Dates for claims
HMRC has drawn up a handy list of all the CJRS deadlines you can print and pin your noticeboard (see link below). One minor change not mentioned in that list is the date claims can be submitted for pay periods in May 2021; these claims can be submitted from 19 April to 14 June 2021.
The conditions for furloughing employees will change again for periods from 1 May 2021. From that point employers can claim for employees who were employed on 2 March 2021 as long as they were included in an RTI submission between 20 March 2020 and 2 March 2021.The employer does not have to previously included that employee in a CJRS claim before 2 March 2021 to make a claim for that person from 1 May 2021 onwards.
Training
While employees are on furlough they are not permitted to provide services to, or generate revenue for, or on behalf of their employing organisation, or for a linked or associated organisation.
However, furloughed employees can engage in training as long as the any time spent while training is paid a rate equivalent to at least the national minimum wage or national living wage as appropriate to the employee’s age. Where that training relates to an R&D project, the cost of the wages paid should not be included in an R&D credit claim for the SME scheme, or in an RDEC claim under the large company scheme.
Transparency
Employees can see if they were included in a CJRS grant for December 2020 or January 2021 by accessing their personal tax account (PTA). If the employer has repaid the full amount of the grant for those months, the grant will not show up in the PTA.
The data in the PTA will be updated on a monthly basis. February CJRS claims will be available to view in the employee’s PTA from 6 May 2021.
Written by the Tax Advice Network