Updated: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Furlough Claims - 9 April 2020
The government’s portal for claiming furlough grants under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is expected to be ready to accept claims from 20th April.
How to claim via the portal
Claims will not be made by phone, it will be an online only service.
Authorised agents who act on behalf of clients for PAYE matters will be able to claim on their behalf.
If you operate your own payroll, it is advised that you pull the necessary information together ahead of the service becoming active.
Information required to make a claim:
Whilst exact details have yet to be confirmed, HMRC’s website says to make a claim the following is required:
- Employer’s ePAYE reference number
- Number of employees being furloughed
- Claim period (start and end date)
- Amount claimed (per the minimum length of furloughing of 3 consecutive weeks)
- Employer’s bank account number and sort code
- Contact name
- Contact phone number
However, it is likely that the following information will also be needed for each furloughed employee in order to calculate the claim amount:
- National Insurance number
- Salary
- National Insurance contributions
- Pension contribution information
Therefore, there may be more to the claim process that HMRC have currently outlined. We refer you to our further update here.
Unfortunately, there is no payroll software that can automate the gathering of this data. There are no predefined fields to mark-up which workers are furloughed, when furlough commenced or identify the furlough element of pay to HMRC. Equally, calculating the furlough amount may not be a straightforward calculation.