Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Update Announced

The Chief Executive of HMRC, Jim Harra, appeared before the Treasury Select Committee and announced their online system for making claims under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be launched on 20 April.

The system has been tested to handle up to 450,000 claims per hour and HMRC have began live testing with a small number of invited businesses. Employers can expect to receive their furlough grant within 4 to 6 days of submitting their claim and the first payments are due to come through by the end of April.

Mr Harra said he was confident the portal would not crash but accepts that their call centre may struggle to cope with call volumes if many employers call for assistance on using the system. HMRC have put plans in place to ensure the process works as smoothly and quickly as possible, with 2,000 staff already dedicated to their helplines and another 3,500 redeployed to help process the huge number of anticipated claims.