The government furlough scheme is open for applications - this is how to apply

The UK Government’s emergency pay scheme to support businesses across the UK affected by the coronavirus outbreak, is now open for applications.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme went live on Monday (20 Apr), enabling businesses to claim towards staff wages.

Under the scheme, employers will be able to pay their employees 80 per cent of their usual wage, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.

What do I need to apply?

To make a claim through the scheme, you will need:

- to be registered for PAYE online

- your UK bank account number and sort code

- your employer PAYE scheme reference number

- the number of employees being furloughed

- each employee’s National Insurance number

- each employee’s payroll or employee number

- the start date and end date of the claim

- the full amount you’re claiming for including employer National Insurance contributions and

- employer minimum pension contributions

- your phone number

You also need to provide either:

- your Corporation Tax unique taxpayer reference

- your Self Assessment unique taxpayer reference

- your company registration number

If you are claiming for more than 100 employees on furlough, you will need to upload a file which includes the following details for each employee:

- full name

- National Insurance number

- payroll number (optional)

- furlough start date

- furlough end date (if known)

- full amount claimed

How do I make a claim?

To make a claim, you will need your Government Gateway user ID and password.

This will have been given to you when you registered for PAYE online.

Once you have these, you can make a claim via the government website.

What happens after I’ve claimed?

Once you have made a claim, you will be given a claim reference number.

HMRC will then check your claim is correct and pay the claim amount by Bacs into your bank account within six working days.

You must:

- keep a copy of the claim reference number for your records

- keep a copy of your calculations in case HMRC need more information about your claim

- tell your employees that you have made a claim and that they do not need to take any more action

- pay your employee their wages, if you have not already

You do not need to contact HMRC unless it has been more than 10 working days since you made a claim and you have not received it in that time.