As of 8am this morning (20th April) the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) went live with full digital support to aid all employers who have furloughed their workers.
The Chancellor announced the Job Retention Scheme a month ago on the 20th March to enable employees to remain on the payroll through being ‘furloughed’. Employers simply need to claim the cash grant from HMRC, who have put in place an online application service which can handle up to 450,000 applications an hour. Employers should then receive this money within six days to help meet the needs of the April payroll.
The HMRC emailed two million employers on Friday providing a link to the five step guide to claiming, as well as warning them to be aware of scams and informing them they don’t need to call unless they have an issue. This is so phone lines are free for those actually in need.