Food Blog: Action required – submit your May claims for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Dear customer,

I'm writing to you with the latest information about the financial support schemes available to help you, as part of the UK Government's Plan for Jobs.

This includes:

a reminder of the 14‌‌ ‌June deadline for submitting your May Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) claims
details of changes to the CJRS from July
the 21‌‌ ‌June deadline for joining the online VAT deferral new payment scheme.

To find out what other financial support may be available for you and your business during this time, search 'find coronavirus financial support' on GOV‌‌.UK.

Submit your CJRS claims for May
Changes to the CJRS from July
Use our updated CJRS templates to make claiming easier
VAT deferral – join online by 21 June
Where can I get further support?
A word about scams

1. Submit your CJRS claims for May

Thank you if you have submitted your May furlough claims already. If you haven't submitted them yet, you must do so by the deadline of Monday‌‌ ‌14‌‌ ‌June.

You can claim 80% of your furloughed employees' usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,500 per month (these limits will also apply to claims for June).

You can claim before, during or after you process your payroll. If you can, it's best to make a claim once you're sure of the exact number of hours your employees worked, so you don't have to amend your claim later.

Conditions of claiming CJRS grants

You must pay the associated employee tax and National Insurance contributions to HMRC. This is a condition of claiming the grant, and not doing so will mean you'll need to repay the whole of the CJRS grant and you may not be able to claim future CJRS grants.

If you are having difficulties paying any of your tax liabilities to HMRC, we can work with you to explore affordable payment options – for example, through a payment plan where you can pay over time in instalments. To find out more, go to GOV‌‌.UK and search 'time to pay arrangement'.

Flexibly furloughing employees

If your business continues to be affected by coronavirus, you don't need to place all your employees on full furlough. You can also use the CJRS flexibly if you bring your employees back to work for some of their usual hours. You can claim a portion of your employee's usual wage costs for the hours spent on furlough only.

As a reminder, you must not claim under the CJRS for any hours that your employees work. We are carrying out compliance checks to identify error and fraud in claims.

What you need to do now

Check if you're eligible and work out how much you can claim using our CJRS calculator and examples, by searching 'Job Retention Scheme' on GOV‌‌.UK.
Submit any claims for May, no later than Monday‌‌ ‌14‌‌ ‌June.
Keep records that support the amount of CJRS grants you claim, in case HMRC needs to check them.
Make sure you're paying employee tax and National Insurance contributions to HMRC and contact us if you're struggling to pay.

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2. Changes to the CJRS from July

The UK Government will continue to pay 80% of your furloughed employees' usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,500 per month, to the end of June.

In July, CJRS grants will cover 70% of employees' usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,187.50. In August and September, this will then reduce to 60% of employees' usual wages up to a cap of £1,875.

You will need to pay the 10% difference in July, and 20% in August and September, so that you continue to pay your furloughed employees at least 80% of their usual wages for the hours they do not work during this time, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

For the hours not worked you can choose to top up your employees' wages above the 80% level or cap for each month if you wish, at your own expense.

To help you plan ahead for future claim periods, the CJRS calculator is available to help you work out how much you can claim for employees in June, July, August and September. To find this and everything you need to know about the CJRS, search 'Job Retention Scheme' on GOV‌‌.UK.

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3. Use our updated CJRS templates to make claiming easier

We've updated our claims process for employers who have 16 or more employees, to make it easier to add their details. You can now use a template if you are claiming for between 16-99 employees, and another if you are claiming for 100 or more employees.

You do not need to do anything differently if you were using our previous template to claim for 100 employees or more, and third-party software incorporating this will still work.

You must enter all the information in the right format before uploading the completed template so that your claim is processed quickly and successfully.

We've updated the process to help you get your claim right first time and provide all the information needed, to ensure your claims aren't delayed or stopped. For example, if you can't provide a National Insurance number for an employee, you can now select a reason for this.

If you make a mistake, the template will highlight it to help you put it right before you submit your claim. Mistakes that will be highlighted include:

details input in the wrong format
incorrect details
duplicated or missing information.

Please remember not to change the format of the template before you submit it, as that won't be accepted by our system.

You can find everything you need to help you make a claim by searching 'claim for wages' on GOV‌‌.UK, including our updated templates, a useful calculator and guidance on the information you need to provide and in what format, to ensure your claim is accepted.

What to do if you've overclaimed

Please do not enter negative numbers in the template. If you have overclaimed CJRS grants and you submit your claim using the template, you will need to calculate the overclaimed amount and enter this amount in the 'overclaim' box on your claim form.

For more information on paying back grants, go to GOV‌‌.UK and search 'pay back Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme'.

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4. VAT deferral – join online by 21‌‌ ‌June

The VAT deferral new payment scheme is open for all businesses who deferred paying VAT due between 20 March‌‌ ‌and 30‌‌ ‌June 2020 and were unable to pay in full by 31 March‌‌ ‌2021.

21‌‌ ‌June is the last day you can join this scheme. If you join by this date you can apply to spread these payments across up to eight instalments.

You can join quickly and simply online without needing to call us. To find out more, including what you need to sign up for online, go to GOV‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌.UK and search 'VAT deferral'.

If you have deferred paying VAT, you may be charged a 5% penalty and/or interest if you do not join the VAT deferral new payment scheme by the deadline of 21‌‌ ‌June, pay in full by 30‌‌ ‌June, or get in touch with us to make an alternative arrangement to pay by 30‌‌‌‌‌‌ ‌June‌‌ ‌2021.

If you're still unable to pay and need more time, please contact us – go to GOV‌‌‌‌‌.UK and search 'if you cannot pay your tax bill on time'.

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5. Where can I get further support?

Thousands of people have benefitted from our webinars, which offer information on the CJRS and other government support, and how they apply to you. To book online, or to view updated guidance, go to GOV‌‌.UK and search 'help and support if your business is affected by coronavirus'.

If you're booked on a webinar but can no longer attend, please cancel your place to allow space for others to register.

There's a list of monthly claims deadlines and a helpful step-by-step guide on GOV‌‌.UK, summarising the latest information on the CJRS and the steps you need to take to make a claim – you can find these by searching 'Job Retention Scheme step by step guide'.

To find out what other financial support may be available for you and your business as part of the UK Government's Plan for Jobs, search 'find coronavirus financial support' on GOV‌‌.UK.

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6. A word about scams

We are aware of recent increases in scam phone calls, emails and texts. If someone contacts you or your employees claiming to be from HMRC saying that you owe tax and face arrest, are due a tax refund, that your National Insurance number has been compromised or asking you to transfer money or give bank details, it is likely to be a scam.

Search GOV‌‌.UK for our 'scams checklist' and to find out how to report tax scams. You can also access the National Cyber Security Centre's new guide on how to stay secure online and protect yourself or your business against cybercrime by searching 'Cyber Aware'.

I hope this information helps you and your business, and we'll continue to keep you updated.

Yours faithfully