COVID-19 Job Retention on Furlough Q&A

Q: If an existing employee is furloughed and they seek additional employment with another company temporarily – are they able to remain on furlough with us?

A: If employees have more than one employer they can be furloughed for each job. Each job is separate, and the cap applies to each employer individually. Employees can be furloughed in one job and receive a furlough payment, but continue working for another employer and receive their normal wages.

Q: Hello. Should I claim in arrears for job retention scheme or in arrears as well as advanced, I’ve claimed up until 19^th April 2020 and was going to claim again in 3 weeks’ time, thank you.

A: You cannot make more than one claim during a claim period – you should make your claim shortly before or during running payroll.
It is for you to decide the length of your claim period. In deciding what your claim period is, you should think about how frequently you run your payroll. The length of claim period will be different for different employers.

Q: We have an employee who was awarded a pay rise from 1st March 2020. We paid her at her old rate on 29 February 2020, then at her new rate on 31 March 2020. She was furloughed on 1st April 2020. Should we base her furlough amount on 80% of her old rate or her new rate? I assumed the former, but our payroll software has used the latter.

A: Employers can claim 80% of the employee’s salary, as in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020.
If employers calculated their claim based on the employee’s salary as at 28 Feb 2020 (and this differs from their salary in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020) they can still use this calculation for the first claim.
For employees whose pay varies, if the employee has been employed (or engaged by an employment business) for a full 12 months prior to the claim, employers can claim for the higher of either:
– the same month’s earning from the previous year
– average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year
If the employee has been employed for less than a year, employers can claim for an average of their monthly earnings since they started work until the date they are furloughed. If the employee has been employed for less than a month, they should work out a pro-rata for their earnings so far to claim, and claim for 80%.
Use the calculator on gov.uk to work out your claim. The link is https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/job-retention-scheme-calculator/

Q: If I submit a claim in April 2020 can I then make retrospective changes in May 2020?

A: No. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim.

Q: Does the company’s payroll have to be configured to reflect the furlough funding?

A: You must report the amount of grant you receive and pay to an employee through RTI, in the same way you would report their normal pay.
You should make RTI submissions on or before the date you pay your employee.
Where employers have continued to pay employees during a period of furlough, in advance of receiving any payments under the scheme, they do not need to make any further RTI submissions when they receive the grant that reimburses those payments made in advance.

Q: What is deemed as ‘compulsory’ commission. If an employee has been earning regular commission and that commission makes up around 30% of their earnings can this be claimed for?

A: You can claim for any regular payments you are obliged to pay your employees. This includes wages, past overtime, fees and compulsory commission payments. However, discretionary bonus (including tips) and commission payments and non-cash payments should be excluded.

Q: Our agency workers work term time only but last week we paid their annual leave – will this affect their position on the furlough scheme?

A: Furloughed employees must have been on your PAYE payroll on 19 March 2020 and which were notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020. This means an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 19 March 2020. Employees who were employed as of 28 February 2020 and on payroll and were made redundant or stopped working for the employer after that and prior to 19 March 2020 can also qualify for the scheme if the employer re-employs them and puts them on furlough.

Employers can be on any type of contract, including:
– full-time employees,
– part-time employees,
– employees on agency contracts,
– employees on flexible or zero-hour contracts
– apprentices

Q: If I have two pay frequencies, monthly and biweekly, do I need to do only 1 claim for both?

A: No. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: Do we just pay our payroll as normal, as we intend to top up the 20% and just claim the 80% (up to £2500) on the HMRC portal?

A: You should make your claim using the amounts in your payroll – either shortly before or during running payroll. Claims can be backdated until the 1 March where employees have already been furloughed.
If appropriate, worker’s wages should be reduced to 80% of their salary within your payroll before they are paid. This adjustment will not be made by HMRC.

Q: Are we allowed to ask our employees to take holidays whilst on furlough and how do we calculate the pay? Do we still claim the 80% and only top the extra 20% or are we responsible for the full 100% of holiday leave cost? I also have an employee who currently is on unpaid statutory maternity leave. She started her employment with us too late to be eligible for statutory maternity pay. Should I be placing her on furlough or should she stay on unpaid maternity leave?

A: Employees can take holiday whilst on furlough. Working Time Regulations (WTR) require holiday pay to be paid at the employee’s normal rate of pay or, where the rate of pay varies, calculated on the basis of the average pay received by the employee in the previous 52 working weeks. Therefore, if a furloughed employee takes holiday, the employer should pay them at their usual pay in accordance with the WTR. Employers will be obliged to pay the additional 20% over the CJRS grant, though will have the flexibility to restrict when leave can be taken if there is a business need. This applies for both the furlough period and the recovery period.
During this unprecedented time, we are keeping the policy on holiday pay during furlough under review.

Q: Would you please bring some clarity to the volunteering aspect. We are a charity and one of our furloughed employees wants to volunteer. This would be work outside of his normal duties, is it allowed?

A: Furloughed workers are people who have been asked to stop working, but are retained on their employer’s payroll.

To qualify for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, furloughed workers can’t undertake any work for their employer, or for any organisation linked or associated with the organisation. Furloughed employees can take part in volunteer work or training, as long as they do not provide services to, or generate revenue for, their employer or for any organisation linked or associated with their organisation. If an employee has more than one job, they can still work for their other employer – each job is separate.

Q: We topped up the bank holidays on 10 and 13 April 2020, can we claim that extra 20% for both days?

A: If an employee usually works bank holidays then the employer can agree that this is included in the grant payment. If the employee usually takes the bank holiday as leave then the employer would either have to top up their pay to their usual pay, or give the employee a day of holiday in lieu. During this unprecedented time, we are keeping the policy on holiday pay during furlough under review.

Q: How often can you put in a claim under the Job Retention Scheme (JRS), if you have weekly and monthly paid employees on furlough

A: No. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim.

Q: What should we do if we realise, we have made a mistake after submitting the application?

A: You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim.

Q: I have fortnightly and monthly paid staff. Do I have to claim for both at the same time i.e. one claim in a month for all staff?

A: Yes, you must combine them. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: My accountant looks after payroll can they make the furlough claim on my behalf?

A: Employers can use agents who are authorised to act for them for PAYE purposes. If they use file-only agents, they won’t be able to make claims on behalf of employers. -If an agent makes a claim on your behalf you will need to tell them which bank account you would like the grant to be paid into.

Q: I have an employee who was employed then went self-employed for 2 weeks then COVID-19 happened, so I have reemployed her, she finished on the 10th March 2020, do I put her start date in as 11th March 2020 in order to make sure she was employed before 19th March 2020? I called up HMRC and they said no put the date you would furlough her which was 23 March 2020, but this means my application is invalid as says i had no employees on 19th March 2020??

A: If you made employees redundant, or they stopped working for you on or after 28 February 2020, you can re-employ them, put them on furlough and claim for their wages from the date on which you furloughed them through the scheme. This applies to employees that were made redundant or stopped working for you after 28 February, even if you do not re-employ them until after 19 March. This applies as long as the employee was on your payroll as at 28 February and had been notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 28 February 2020. This means an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 28 February 2020.
If an employee has had multiple employers over the past year, has only worked for one of them at any one time, and is being furloughed by their current employer, their former employer/s should not re-employ them, put them on furlough and claim for their wages through the scheme.

Q: Can you clarify exactly how a weekly paid, variable pay employee’s furlough should be calculated?

A: Calculator: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/job-retention-scheme-calculator/

Q: Can furloughed staff apply for a temporary job with a new employer but remain furloughed with their normal job?

Q: Our Pension Autoenrollment scheme is run by salary sacrifice. What should I use for the earnings assessment, the salary before the salary sacrifice or the salary after the salary sacrifice?

A: The reference salary should not include the cost of non-monetary benefits, including Benefits in Kind or benefits provided through salary sacrifice schemes that reduce an employee’s taxable pay.
Benefits provided to furloughed employees, including salary sacrifice schemes, should be in addition to the wages paid under the terms of the scheme. Coronavirus counts as a life event that could warrant changes to salary sacrifice arrangements, if relevant employment contracts are updated accordingly.

Q: I was on maternity leave last year starting from 6^th April 2019. Can my employer include Statutory Maternity Pay while they calculate 80% furlough pay?

A: The normal rules for maternity and other forms of parental leave and pay apply. If you offer enhanced (earnings related) contractual pay to those on Maternity Leave, this is included as wage costs that you can claim through the scheme. The same principles apply where your employee qualifies for contractual adoption, paternity or shared parental pay.
If an employee is returning from statutory leave (maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption, sick or parental bereavement leave), claims for full or part time employees should be calculated against their salary not the pay received whilst on statutory leave.

Q: For a zero hour employee, paid on a weekly basis every Friday, who started in December 2019 and for over a period of 16 weeks he has worked only 11, to calculate his weekly average salary do we use the total weeks employed (16) or the actual weeks worked?

Q: Do I need to be registered for PAYE online?

A: The funding will be available to all employers with a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 19 March 2020.
Any entity with a UK payroll can apply, including:
– businesses
– charities
– recruitment agencies (agency workers paid through PAYE)
– public authorities
Where a company is being taken under the management of an administrator, the administrator will be able to access the scheme.

Q: We had a new starter on 12 March 2020, she was included in the RTI submission made on 19th March 2020 and paid on 28 March 2020. My understanding is I can include her as a furloughed employee, is this correct?

Q: I started paying regular payments in January and February 2020 with the next scheduled payment in March 2020. Prior to this I have irregular payments. The reason for irregular payments was only due to cashflow, but this had been solved by diversification. The Government prevented my second type of income. Do I complete the submission as regular payments of wait until irregular calculator is available.

Q: An employee pay varies each month. The hours have reduced as of 1st March 2020. She would receive more pay, if paid using February 2020. What do we do?

Q: How do the agency workers submission work under the umbrella solution and National Minimum Wage?

A: Individuals are only entitled to the National Living Wage, National Minimum Wage or Apprentices Minimum Wage for the hours they are working or treated as working under minimum wage rules.
This means that furloughed workers who are not working can be paid the lower of 80% of their wages or £2,500 even if, based on their usual working hours, this would be below their appropriate minimum wage.
However, time spent training is treated as working time for the purposes of the minimum wage calculations and must be paid at the appropriate minimum wage, taking into account the increase in minimum wage rates from 1 April 2020. As such, employers will need to ensure that the furlough payment provides sufficient monies to cover these training hours. Where the furlough payment is less than the appropriate minimum wage entitlement for the training hours, the employer will need to pay the additional wages to ensure at least the appropriate minimum wage is paid for 100% of the training time.

Q: I have a monthly and weekly payroll when I put in a claim the dates may not always matchup is this a problem?

A: You must combine them. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: If the employee is on a zero hours contract and started their employment in the 3rd week of January 2020, worked the full month in February 2020 and up until forced closure on the 20^th March 2020. How would I work out their average as January 2020 and March 2020 were not full months?

Q: How do you report the amount of the grant paid to an employee through RTI – if we are paying their normal salary (just claiming 80%) would this not be included in the normal RTI submission?

Q: I have 2 chaps I need to furlough what do I do?

A: Eligibility guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

A: Further resources are also available on our website at www.adaptaccountancy.co.uk/resources

Q: How can I check in the PAYE Online services to see if my Agent has put in my claim?

Q: I have weekly paid staff and monthly paid staff, how often in a month can I claim?

A: No. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: I have made a claim for 2 furlough employees for March/April 2020 do I then make a claim for both employees for May 2020 period and each month after or are all claims to be made at one time for the duration?

A: It is for you to decide the length of your claim period. In deciding what your claim period is, you should think about how frequently you run your payroll. The length of claim period will be different for different employers.

Q: When may claims be made for staff who only went on Furlough in April 2020 please?

Q: Have you got to claim monthly for each employee?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: We have an employee who started his contract with us on the 23rd February 2020, his first pay was a month later 23rd March 2020 as we pay employees via Bright Pay on the 23rd of every month.
Bright pay says he is eligible to claim furlough as was with us before 28th February 2020.
However, HMRC claim portal is not registering him to be eligible.

Q: I am a sole director of a limited company and the only employee I was paid a salary of £119 per month. I did not have to register for PAYE online. Will I still be able to claim furlough by registering for PAYE online now?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: We are a firm of consultants; our company is currently putting employees that are sat on the bench with no work onto furlough then as soon as something comes in for them to work on, they are taking them off furlough. This means at time they are only on furlough for one week. I understand we can’t then claim for these employees, but should we be running the furlough scheme in this way. It is causing me a lot more work to calculate the claims we can and can’t make and payment to employees?

Q: Does each furlough claim have to be for a minimum 3-week period after the initial claim has been made?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: A business fewer than 250 employees. Can we claim the payroll?

Q: Can I claim for employees on 0-hour contracts?

Q: I am an agent for many years, with PAYE clients authorised under old log in – not under gateway ID. How do I claim? The link keeps asking for gateway ID.

A: To make a claim visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wages-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: Our employees pay varies, but only due to whether half term, etc. In January 2020 the hours they work increased on a regular basis so if we use the previous April 2020 or even the average for 19/20 it would be lower than what they would get. As we are only furlough a proportion of staff this seems unfair.

A: Employers can claim 80% of the employee’s salary, as in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020.
If employers calculated their claim based on the employee’s salary as at 28 Feb 2020 (and this differs from their salary in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020) they can still use this calculation for the first claim.
For employees whose pay varies, if the employee has been employed (or engaged by an employment business) for a full 12 months prior to the claim, employers can claim for the higher of either:
– the same month’s earning from the previous year
– average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year
If the employee has been employed for less than a year, employers can claim for an average of their monthly earnings since they started work until the date they are furloughed. If the employee has been employed for less than a month, they should work out a pro-rata for their earnings so far to claim, and claim for 80%.
Use the calculator on gov.uk to work out your claim. The link https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/job-retention-scheme-calculator/

Q: I have registered for PAYE just now online. When can I submit the claim?

A: To make a claim visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wages-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: What pay elements can employer use into Regular Wage, can they use holiday pay to calculate furlough pay?

Q: How long can the claim go up to when the customer is applying? Is it 14 days or can they claim for the whole 3 months?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: March payroll was processed early and as a result some employees were Furloughed after this date. Can I claim for this in the April 2020 claim?

Q: Is there a deadline to make a claim?

A: It is a temporary scheme that will be open to employers starting from 1 March 2020. The scheme will be open initially for at least 3 months – and will be extended for longer if necessary. Employers can use the scheme anytime during this period.

Q: The company I work for, has a Director and myself. He wants to be Furloughed but does he need to Furlough employees first i.e. me? Also, he wants me to Furlough him but I’m assuming only he has the power to do this?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company.

Q: What do I do if I have submitted a claim that has been acknowledged but have subsequently established that it was WRONG and contains ERRORS?

A: You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: We are a Ltd one director and one employee. Both are to be furloughed. How do I calculate the claim for the director who is paid through PAYE and dividends?

A: Only the PAYE salary would fall within the scheme

Q: As an employer, we are topping up the pay for employees so that they receive 100% of their pay whilst on furlough for the full month of April 2020.
The online calculator is unable to calculate this and the amount it gives for the 80% is much lower when the furlough pay isn’t being topped up to 100%.

A: Please refer to Calculations guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: Can you make multiple applications for each employee or should we apply within 14 days before the furlough ends?

Q: on the job retention scheme, the rules says that if they are in training like and apprentice, then they have to be paid in full, however when we applied on the scheme, it only gave us back the 80% where through sage we had to pay them the apprentice rate. Please can you advise.

Q: I have an employee who currently is on unpaid statutory maternity leave. She started her employment with us too late to be eligible for statutory maternity pay. Should I be placing her on furlough or should she stay on unpaid maternity leave.

A: If an employee started unpaid leave after 28 February 2020, employers can put them on furlough instead. If they are put them on furlough then employers should pay them at least 80% of their regular wages, up to the monthly cap of £2500.
If an employee went on unpaid leave on or before 28 February, employers cannot furlough them until the date on which it was agreed they would return from unpaid leave.

Q: Being in childcare I’m struggling to work out furloughing staff as we can only claim back so much not full 80%. How do I work this out?

A: Please refer to Calculations guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: How can I get the furlough claim online, a message comes up saying I am not eligible?

Q: I have student staff that work holidays when back from university (Xmas, Easter, Summer). They have worked for the business for a long time and were due to return this Easter but weren’t on February’s payroll. can they be included in CJRS. Although not paid in February 2020, they were on payroll as had issued their P45 as were planning to return.

Q: For employees, whose pay varies, can I claim on the actual paid salaries for salaries paid in March 2020? Or should I claim for the average pay this employee had over the tax year? or whichever is higher? Please can you clarify.

A: For employees whose pay varies, if the employee has been employed (or engaged by an employment business) for a full 12 months prior to the claim, employers can claim for the higher of either:
– the same month’s earning from the previous year
– average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year
If the employee has been employed for less than a year, employers can claim for an average of their monthly earnings since they started work until the date they are furloughed. If the employee has been employed for less than a month, they should work out a pro-rata for their earnings so far to claim, and claim for 80%.
Use the calculator on gov.uk to work out your claim. The link is in the handout.

Q: I employ a nanny and an organisation called Nanny Tax does my pay roll. How do I find out definitively whether Nanny Tax is a “file only” agency (and therefore whether they can/cannot put in a claim for me? I have not yet been able to get a definitive answer from them.

A: To make a claim visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wages-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: So yes or no can an employee who was hired and added to the payroll system on the 23rd February but who didn’t get paid until 23rd March and thus the RTI not being sent and accepted on the 23rd March be claimed for furlough?

Q: I am self-employed I have applied for universal credit, will I also get the self-employed help in June 2020? Thanks.

A: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: We had an employee who started on 16 March 2020 and was included in our RTI on 26 March 2020 which is our usual payday. Will she qualify?

Q: If an employee was put on furlough on 30 March 2020, can we claim the 80% back to 1^st March 2020?

A: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can cover the cost of wages backdated to 1 March 2020 if applicable – but only from the date the employee was placed on furlough.

Q: How long do they have to come back for before they can be furloughed again?

A: Any employees placed on furlough must be furloughed for a minimum period of 3 consecutive weeks. When they return to work, they must be taken off furlough. Employees can be furloughed multiple times, but each separate instance must be for a minimum period of 3 consecutive weeks.

Q: Is there a deadline to make the claim for a period? I.e. can I submit the claim for the period: 20th March – 20th April – In May 2020? and then 20th April – 20th May – In June 2020? Or is there a deadline for a period?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: If off furlough does employee have to work for 3 weeks? Or can they do a couple of days then back to furlough for 3 weeks?

A: Any employees placed on furlough must be furloughed for a minimum period of 3 consecutive weeks. When they return to work, they must be taken off furlough (no minimum period they must return for). Employees can be furloughed multiple times, but each separate instance must be for a minimum period of 3 consecutive weeks.

Q: If some workers are still furloughed, should I start a claim for them now or do we wait until they are off furloughed?

Q: I am the sole employee of my own Ltd Company and I applied for PAYE online on the 16th May 2020. Do I have to wait for notification by post before I can start my claim for payment?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: Good morning, we hired a person before 19 March 2020, but because it was too late for our payroll cut-off for the month, he will be paid for his March 2020 days in April 2020. He therefore missed the March RTI, but can we claim JRS if we furlough him?

Q: If an RTI submission was sent in before 19^th March 2020 for a payment to a new member of staff, who started on 9^th march 2020 to be paid on 23^rd March 2020, can they be furloughed?

Q: We have an apprentice; can he return back to work and still be furloughed as he is still learning/training?

A: Yes. Apprentices can be furloughed in the same way as other employees and they can continue to train whilst furloughed. However, employers must pay apprentices at least the Apprenticeship Minimum Wage/National Living Wage/National Minimum Wage as appropriate for the time they spend training. This means that employers must cover any shortfall between the amount they can claim for wages and the appropriate minimum wage.

Q: If I have a staff member whom has contracted COVID -19. We work in social care. Can they be furloughed or receive SSP (Statutory Sick Pay)?

A: If the absence is related to COVID-19 and the employee has followed government guidance to self-isolate, there will be entitlement to SSP from Day 1 although the employee must still have been absent for a minimum of 4 days. The changes will apply retrospectively from 13 March 2020. Guidance on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay

Q: Can a GP Surgery be furlough?

Q: I work for a wine agency who normally supply pubs and restaurants. We have furloughed most of our sales team – can we ask them questions?

A: To be eligible for the grant, an employee cannot undertake work for, or on behalf of, the organisation or any linked or associated organisation when on furlough.

Q: We have furloughed 40 employees but the HMRC JRS website does not appear to permit input by Excel – we have to enter each person manually – is that really right?

A: You need to:
•Decide which employees you are furloughing
•Notify your employees
•Work out the amount you’re claiming in each claim period (must be a minimum of three weeks)
•Submit information to HMRC about the employees and the total amount claimed.

To claim you will need:
-your employer PAYE reference number
•the number of employees being furloughed and their:
– National Insurance Numbers
– employee Names
– employee Payroll/works number
•your Self-Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference, Corporation Tax Unique Taxpayer Reference or Company Registration Number
•the claim period (start and end date)
•amount claimed
•your bank account number and sort code
•contact name
•phone number

Q: What do I do if one of my employees was on maternity and she was due to be back this week?

Q: If I want to claim for 3 employees but let me do it only for 2 what I have to do it?

A: Employers need to calculate the amount they’re claiming. HMRC retains the right to retrospectively audit all aspects of the claim.
If employers have fewer than 100 furloughed staff they’ll be asked to enter these details for each employee they’re claiming for directly into the system: their name, National Insurance number, claim period and claim amount, and payroll/employee number (optional).
If employers have 100 or more furloughed staff they’ll be asked to upload a file with the information rather than input it directly into the system. We accept the following file types: .xls .xlsx .csv .ods
The file should include this information for each furloughed employee: name, National Insurance number, claim period and claim amount, payroll/employee number (optional).
Employers should retain all records and calculations in respect of their claims, including records of the amount claimed for each furloughed employee and the period for which each employee is furloughed and a claim is made under the scheme

Q: Hello, an employee has been furloughed for 1 week but will be furloughed for a further 2 weeks in the next pay run, can I apply for her first week in this pay run or apply for that week in the next pay run?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: But what if the person on long term sick is still receiving SSP?

A: If employees are on sick leave or self-isolating as a result of Coronavirus, they should get Statutory Sick Pay, subject to other eligibility conditions. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme isn’t intended for short-term absences due to sickness, and there is a 3-week minimum furlough period.
If employers want to furlough employees who are off sick for business reasons, they are eligible to do so. In this case, the employee would be classified as a furloughed employee and no longer receive sick pay. Employers can also furlough employees who are off on long-term sick leave.

Q: I have furloughed my employer from 4th April 2020, and have since found out that he has left the country, back to his family. He intends coming back to work. Do we still need to pay him his wages? If yes can we claim for him?

Q: When calculating the grant for employer pension contributions (Workplace pensions) for staff on furlough from April, do we use the April figure monthly lower level of qualifying earnings (£520) please?

A: No. You can choose to provide top-up salary in addition to the grant. Employer National Insurance Contributions and automatic enrolment contributions on any additional top-up salary will not be funded through this scheme.
Nor will any employer pension contributions above the minimum mandatory employer contribution of 3% of income above the lower limit of qualifying earnings (which is £512 per month until 5th April and will be £520 per month from 6th April 2020 onwards).

Q: I have employees on furlough for 3 weeks in March and April 2020 (so far). Can I apply for all the JRS in May?

Q: My business has 2 directors, we’re a limited company, along with 1 other employee. If one or both of the directors are furloughed, are they allowed to respond to email or phone calls, without impacting the support payments?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: I created a PAYE account on 20th April 2020, am I not eligible for scheme?

Q: I have a permanent employee that started on 24th February 2020. We have plenty of 3rd party evidence to support this, e.g. we used a recruitment consultant to hire them, plus have welcome emails, a staff contract etc. We process and pay payroll on 25th of each month. She was not on the February 2020 payroll for administrative purposes as she missed the cut-off date with our payroll bureau. She was included on the March 2020 payroll on 25th March2020 – on this date she was paid for the whole of March plus 5 days for February 2020. The latest guidance from HMRC around 19th March 2020 suggested she would not be eligible (as RTI would have been submitted around 25th March 2020 – we only process payroll once a month). However, I spoke to one of the HMRC technical specialists on the phone two days ago who, based on the facts, said she would be eligible as she was actually employed by the company in February 2020. Please can you confirm?

You can ask your payroll bureau agency to file an adjustment to earlier period.

Q: Are there different expectations placed on staff self-shielding /shielding others/child care if you work in a care setting?

A: Yes, employers can claim for employees who are shielding in line with public health guidance (or who need to stay at home with someone who is shielding) can be placed on furlough if they are unable to work from home.

Q: After registering for PAYE online, can you claim straight away?

Q: As long as an employee is going to be furloughed for more than three weeks, can you claim on the job retention scheme weekly or does it have to be a minimum of three weeks before you claim?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: Firstly, Do I still file RTI for April 2020 on 80% wages for Furloughed employees?

And secondly, if furloughing for minimum of 3 consecutive weeks, what happens to furloughed employees that is on-going but were furloughed in March 2020. Do I calculate to end of April 2020? After claiming on the scheme on-line do, we still submit RTI as normal for these furloughed employees since they need payslips. Thanks.

Q: Our payroll date is 15th of each month, this pays 2 weeks in arrears and 2 weeks in advance, can we claim before the end of each month?

Q: Can the employer claim for multiple employee on 1 claim?

A: Yes you must combine them. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: I paid weekly to all employee and submit RTI although they are not Woking. Can I claim them back 80%?

A: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can cover the cost of wages backdated to 1 March 2020 if applicable – but only from the date the employee was placed on furlough.

Q: Employee was earning less than £120 a week so RTI submissions not taken place as not required can we still claim for furlough?

Q: How do you decide on a furlough date, is it the date the business started to be effected by the Governments’ first announcement (i.e. do not go to pubs etc) or from the date they told places to close?

A: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can cover the cost of wages backdated to 1 March 2020 if applicable – but only from the date the employee was placed on furlough.

Q: Does there need to be an underlying business reason to furlough someone on long term sick? E.g. everyone else working at their place of work has been furloughed?

Q: We have two employees who are shielding and receiving SSP – can they only be furloughed if the company is not working?

Q: Can you make one claim each month for furloughed workers?

A: Yes, you must combine them. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: Still haven’t answered whether they can apply for a NEW temporary position whilst being furloughed?

A: Furloughed workers are people who have been asked to stop working, but are retained on their employer’s payroll.

Q: I know now that I will not have work for my Nanny until at least the end of June 2020. Can I furlough her until end of June 2020 and apply for payment from the JRS to cover up till end June 2020?

Q: If I am the only employee of my own limited company, do I need to write to myself?

A: To be eligible for the subsidy, employers should confirm to their employee in writing that they have been furloughed and keep a record of this communication for five years. The employee does not have to provide a written response.

Q: Does the employer have to top up the difference from the minimum wage at 19th of March 2020 and the new minimum wage at 6th April 2020? Do we calculate the furlough at the old minimum wage and then the difference with the new minimum wage is an addition?

Q: What happens when wages changed because of minimum wage increases on 1^st April 2020?

Q: I am an independent provider of supported living and children’s residential care my money is coming in as usual but I have additional funding requirements to cover people whom are self-isolating or ill with COVID-19 plus PPE should mu local authority be helping me with any of this?

Q: My agent is claiming on our behalf. How do I check the progress within PAYE online services? Is there a section that shows claims submitted please? Thanks.

A: HMRC cannot provide employees with details of claims employers make on their behalf. Please help us by keeping employees informed, answering any questions that they might have. Please ask them not to contact HMRC and making sure they know not to call us.

Q: If a furloughed employee didn’t yet receive their NI number, can they be included on grant application in a future period retrospectively once they receive their NI number? Thank you.

Q: We are an agent doing the payroll for clients abroad. Some of them haven’t got a UK bank account, we have a client trust account can we use that account for the claim?

Q: Hi, I run a small recruitment company and have furloughed my one member of staff a Recruitment Consultant who earns a Basic of £19K, plus commission of about £13k per annum, his monthly pay therefore varies. His P60 shows, £32k for 19-20. Can I pay him 80% of this £32k? and will HMRC pay me back?

A: Employers can claim 80% of the employee’s salary, as in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020.
If employers calculated their claim based on the employee’s salary as at 28 Feb 2020 (and this differs from their salary in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020) they can still use this calculation for the first claim. For employees whose pay varies, if the employee has been employed (or engaged by an employment business) for a full 12 months prior to the claim, employers can claim for the higher of either:
– the same month’s earning from the previous year
– average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year
If the employee has been employed for less than a year, employers can claim for an average of their monthly earnings since they started work until the date they are furloughed. If the employee has been employed for less than a month, they should work out a pro-rata for their earnings so far to claim, and claim for 80%. Use the calculator on gov.uk to work out your claim. The link is in the handout

Q: You say that we should apply for furlough before or during running payroll – we run a weekly payroll and have had 4 pay dates since we started furloughing staff – can we still claim?

A: You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: Can we claim for our Chair of the Board?

A: The grant can be claimed for the following groups if on PAYE: office holders (including company directors), salaried members of Limited Liability Partnerships, agency workers an limb (b) workers.
The guidance on GOV.UK sets out specific considerations for individuals who are paid via PAYE, but not employees under employment law.

Q: We registered a client for PAYE from the 1st of January 2020. They had a payroll run for January, February and March 2020, but the RTIs had not been submitted at 19th of March as we were waiting for the reference numbers and then for the client to be added to online services. Now when we try to claim the furlough it says there was no employees on the scheme at 19th of March. How do we resolve this?

Q: If the employees are furloughed over different periods can you put them all on one claim?

A: Yes you must combine them. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: Can you direct staff who are being furloughed to take some of their annual leave. I know this is at full pay, but this is about when people can come back managing annual leave and giving people working a better chance of being able to take some money home?

Q: For a furloughed director- what would be classed as working? For example, arranging insurance for the business, can they do this and still be furloughed?

A: Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP), please refer to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/life-of-a-limited-liability-partnership/life-of-a-limited-liability-partnership-gpllp3

Q: We would like to offer a volunteer and free emergency service to the frontline – can furloughed workers volunteer for this?

A: Furloughed workers are people who have been asked to stop working, but are retained on their employer’s payroll.

Q: Could somebody explain to me how do we align 2 different payrolls – weekly and monthly – if the dates do not align? Example – in April the weekly paid employees will be paid until the 3^rd May 2020 and the monthly employees will be paid until the 30^th April 2020. How can I put only one claim for the whole period? What is going to happen with the 3 days difference for the weekly paid employees?

Q: For an on-going furloughed employee when do I make the 2^nd claim?

A: You should make your claim using the amounts in your payroll- either shortly before or during running payroll. Claims can be backdated until the 1 March where employees have already been furloughed.

Q: What do you consider to be carrying out duties that provide services to the company. Ordering stationery, chasing debts?

A: Furloughed workers are people who have been asked to stop working, but are retained on their employer’s payroll.

Q: I have an employee who started on 28 February 2020 but was not on February RTI, but was on March 2020 – I am part of leisure industry and was told to close on 20 March 2020. Can I claim for this new employee?

Q: Is the cap of £2500 over the whole claim or just the wages element of the claim?

A: You can claim for 80% of employee’s wages up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. Also, Employer National Insurance Contributions that are paid on the subsidised furlough pay; and the minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on the subsidised furlough pay.

Q: We are a travel agency hugely affected by Covid-19. Current situation. We have sales people that have a basic pay and also receive commission on the commissions they generate based on the travel date, so any February 2020 travel commissions will be paid in March 2020.
We recently recruited a new sales person, on 24th February 2020 was her start date.
So in Feb she received pro-rata basic pay and no commission
In March 2020 she received a full pay and no commission as it related to February bookings.
She was furlough as from 1st April 2020.
She claims that her the furlough should include her average basic pay (which is fixed) but also an average of the companies last year’s commissions.

Q: when starting the furloughed claim, it asks for an end date, if the employee is still furloughed would we just input a date 2 weeks in advance and then submit another claim if they are still furloughed after this date?

A: Step by Step guide: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-step-by-step-guide-for-employers

Q: What happens for businesses that are usually eligible for employer’s allowance? They are paying Er’s NI for month 1 because they have not yet had confirmation of being eligible for the allowance. But normally their yearly total Er’s NI does not exceed the allowance. There is a potential here for receiving an employer’s allowance of £4000 and the ERS NI grant for the furlough period?? How are HMRC getting around this?

A: In calculating the total employer National Insurance contributions paid in any pay period, the employer should subtract any Employment Allowance used in that pay period. If you have not, or do not expect to pay any employer National Insurance contributions in a pay period as a result of the Employment Allowance, you should not claim any employer National Insurance contributions costs for furloughed employees in that pay period. If you expect to exhaust any Employment Allowance in a pay period then you should claim the lower of the employer National Insurance contributions grant calculation, and the employer National Insurance contributions costs that you paid, or expect to pay across your entire payroll.

Q: Is it a good practice to submit a claim for each three-week furlough period or should it be when workers are paid?

Q: If I have furloughed employees from the 1st March 2020, but are paid in arrears i.e. 3rd Friday in April 2020 and then I run another payroll in April 2020 for the month of April 2020. Do I claim for both in one claim, but some relates to March 2020 furlough and some April 2020 furlough?

Q: I am having problems seeing why my husband is not entitled to the job retention scheme I have been told because I did not enter his RTI until the 30th March 2020 he cannot claim.

Q: Do we need to use Gross or Taxable amounts when we run a Net Pay Arrangement Pension Scheme, which is deducted from Gross salary before TAX & Ni calculations?

A: This applies to the employee’s gross pay.

Q: Does the 80% apply also to NIC and pension payments?

A: A calculator will be available from 20 April 2020 to assist in calculating how much employers can claim. Detailed guidance on how to calculate National Insurance Contributions and pension contributions is available on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: If the employer started employment scheme in January 2020, but hasn’t yet received their PAYE and employer number are they allowed to make late claim as and when they receive their employer and accounts office reference?

A: Yes.

Q: Can we claim for an enhanced maternity pay?

Q: Is the gov calculator now able to calculate Varied Pay? as it said it could not do it yesterday

A: Calculator: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/job-retention-scheme-calculator/

Q: I have a company director whose contract ended on 27 March 2020 and is a pensioner. He still receives a monthly salary form tech company, even though there is no work for him. Does he qualify for allowance?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: How often do we put in a claim? Is it once every 3 weeks or once a month?

Q: My accountant is handling our PAYE online; do I need to register separately or would the accountant handle the claims on our behalf?

Q: We had two members of staff who started 16^th March 2020, but submission for March 2020 was not until the end, does this mean we are unable to furlough them

Q: If we have an employee who in their contract receive a month salary, but also receive pay for additional hours worked, do we calculate the 80% on their basic contractual salary or should we compare to avg. 19-20 and last April’s salary?

Q: You state to make the claim at least every 3 weeks, we run our payroll monthly. Can we claim monthly?

Q: I have a limited company and no employees. I don’t receive payslips from the company but I take dividends. I’m not on PAYE. The business makes under £15,000 profit after paying all the expenses i.e. rent, bills. Can I claim anything?

A: Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP), please refer to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/life-of-a-limited-liability-partnership/life-of-a-limited-liability-partnership-gpllp3

Q: In some cases, can the employer top up the 20% to the gross salary?

A: An employer can choose to top up an employee’s salary beyond 80% (or the £2,500 per month cap), but is not obliged to.

Q: If a company Director has already provided a service or product and has furlough themselves, can they still collect money for those products or services already provided?

A: Furloughed workers are people who have been asked to stop working, but are retained on their employer’s payroll.

Q: When you are asked for gross figure is this the taxable gross or gross pay pre sacrifice/post also why only include the employers NI and pension

A: This applies to the employee’s gross pay.

Q: My staff’s holidays who have holidays booked do they get tm back

A: Furloughed employees continue to accrue leave as per their employment contract.
The employer and employee can agree to vary holiday entitlement as part of the furlough agreement, however almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of statutory paid annual leave each year which they cannot go below.
During this unprecedented time, we are keeping the policy on holiday pay during furlough under review.

Q: Does the £2500 maximum include employer’s NI and pension?

A: An employer can claim a grant from HMRC to cover wages for a furloughed employee, equal to the lower of 80% of an employee’s regular salary or £2,500 per month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on paying those furloughed wages. – A calculator will be available from 20 April 2020 to assist in calculating how much employers can claim and the full details about how to calculate pension contributions can be found in the guidance here. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: Where you didn’t claim for the employee as wasn’t aware that they should all go in as one even if they are being furloughed at a later period, can you still submit them on their own now and carry on doing so?

A: No. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: Can the grant be paid into an agent trust account?

Q: We employed someone on a 3-month contract from 3^rd March 2020, we didn’t think we could furlough him, is this correct? If we can furlough him can we still renew his contract upon his return for another 3 months?

Q: Can someone delay their maternity leave until after their furlough ends even though they will actually be giving birth during the furlough period?

Q: We have 2 pay periods (one monthly, one fortnightly) since you can only make one claim per period, how should we do this?

A: Yes ,you must combine them. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: As a director of my own Limited company and the only employee I can apply for this scheme?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: As a director of my own Limited company and the only employee I can apply for this scheme?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company.

Q: If an employee started on 29th February 2020 can they be furloughed?

Q: It is advised that those over 70 should self-isolate for 12 weeks, can these employees be furloughed even though they might not be classed as extremely vulnerable?

Q: Can you claim for employers NI on the furloughed wage if you are in receipt of employment allowance

Q: An employee left us on 20th March 2020 to join another company, this job fell through due to COVID-19. Can we reemploy them and furlough them?

A: The scheme allows for those who were on the payroll of a company on 28 Feb 2020 but who subsequently left, to be put back on payroll & furloughed. Decisions on whether to furlough someone are down to the individual company.
If an employee stopped working for an employer on or after 28 Feb, they can re-employ them, furlough them & claim for their wages. This applies to employees that stopped working for the employer after 28 Feb, even if they do not re-employ them until after 19 March. This applies as long as the employee was on the payroll as at 28 Feb. The employee must have been notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 28 Feb. An RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 28 Feb.
If an employee has had multiple employers over the past year, has only worked for one of them at any one time & is being furloughed by their current employer, their former employer/s should not re-employ them, put them on furlough & claim for their wages.

Q: Hello, is it still possible to reply to customer asking questions about the services I could sell (but at the moment I can’t sell)? Thanks.

A: Furloughed workers are people who have been asked to stop working, but are retained on their employer’s payroll.

Q: As a company director and employee for my limited company am I eligible to make a claim under the scheme as I have been placed on furlough by the client? If so, what is the best way forward?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company.

Q: A sole Trader (ltd company) furloughs themselves but still needs to collect money for services rendered. Are they allowed to collect?

A: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: We started out furlough on the 23rd of March 2020, do you claim for everything up until now and then claim weekly from then on?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: So in the same scenario in this case they are Furlough if I can only claim 80% from the Government does this mean that is how much they should be paid?

A: An employer can choose to top up an employee’s salary beyond 80% (or the £2,500 per month cap), but is not obliged to.

Q: We do have company maternity policy to top up to normal salary for 10 weeks. Can I claim the 80% of the top up?

Q: Our employees are paid weekly; I have paid them through sage at 80% of their wage should I claim for each week or would i be better to do one claim for 3 weeks?

Q: We are a recruitment agency. We have a number of contractors who had their contracts terminated the day before the job retention scheme was announced. We were initially told that these companies would be willing to re employ these people once things were back to normal. We have since been informed that employment may not be available for these contractors. All of these staff were on PAYE through our agency. Can you tell me whether these contractors are entitled to furlough if there is not guaranteed employment for them? If their roles were terminated due to COVID-19?

Q: I can’t access my gateway account? When I registered for PAYE online how long will it take for the submission to be accepted?

A: To make a claim visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wages-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: We had agreed pay increases from 1 April 2020. can we claim at the new salary rates?

Q: What about the rise in the National Minimum Wage this April 2020?

Q: I run a local dance school and we have obviously closed due to COVID-19 and I have had to furlough the dance teachers. However, I have had members of staff wanting to share dances, for children to help keep them happy and exercise, on varying social media. This is not generating any revenue for our dance school and is totally voluntarily, is this allowed? Thanks for your time.

A: No. To be eligible for the grant, an employee cannot undertake work for, or on behalf of, the organisation or any linked or associated organisation when on furlough.

Q: If an employee currently working is put on reduced hours or salary and then is subsequently furloughed, can they join the scheme from the time they are furloughed?

A: Claims should be started from the date that the employee finishes work and starts furlough, not when the decision is made or when they have been written to confirming furlough.

Q: We pay our employees hourly, and run a monthly payroll. They all work part-time. This means the amounts per month are variable. The calculator only works for a fixed monthly amount. Do I put the average monthly wage in from the P60, as the fixed amount?

A: You must combine them. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: What happens if an employee had a contract change that was effective from the 1st April 2020 where their hours / pay reduced. They were then furloughed from 1st April 2020, should I use this lower amount or as per your guidance the higher of April 19 / average of 19-20 pay?

A: Employers can claim 80% of the employee’s salary, as in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020.
If employers calculated their claim based on the employee’s salary as at 28 Feb 2020 (and this differs from their salary in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020) they can still use this calculation for the first claim.
For employees whose pay varies, if the employee has been employed (or engaged by an employment business) for a full 12 months prior to the claim, employers can claim for the higher of either:
– the same month’s earning from the previous year
– average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year
If the employee has been employed for less than a year, employers can claim for an average of their monthly earnings since they started work until the date they are furloughed. If the employee has been employed for less than a month, they should work out a pro-rata for their earnings so far to claim, and claim for 80%.
Use the calculator on gov.uk to work out your claim. The link https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/job-retention-scheme-calculator/

Q: I am not clear on holiday pay – for a bank holiday in the furlough period can I make a claim for 80% of the bank holiday pay?

Q: How can I claim?

A: Please refer to Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, please refer to https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: We made a mistake in our application by trying to apply separately for weekly and monthly employees (as they have different pay periods). The weekly was accepted but now we cannot claim for the monthly employees as only one claim is allowed per pay period. Can we cancel the existing claim and then resubmit the correct figures?

A: Yes, you must combine them. You must claim for all employees in each period at one time – you cannot make changes to your claim

Q: What is the claim period?

Q: We pay our wages weekly. I have one employee who started furlough on Tuesday 24^th March 2020, how do I work out exactly how much the furlough is with the Tax and NI.

A: Please refer to Calculations guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: Can you make a claim on a monthly basis?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: What is the latest date can I put a claim in starting from 1 March 2020?

Q: I keep getting the same response but need to know if furloughed workers can apply for a NEW temporary position with another company. They currently only work for me but want to earn some extra money?

A: Please refer to working for a different employer
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: What would you class a ‘period’?

A: Employers can only submit one claim at least every 3 weeks, which is the minimum length an employee can be furloughed for.

Q: How do you calculate the pay to put through your payroll for a furloughed employee who has a salary sacrifice arrangement?

Q: Why can’t we upload a file for making a claim for less than 100 employees? What if we have 99?

A: Employers need to calculate the amount they’re claiming. HMRC retains the right to retrospectively audit all aspects of the claim.
If employers have fewer than 100 furloughed staff they’ll be asked to enter these details for each employee they’re claiming for directly into the system: their name, National Insurance number, claim period and claim amount, and payroll/employee number (optional).
If employers have 100 or more furloughed staff, they’ll be asked to upload a file with the information rather than input it directly into the system. We accept the following file types: .xls .xlsx .csv .ods
The file should include this information for each furloughed employee: name, National Insurance number, claim period and claim amount, payroll/employee number (optional).
Employers should retain all records and calculations in respect of their claims, including records of the amount claimed for each furloughed employee and the period for which each employee is furloughed and a claim is made under the scheme.

Q: Hi, if the employer is claiming employment allowance then he should not claim the employer national insurance together with 80% from wage and 3% employer pension, right?

A: Please refer to:
Calculations guidance: Work out how much you can claim for employer National Insurance contributions.

Working out what you can claim
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: On a personal level I am self-employed and my earnings in the past years were above £50K (average is circa £56K in the period criteria) now with this situation my work has been hugely impacted, but as far I can understand I am not entitled to a penny. if the employee’s earnings capped up to the £2500 per month why this is not the same for self-employed?

A: Please refer to https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme

Q: If a number of employees are being furloughed in different pay periods, could you still make a new claim for the new furloughed employee?

Q: Can a director of Ltd who is paid annually-once a year for the whole year claim 80% under the scheme?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company.

Q: Can I claim furlough grant after monthly payroll even though the furlough period is continuing?

Q: Is there a maximum period that you can claim for?

Q: Can we upload a file if we have about 80 staff or do, we have to do them all individually?

A: If employers have fewer than 100 furloughed staff, they’ll be asked to enter these details for each employee they’re claiming for directly into the system: their name, National Insurance number, claim period and claim amount, and payroll/employee number (optional).

Q: We have a pay award that has been implemented on 1st April 2020 across all employees, by paying the 80% based on the salary prior to this date will mean that we will be paying less than they are contractually entitled to, please advise how we manage this?

Q: We have a pub/restaurant which is now closed. We were looking to defer the PAYE/NI payment to the HMRC and pay those when trade starts, meaning we will have the cash available. Looking at the last slide we will need to pay the PAYE/NI. Is that correct?

Q: Can claims be submitted monthly?

Q: I will use the average of the last 6 months as the employee started in September, what if I didn’t pay the employee for February 2020 due to cashflow issues?

A: Employers can claim 80% of the employee’s salary, as in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020.
If employers calculated their claim based on the employee’s salary as at 28 Feb 2020 (and this differs from their salary in their last pay period prior to 19 March 2020) they can still use this calculation for the first claim.
For employees whose pay varies, if the employee has been employed (or engaged by an employment business) for a full 12 months prior to the claim, employers can claim for the higher of either:
– the same month’s earning from the previous year
– average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year
If the employee has been employed for less than a year, employers can claim for an average of their monthly earnings since they started work until the date they are furloughed. If the employee has been employed for less than a month, they should work out a pro-rata for their earnings so far to claim, and claim for 80%.
Use the calculator on gov.uk to work out your claim. The link https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/job-retention-scheme-calculator/

Q: On the file do you need the furlough end date (if known)?

Q: If the employer chooses to pay the furloughed workers only the 80% grant received. Is the grant subject to employer’s NIC?

A: You’ll still pay Income Tax, National Insurance contributions, Student Loan repayments and any other deductions (such as pension contributions) from your wage.

Q: Do you have to furlough casual student employees who work part time in summer months only May to September 2019?

Q: Can a director of Ltd who is paid annually-once a year for the whole year claim 80% under the scheme?

A: Directors can be furloughed as they are treated as an employee of their limited company.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Q: What do you mean by “claim period”?

Q: Can you confirm what file headers you need on the excel spreadsheet to make a claim please?

Q: For backdated claims, it said this is from the date they were furloughed. Does that mean effectively the date they stopped working? (not the date they were written to or the decision was made?)

A: Claims should be started from the date that the employee finishes work and starts furlough, not when the decision is made or when they have been written to confirming furlough.

Q: Can a furloughed worker work for another company

Q: I am not sure you are being very clear on the claim periods. When I spoke to HMRC yesterday I was told once I have submitted my first 3 week claim I can then claim weekly as I run a weekly payroll. Is that correct? A lot of the answers haven’t clarified that.

Q: what will happen if furloughed employees continue to work, even if don’t require them to?

A: No. To be eligible for the grant, an employee cannot undertake work for, or on behalf of, the organisation or any linked or associated organisation when on furlough.

Q: Can an employee be furloughed for three weeks, then after another two weeks at work be furloughed again as long as it’s within the end of June 2020 timeframe?

Q: Do you have to claim in 3-week periods?