Coronavirus job retention Employer not paying the 80% to an individual but keeping the money???

ShieldedAgent

Is there any way an employee can confirm if an employer is claiming the 80% and not passing this payment onto the individual?

Hermann

You have sign an agreement for the employer to claim.

So if you've signed, followed the rules and no pay turns up.....theres your answer.

7Phil

Presumably through your PAYE statement / payslip, as the whole thing needs to get reported to HMRC via payroll.
It will therefore go on your record for tax and earnings.

Jeremy535897

This is the wrong way round. Whether or not the employer recovers anything from the job retention scheme is irrelevant. The process starts with the employer telling the employee he wants to furlough them. There are usually conditions attached, the most important being that the employee's wage is reduced to 80%. The employee decides to accept the changes and is furloughed. The employer pays that 80% when the wages are normally paid, unless that is varied in the letter referred to above. It is for the employer to claim it back from HMRC.

7Phil

@Jeremy535897 Yep - that's the way it needs to work. I think the OP is worried they could be told one thing but the employer is telling HMRC another thing, claiming their 80% salary behind their backs.
It's all processed via payroll and the HMRC RTI.
If there are any suspicions an employee could surely check with HMRC after a couple of months. If there is a discrepancy, dob them in. They will end up in court on a charge of fraud.

Jeremy535897

If they get 80% of their pay while being furloughed, what do they care? I could see it if they were asked to take a pay cut of 50%, agreed to that, and the employer then claimed 80% of the original wage, but I think this would involve a rather sophisticated fraud with a fake payroll, most unlikely in my view.

calcotti

Jeremy535897 said:. The process starts with the employer telling the employee he wants to furlough them. There are usually conditions attached, the most important being that the employee's wage is reduced to 80%. The employee decides to accept the changes and is furloughed. 

Sorry to quibble but the requirement is surely that the employer must pay at least 80% of normal salary, they can choose to pay more but the government will only reimburse the 80%.

Jeremy535897

I took it as read that if the employer is believed likely to commit fraud, he's unlikely to pay the employee any more than 80%.

7Phil

@Jeremy535897 @calcotti
I read the OP question as asking about whether the employer is accountable to passing on the full amount of the grant to the employee. In which case I say yes they will. It may be a hasty scheme but it won't be HMRC's first rodeo.

If the employee gets given a furlough agreement that they are on 50% pay, the employer cannot pocket the extra.
If the employee is made redundant the employer will not be able to claim their 80% and keep it for themsevles.

If they do try to scam the system then they won't be able to get away with it for very long.

calcotti

Jeremy535897 said:

I took it as read that if the employer is believed likely to commit fraud, he's unlikely to pay the employee any more than 80%.

I forgot the context!

Jeremy535897

Your comment was legitimate, as others reading it could also have forgotten the context. I was saving typing!