20th April 2020 with the first reimbursements made on 30 April.

You’ll need to provide the following to make a claim:

1. The bank account number and sort code you’d like us to use when we pay your claim.

2. The name and phone number of the person in your business for us to call with any questions.

3. Your Self-Assessment UTR (Unique Tax Reference), Company UTR or CRN (Company Registration Number).

4. The name, employee number and National Insurance number for each of your furloughed employees.

5. The total amount being claimed for all employees and the total furlough period.

6. The claim process will be online only, and you CAN’T do this via the telephone.

7. To make the claim you will need the following for each employee that has been furloughed in respect of the first claim period:

• National Insurance Number
• Salary
• National insurance contributions made by the employer
• Pension contributions made by the employer
• Date the employee was furloughed from

Where you run your own payroll it might also be prudent to ensure you can access your Government Gateway account for PAYE as we assume it will be through this method that the claim will be made (still to be confirmed).

We would therefore suggest you start to pull together the required information now to be ready to make the claim quickly in due course.

Some other noteworthy Furlough Scheme updates:

• HM Treasury sent an email to David Johnston MP, stating that employees who are TUPEd to a new employer after 28 February will be eligible for furlough.

• HMRC Customer Support tweeted that it is possible to take annual leave when on furlough, and it must be paid at full pay.

• The House of Commons Library (which issues briefing notes for MPs) issued FAQs on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. It doesn’t say anything new, but it’s a useful summary of the furlough scheme.

We will continue to monitor this, and the various other COVID-19 issues arising, and keep you up to date as the situation progresses.

Support for Employers

If you are an employer affected by any of the issues being created by the outbreak of Coronavirus and require further assistance and support, call us now on 0800 612 4772 or Contact us via our website.