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Coronavirus: 67,000 furlough claims made in first 30 minutes – how to apply



A government scheme to pay the wages of those out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic received 67,000 claims within half an hour of going live.

Under the coronavirus job retention scheme, employers can put workers on furlough – a leave of absence – up to the end of June with the government covering 80 per cent of their wages up to £2,500 per month.

A HM Revenue & Customs system to process the claims started operating on Monday morning with payments to be made by the end of the month, before many firms’ payroll deadlines.


HMRC chief executive Jim Harra told the BBC’s Today programme that employers had made 67,000 claims in the first 30 minutes.

He said: “The big payroll date this month is on the 30th, so employers can claim anytime today, tomorrow or on Wednesday, and there’s time to get that money into their account for the 30th of April.”

The Treasury said HMRC can handle 450,000 claims an hour while Mr Harra expressed confidence that the system would cope with demand.

It is the most significant test so far of the government’s economic support packages which have attracted praise for their size and scope but which are also facing growing criticism as households and businesses struggle to access funds.

Thousands of workers who were due to start new jobs at the end of February or the beginning of March have been left without any wages because the cutoff date for the furlough scheme means they are not protected.

Despite the furlough scheme, many businesses have simply got rid of staff, rather than shoulder the administrative burden of keeping them on the payroll. More than 1 million extra claims for Universal Credit have been received since the pandemic began.

A report from the Resolution Foundation think tank forecast that as many as 11.7 million people could be furloughed or unemployed over the next three months, with those in the lowest-paid sectors worst affected.

It has also emerged that only a small fraction of small and medium-sized businesses have been able to access government-backed loans, leaving thousands of firms likely to run out of cash within weeks.

Charities are expecting an unprecedented surge in debt problems in the coming months, with many related to council tax and rents which account for a large part of household outgoings.

The Money Advice Trust, which runs National Debtline and Business Debtline, is calling on the government to improve and expand support for millions of households amid fears of rising unemployment and personal debt.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of the trust, said the government should be congratulated on the measures it has introduced but warned of “significant gaps” in the support.

“Debt advisers are hearing from people whose incomes have collapsed, who are worrying about paying the bills and in many cases simply cannot wait for support from government schemes to come through, even where they are eligible for help.

“People struggling with council tax bills, self-employed people facing immediate hardship and private renters are particularly at risk of falling into serious financial difficulty. The government must take urgent action to close the gaps in its Covid-19 financial support package, or many more households will fall into problem debt.”

The trust is urging the government to allocate additional funding to enable all local authorities to offer payment holidays on council tax bills.

How does the furlough scheme work?

If you are furloughed then your employer is keeping you on the payroll while the business has less work than normal. While on furlough you cannot undertake work for or on behalf of your employer.

Many shops, restaurants, hotels and other service industries in the UK have found themselves with no customers after being forced to close amid the pandemic, and many other firms have had work cancelled.

Who is eligible?

Any employer with a UK payroll and a UK bank account will be able to claim on their employees’ behalf.

Employees must have been on their employer’s payroll scheme and had this notified to HMRC on or before 19 March.

This means that people who work for businesses, charities and public authorities will be entitled to the money if their employer signs up.

Employees can be on any type of contract, including zero-hours or temporary.

If you were employed as of 28 February and on the payroll, but were made redundant or stopped working before 19 March, you can qualify for the scheme if your employer rehires you and puts you on furlough.

Employers can backdate claims to when employees were first furloughed, with the earliest date being 1 March.

How much will I get paid?

Businesses will be able to pay their employees 80 per cent of their regular monthly wage, or £2,500 a month, whichever is lower.

If on the scheme, your employer must pay you at least the 80 per cent of your usual income, however, they are also free to top this up if they wish.

This means that if you earn £24,000 a year, you will earn a gross income of at least £1,600 a month on the furlough scheme.

Once an employer has claimed, they will receive a claim reference number. HMRC will then check that the claim is correct and pay the claim amount by Bacs into the employer’s bank account within 6 working days.

Additional reporting by PA



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