Should I stop paying myself now if I want furlough from ltd?

leftism

Hi guys,
I'm the sole employee of my ltd company. Looks like my only option to get anything is to furlough myself and claim 80% of my (small) salary. 
(I take most money from dividends. DAMN.)
But, if I want to do this, is there anything I should do right now so I can later prove I was furloughed?
e.g. Stop paying myself my salary payment (and just take dividends?) and write myself a letter?
Thanks

neilmcl

Just stop working, and continue with your PAYE as normal. When the HMRC portal is up and running start your claim. It'll be pretty obvious that your not working if you're not generating any income.

p00hsticks

leftism said:

But, if I want to do this, is there anything I should do right now so I can later prove I was furloughed?

Just avoid doing anything in relation to the company other than the minimum legal obligations required (e.g. filing of accounts at Companies House)  and applying for the Job Retention Scheme money when the portal opens.

doningtonphil

Yes, but...
Is furloughing not just for companies that are unable to pay staff due to a drop in income/work? 
Is it that you have no work available to you, of just that you fancy the government paying you instead?

Other countries are asking for evidence of why a company felt they had to furlough.

Of course, if you stop working that means the company cant do any work so has no income, but that seems a case of putting the cart before the horse to me

calcotti

Have you considered if tying yourself in knots trying to furlough yourself to get a small amount of support through the SE package is actually the best course of action. If there is some work you could be doing it may be better to do this so that your business is in a better position when things improve. (Obviously I have no knowledge of what your business is.)

in the meantime you could claim Universal Credit if you are eligible.