Employer CJRS claim information from 1st December to be made public

Naming

As part of the HMRC update information published late on Friday 13th November 2020, confirmation was given on the basis that HMRC will publish employer names.

Along with the employers name, they will also

• provide an indication of the value of the claim and,
• for companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) the company registration number

The naming relates to those who have made claims under the scheme for the month of December onwards. Further detail on how HMRC will give an indication of the value of the claim will be available from late November.

Exceptions

HMRC will not publish details of employers claiming if the employer can show that publicising details would result in a serious risk of violence or intimidation to certain individuals, or any individual living with them.

Those individuals include:

• employers that are individuals – a relevant individual can be the employer themselves, or any employee of the employer
• employers that are companies – a relevant individual can be a director, officer or employee of that company
• employers that are partnerships – a relevant individual can be a partner, officer or employee of that partnership
• employers that are limited liability partnerships – a relevant individual can be a member or employee of that limited liability partnership
• trustees of a trust – a relevant individual can be a settlor, trustee or beneficiary of the trust

Employers who think that a serious risk of violence or intimidation will come from publicising their name, company registration number and amount of claim, will need to tell HMRC and provide evidence of why.

This evidence could include:

• a police incident number of threat or attack
• documentary evidence of a threat or attack, such as photos or recordings
• evidence of possible disruption or targeting

Further details on how to request that HMRC do not publish details will be available soon, providing employers enough time to do this before the first publication date.

Opinion

Former incarnations of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme have been open to forms of abuse. Over 10,000 reports of ‘furlough fraud’ have been reported to HMRC, and billions have potentially been used inappropriately.

New measures are introduced to reduce error and fraud, and enable employees and the public to understand which businesses have utilised government support.

CJRS is seen as one of the most generous support schemes in the world, all to keep Britain working and the economy going.

PAYadvice.UK 16/11/2020