Making errors on Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims
12 May 2020
HMRC has confirmed that, at present, it is still working on a process to enable claimants to amend their claims through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), should they make any errors.
The advice in the interim is not to make any changes to subsequent claims to account for any previous mistakes as this action could serve to delay payment, or even result in incorrect payments being made.
If HMRC does identify any errors, it will contact either the relevant business or the agent claiming on their behalf to rectify the claim where possible.
After successfully submitting claims through the CJRS, businesses can expect to receive the funds in their bank accounts within six working days if claims match records that HMRC hold for their PAYE scheme.
In order to ensure that claims are correct, it is recommended that the following steps are taken:
- Claimants should read the guidance available prior to making an application. In order to access the guidance, they should go to GOV.UK and search for ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ to find a step-by-step application guide and a calculator
- Claimants should check that their employees are eligible
- Claimants should check their calculations each time a claim is submitted, as details may have changed
- Only one claim should be submitted per pay period - multiple claims cannot be submitted for overlapping periods
- If there are any missing National Insurance (NI) numbers for employees, claimants should try to locate them to avoid delays to claims. Where employees do not yet have an NI number, claimants should contact HMRC in order to process their claims
- Information within the claim should be double checked prior to submission, including a thorough check of the claimant’s bank details
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication. For all the latest information, news and resources on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting payroll professions, visit our Coronavirus hub.