HMRC says 80% for furloughed employees could be paid by the end of the month
HM Revenue & Customs has said it should be possible for companies to start claiming 80% of pay for furloughed staff from Monday (20 April). It says the first payments should be received by companies by the end of the month.
Previously the tax authority had not expected to get the application process available until the end of the month and was not intending to pay firms until the end of the three month period for which the 80% can be claimed - that is until July.
For the self-employed and partnerships, the current advice is that HMRC is aiming to contact those elligible to claim 80% of their income by mid May, although it now says it will make payments by early June 2020.
Although both schemes say they will pay 80% of income, there is an upper limit of £2,500 a month. It can be claimed after three weeks of not working and covers a three-month period starting from 1 March.