As many of the governments coronavirus support schemes are coming to an end, HMRC are assessing the impact of fraud within them.HMRC’s current estimate for the amount lost to fraud and error in the schemes during 2020 to 2021 is a total of £5.8 billion against a £81.2 billion spend. 8.7% in CJRS, 2.5% in SEISS phases 1-3 and 8.5% in the eat out to help out schemes.From the beginning, it was clear the scheme would be targets for fraud and that customers may make mistakes.The … [Read more...]
Furlough numbers continue to decline
Government’s Plan for Jobs pay off as figures indicate 1.3 million fewer employees accessing furlough. An optimistic outlook for the labour market indeed. At an all-time low this year, statistics published by GOV.UK on the 3rd June reveal that the number of workers relying on government support fell to 3.4 million. March and April showed 1.3 million employees moving off furlough, with some of the highest falls in the under 18s and 18 – 24 age group. Furthermore, the furlough … [Read more...]
HMRC’s new Taskforce clamps down on fraud and exploitation of COVID-19 relief schemes
With losses escalating to £1 billion per week, the extent of this exploitation equates to the “biggest fraud in British history”, David Clarke, Chairman of the COVID-19 Fraud Watch Task Force. Since the start of the pandemic, the government has forked out in excess of £54 billion towards COVID-19 relief schemes to support businesses and individuals across the UK. Among these Government initiatives include:The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) otherwise known as Furlough … [Read more...]
UPDATE: CJRS
On Tuesday 21st July, HMRC conducted a CJRS webinar for employer’s in relation to the scheme as we move into the final stages of furlough. We have listed the key facts below following the information shared during the webinar.What has changed?From July 1st, employers could bring back employees for any amount of time and any shift pattern, while still being able to claim the CJRS grant for their normal working hours not worked. They must have previously furloughed employees for a full … [Read more...]