The aim of this publicity is to make apparent those employers making claims and to enable employees to more easily blow the whistle on those who are claiming fraudulently. It is hoped that this process will deter employers from making bogus claims and will subject the whole claims process to greater scrutiny.
Details published in respect of employers will be their names, company registration numbers (where appropriate) and indications of the level of claims made. This will be done by showing the amount of an employer’s claim for a particular month in bands that start as follows:
- £1 to £10,000
- £10,001 to £25,000
- £25,001 to £50,000
- £50,001 to 100,000
- £100,001 to £250,000
- £250,001 to £500,000
- …and so on
As the values increase, the bands get wider, with the top band being above £100 million. Clearly, most claimants will be at the lower end of the scale and whilst claims at this level are not likely to be called into question by the media, I wonder if there is an indication of the work of the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) behind this? What well-known names will be encouraged to minimise claims in the knowledge that they could be the subject of press coverage for the size of their claims?
Equally, employees who suspect that their employer may have been claiming whilst they are working, will be able to see if this is the case or not from their secure personal tax accounts with HMRC. Of course, this may be further encouragement for an employee to set-up their personal tax account and increase the number of taxpayers who are engaging with HMRC digitally. Another possible win for the BIT!
The next step
If you have any concerns about correctly making CJRS claims, correcting claims already made, or in respect of claims made in respect of you, then contact your usual UHY adviser, or get in touch with one of our local experts by searching here.
