We understand that the Claims for Furlough mechanism will be open from 20 April 2020 but you need to be ready!
The government’s initial announcement implied that the claim mechanism would be a simple online form. This may still be the case. However, the form can only be accessed through the ‘PAYE for Employers’ area of the HMRC online portal for businesses.
Have you registered for HMRC online services? Have you got an online account?
Any business that intends to make a claim to receive the Furlough Grant is advised to immediately confirm that their login credentials work correctly on the HMRC portal, and if an account has not previously been created, to do so immediately. The process for registration is straightforward at the first stage, and can be found here https://www.gov.uk/paye-online/enrol
You will need the following information to register:
- Your ‘HMRC for employers’ office number. This is a three-digit number (e.g. 987)
- Your Employer PAYE reference. This is generally a letter followed by three digits (e.g. A654)
Note that the above two items represented in the format 987/A654
This will allow you to request access to your HMRC PAYE online account. However, to gain access, you will receive a password, which needs to be entered into the PAYE portal within 28 days of issuance. This is where the risk of delays arises.
It typically takes HMRC 10 days to issue the password – and the password is only issued by post, and to the company registered office.
You will therefore need to take steps to ensure that you can receive the password in the timeframe. If the password expires automatically after 28 days, you will need to start the process again.
Hope it helps!
For more advice and practical support during these difficult periods, please contact Clover HR on 0121 516 0299 or email us at info@cloverhr.co.uk
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