Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – Deadline Dates

It was announced on 17 December that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will be extended until the end of April‌‌ 2021. The criteria will remain unchanged, following the same guidelines that are currently in place with the government continuing to pay 80% of unworked hours for furloughed employees, up to £2,500 per month.

If you intend to use the scheme, it is important to ensure your claims are submitted before the set deadline each month. As a reminder, we’ve highlighted the deadlines below:

• December Claims – must be submitted by 14 January
• January Claims – must be submitted by 14 February
• February Claims – must be submitted by 14 March
• March Claims – must be submitted by 14 April
• April Claims – must be submitted by 14 May

If we have previously submitted your claims we will continue to submit future claims after a discussion/approval by yourself. However, please inform us of any changes to the staff on furlough or hours worked, before the deadline date each month.

If you submit your own claims, and have missed a deadline then HMRC states that you must have a “reasonable excuse” for doing so. You must contact HMRC to ask to submit a late claim and should do this as soon as you are ready to make your claim.

If you suspect you have made an error, you will need to amend it within 28 calendar days after the month the claim relates to – unless this falls on a weekend or bank holiday, in which case the deadline is the next weekday.

Please remember that you need to keep any records that support the amount of CJRS grants you claim, in case HMRC needs to check them. ‌

If you require further support, please get in touch with our dedicated payroll team via info@eqaccounting.co.uk or call 01382 312140.