Important CJRS Furlough Claims Time Limits & The Coronavirus Act 2020

What are the important CJRS Furlough Claims deadlines you can’t afford to miss?  What does the ‘The Coronavirus Act 2020’ entail?

There are new deadlines for lodging a furlough HMRC claim. There is a prerequisite of a claim having to be submitted within two weeks of the end of the previous calendar month as noted below, unless there is a “reasonable excuse” / justification.

Deadlines:

Government guidance re examples of what it meant by a ‘reasonable excuse’ is also noted below:-

• your partner or another close relative death shortly before the claim deadline,
• you had an unexpected stay in hospital preventing you from dealing with your claim
• a period of self-isolation prevented you from making your claim (and no one else could make the claim for you)
• you had a serious or life-threatening illness, including Coronavirus related illnesses, which prevented you from making your claim (further, no one else could claim for you)
• your computer or software failed just before or while you were preparing your online claim service issues with HMRC online services prevented you from making your claim
• a fire, flood or theft prevented you them from making your claim
• postal delays that you could not have predicted prevented you from making your claim
• delays related to a disability you have prevented you from making your claim
• a HMRC error prevented you from making your claim

CJRS NEW TREASURY DIRECTION

On 13 November 2020, HM Treasury published The Coronavirus Act 2020 Functions of her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) Direction. This is the fourth Treasury Direction to be issued (Treasury Directions can be viewed here). Together, the Treasury Directions form the legal framework for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

The fourth Treasury Direction:

• formally extends the CJRS from 1 November 2020 until 31 March 2021;
• sets out the detail of how the CJRS will operate between 1 November 2020 and 31 January 2021 (fifth Treasury Direction covering February and March 2021 to be published in due course); and
• withdraws the Coronavirus Job Retention Bonus.

The 32-page document main focus is to establish how the CJRS will operate until 31 January 2021. The rules cover a wide range of issues including:

1. eligibility;
2. furlough agreements;
3. claim periods;
4. reference salaries;
5. calculating the usual hours of work;
6. permitted activities during furlough;
7. business succession (including TUPE); PAYE scheme reorganisations;
8. time limits for making claims; and publication of CJRS claimants’ details.For those advising on furlough it is essential to note some key areas:

• It is now a condition of making a claim that the employer accepts that HMRC will publish information about CJRS claims on the internet. This includes the name of the employer and a “reasonable indication” of the amount claimed. An exception may be made for employers who can show that publication would expose their workforce to “serious risk of violence or intimidation”, i.e. Court Order such as Non-Molestation, etc.
• Furlough agreements must be in place before the start of the relevant claim period (but may be varied during the claim period). It should be sufficient to update an earlier furlough agreement, provided it is done before the employee is furloughed under the respective CJRS period. There was a small window of opportunity for employers to backdate agreements, but this has now passed.

Claims may not be made for any day that an employee is serving notice, (statutory or contractual) between 1 December 2020 and 31 January 2021.

Please note, that this CJRS Government Grant has had several amendments, with new legislation in place, therefore it is subject to change.  Experts,  ELHR Ltd. are happy to assist should you require further clarity and assistance.  Please call us now on 01788 432077 for an initial free consultation.