Submitting Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Claim

HMRC have launched a new online portal to allow employers and authorised agents to submit their claims for the Job Retention Scheme and supply HMRC with the relevant information required for this to be processed.

For information and guidance on how to process a furloughed employee, please see our knowledge base article.

Guidance on the gov.uk website has been updated to reflect the information that will be required to successfully submit a Job Retention Scheme claim. Qtac have released a data export to help employers efficently submit their claims. Please note, some fields are not held by the Qtac system and will need to be populated manually. 

What you will need to make your claim

You will need to supply the following information to the HMRC portal to submit your claim. If you have less than 100 furloughed employees you will need to enter the data manually into the portal. If you have 100 or more furloughed employees, HMRC will accept the employee data to be imported using the export that has been supplied by the Qtac software.

• your employer PAYE reference number
• the number of employees being furloughed
• National Insurance Numbers for the furloughed employees
• Names of the furloughed employees
• Payroll/employee number for the furloughed employees (optional)
• your Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference or Corporation Tax Unique Taxpayer Reference or Company Registration Number
• the claim period (start and end date)
• amount claimed (per the minimum length of furloughing of 3 consecutive weeks)
• your bank account number and sort code
• your contact name
• your phone number

Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme 

Who can submit a claim?

Employers must have enrolled for a PAYE Online account to submit a claim.

If you are an agent who is authorised to act on behalf of your clients for PAYE purposes (64-8) then you will be able to make a claim on behalf of your client. If you are a file only agent (who files their RTI return but doesn’t act for the client on any other matters) you will not be authorised to make the claim on their behalf.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Preparing your data to export your claim information

Technical guidance has been released to allow employers to calculate their Job Retention Scheme claim. For Qtac to accurately produce your claim your may need to adjust the configuration of your software.

Top Up Pay

If you have chosen to top up your furloughed employees pay this will be taken into account during the claim calculation. Qtac will look for any additions containing the term 'top up' and consider this as top up pay. If your addition does not currently contain the term top up, you can adjust the name within Company > Addition/Deduction. There is no requirement to reprocess pay, this change will be automatically applied to historic payments.

Variable Pay 

If the employee had been paid variable amounts over the course of the 1920 tax year you must mark this within Employee Maintenance under the furlough section. 

You must then ensure that the employee's pay rate is correctly set. For monthly employees, this should be 80% of their total 1920 earnings. For weekly, two weekly and four weekly employees, you should take their total 1920 earnings, divide by 52 and then enter 80% of this result into the pay rate. 

There are exceptions when an employee has not received a full pay period or has been employed partway through the 1920 tax year, please see the HMRC's technical guidance linked above for further information.

Exporting information to support making your claim

The Qtac 2020/21 software contains a data export to assist employers and agents to make their Job Retention Scheme claim. This data export has been integrated into our latest software update which is available here for Qtac customers and here for Mamut customers. 

Qtac will calculate the claim that is due using the technical specification outlined by HMRC. If the claim value calculated by Qtac does not match what you are expecting this could be due to the incorrect reference pay being entered in the employee's payrate. 

You can adjust the employees pay rate by navigating to Employee > Employee Maintenance > Pay Rates and adjusting their pay rate. Information on how the reference pay should be calculated can be found here.

Important - Qtac does not include Employment Allowance in the Job Retention Scheme calculation. To prevent overclaiming you will need to manually deduct any Employment Allowance from the Employers NI within your claim and keep track of your deductions.

• Navigate to Reports > Company > Company Furlough Report  
  
  
•   Select the dates which you wish to export your claim for and adjust the path if required
  
  
  
• Choose 'Export' and the software will generate three files in the chosen directory, it will also automatically open these files for you

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I have furloughed my employees but the export states that I have no furloughed employees to export?

A: It may be that you furloughed your employees on an older software version that did not support supplying furloughed periods which are now required for the export. To resolve this you will need to supply the furloughed periods by navigating to Employee > Employee Maintenance.

Q: The claim amount differs from the amount I have paid my employee?
A: Qtac will calculate the claim that is due using the technical specification outlined by HMRC. If the claim value calculated by Qtac does not match what you are expecting this could be due to the incorrect reference pay being entered in the employee's pay rate.  

You can adjust the employees pay rate by navigating to Employee > Employee Maintenance > Pay Rates and adjusting their pay rate. Information on how the reference pay should be calculated can be found here.

Q: My company is in receipt of Employment Allowance, how does this affect my claim?

A: Qtac does not reduce your Job Scheme Retention claim by your Employment Allowance. To prevent overclaiming you will need to manually deduct any Employment Allowance from the Employers NI within your claim and keep track of your deductions.

A little bit about us...

Qtac, a recognised payroll solutions provider in the UK, has been serving businesses for 30 years. Specializing in both payroll software and outsourced payroll services, Qtac caters to small businesses, large corporations, and payroll bureaux. Our software, recognised by HMRC, streamlines the payroll process, featuring RTI submissions, workplace pensions management, and a cloud-based portal for payslips and employee self-service. This software is supported by top-tier customer assistance, ensuring a smooth payroll experience.

Additionally, Qtac offers tailored ‘white-labelled’ outsourcing services. These services are particularly attractive to accountancy firms, as they save time, reduce stress, and mitigate payroll-related risks. By outsourcing to Qtac, companies can be confident in the knowledge that their payroll needs are being expertly managed.

Qtac's solutions are not just about functionality; they are about building long-lasting relationships with clients, offering them a combination of technology and expertise. Their commitment to adapting to client needs and providing reliable, efficient services has established Qtac as a trusted name in the payroll solutions sector in the UK. In essence, Qtac simplifies and enhances the payroll process for a diverse range of clients, ensuring compliance, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. 

Need some help?