As a reminder, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) portal will be open on 20th April and any employer looking to claim back 80% of furloughed employees’ pay under CJRS will need to make the necessary claim via the online portal. The portal will allow you to claim funds for the whole month so you can receive payment before your wages go out.
To access the portal and if TC Group does not operate your payroll, the business must be enrolled for PAYE online and details of how to register for PAYE online are available from HRMC’s website here: https://www.gov.uk/paye-online/enrol
Importantly it appears HMRC has removed the requirement for the PAYE Online account to be verified via a posted activation code which usually takes around 10 days to be received. This is a significant step to making the process quicker and preventing delays to claims being made under CJRS and has to be commended.
If you do require any assistance with registering for PAYE online, then we can help you with that as part of our service.
Furlough Eligibility Date Extended
The eligibility cut-off date for the CJRS has today been extended from 28 February to 19 March 2020. This means that employers can now claim for furloughed employees that were employed by them and on the payroll before this revised date.
Whilst this is good news and is estimated to benefit a further 200,000 employees, the new date will still leave some excluded. To qualify the employee must have been notified to HMRC through an RTI submission confirming a payroll payment prior to this new date. This change should benefit new starter employees of businesses who operate weekly or fortnightly payrolls but those new starters whose employers operate monthly payrolls, with a pay date after the 19th, will still be ineligible.
Contact us today on 0330 088 7111 to discuss the points raised in this post or any other concerns you have as a business owner, about your personal finances, or as an employer.