HMRC have announced that the portal to enable employers to reclaim the 80% of wages (and associated costs) for furloughed employees will be operational from 20th April. This should help ensure that the majority of businesses have the funds, in their account, to enable them to pay the April salaries of furloughed employees.

You can claim for employees that were employed as of 19 March 2020 that were on your payroll on or before that date; this means that you will have made an RTI submission notifying HMRC of payment on or before 19 March 2020.

Don ‘t forget that employees who were employed on 28 February 2020 and on payroll (i.e. notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 28 February) but were made redundant or stopped working for you after that, and prior to 19 March 2020, can also qualify for the scheme if you re-employ them and put them on furlough.

HMRC have released the following guidance.
As you prepare to make a claim, please note:

  • the online claim service will be launched on GOV.UK on 20th April 2020. Please do not try to access it before this date as it will not be available
  • the only way to make a claim is online. The service should be simple to use and any support you need is available on GOV.UK; this will include help with calculating the amount you can claim
  • you can make the claim yourself even if you usually use an agent
  • claims will be paid within 6 working days; you should not contact HMRC unless it is absolutely necessary. Any queries should be directed to your agent, representative or HMRCs webchat service
  • HMRC will not be able to answer any employee queries directly. They will need to raise these with you, as their employer.

Information you will need before you make a claim

You will need to have the following before 20th April 2020:

  • a Government Gateway (GG) ID and password. If you do not already have a GG account, you can apply for one online, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for &,39;HMRC services: sign in or register&,39;
  • be enrolled for PAYE online. If you are not registered yet, you can do so now, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for ‘PAYE Online for employers’
  • the following information for each furloughed employee you will be claiming for:
    • Name
    • National Insurance Number
    • Claim period and claim amount
    • PAYE/employee number (optional).
  • If you have fewer than 100 furloughed staff, you will need to input information directly into the system for each employee
  • if you have 100 or more furloughed staff, you will need to upload a file with information for each employee; HMRC will accept the following file types: .xls .xlsx .csv .ods.

Where you don ‘t have an agent acting for you, make sure that you get set up with the relevant Government Gateway ID in advance of 20 April, ready to use the system once it goes live. The payment will be made direct to your nominated account; make sure this is only ever provided via the Government Gateway. Don ‘t fall victim to scammers who may email, phone or text purporting to be from HMRC and requesting this information. Always log on by going direct to the GOV.UK website, and not via a link. Ensure you keep detailed records of the claim; HMRC reserve the right to audit the claims at a later date.

HMRC have issued a helpful step by step guide to making your claim here.

For help and assistance with making the claim, or any other accounting and tax issues contact CKLG Accountants on 01223 810 100.