April 16th, 2020.


The Government has advised that the provisional live date for its Job Retention Scheme claims portal is Monday, 20th April.

You can find full information on the Job Retention Scheme and discover if you are eligible to claim on the .gov website. Here’s a quick overview of the process;

Before making any claims, employers should discuss and agree any changes to employment contracts with their staff.

If significant numbers of staff are involved, it may be necessary to engage collective consultation processes to procure agreement to changes to terms of employment.

To make a claim, you will need;
> your employer PAYE reference number
> the number of employees being furloughed and their NI numbers
> the names of the employees you want to furlough
> the payroll or works number for the employees you want to furlough
> your Self-Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) or Corporation Tax Unique Taxpayer Reference or Company    Registration Number
> the claim period (start and end date)
> the amount claimed (the minimum length of furloughing is 3 consecutive weeks)
> your bank account number and sort code
> your contact name
> your phone number

You must calculate the amount you are claiming and HMRC will retain the right to retrospectively audit all aspects of your claim.

If you use an agent who is authorised to act for you for PAYE purposes, they will be able to make a claim on your behalf.

If you use a file only agent (who files your RTI return but doesn’t act for you in any other way) they won’t be authorised to make a claim for you and you will need to make the claim yourself.

CLICK HERE for further information.