HMRC continue to inform employers and the payroll industry on the latest requirements for the CJRS.
The scheme has taken the form of a funding process via HMRC’s online portal which opened on the 20th April. This funding process operates external to the PSC payroll process.
As a “file only” agent, and as per HMRC guidelines, PSC is unable to claim on behalf of its clients.
In preparation of the claim, HMRC have advised businesses to have the following information to hand: -
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The company bank account number and sort code you would like the claim paid to.
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The name and phone number of the person in your business for HMRC to contact with queries.
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The Self-Assessment UTR (Unique Tax Reference), Company UTR or CRN (Company Registration Number). PSC do not hold this information. Please use this link https://www.gov.uk/find-lost-utr-number if you need to retrieve your UTR.
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The name, employee number and National Insurance number for each of your furloughed employees (this information can be found on PSC payslips).
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The total amount being claimed for all employees and the total furlough period.
Clients will need to have an active HMRC online account. The E-PAYE reference mentioned in HMRC guidance relates to this online account. Clients registering for a new HMRC online account will also need their PAYE reference and HMRC accounts office reference. These references are included on PSC’s payroll summary report.
In terms of the claim, clients with less than 100 employees will be required to manually enter details of each employee in the portal, including name, NI number, claim period and claim amount. Clients with more than 100 employees will have the option to upload this information to the portal.
In terms of input to PSC, payrolls should be run as normal. For clients furloughing staff, we have encountered several different approaches/requirements and would therefore ask for clear instructions in terms of the following: -
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Whether clients would like furloughed staff pay capped at £2,500 per month as per Government guidelines.
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Whether clients would like actual pay reduced to 80% (if salaries have increased since February) or whether to calculate furloughed adjustments using salaries at February rates as per Government guidelines.
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Whether clients would like PSC to calculate average pay for furloughed employees on variable pay.
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Where possible, and if known, please provide monetary values for periods of furlough that you would like to have paid on the payroll.
The reason for the above clarifications is that many clients have requested that the payroll not to be aligned with their CJRS claim, since these organisations are willing to enhance employee pay but plan claim in line with Government reclaim guidelines.
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