Final COVID-19 related scheme deadlines for employers

As of 30 September 2021, the government have withdrawn most measures for employers to support them through the Coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS), both ended at the end of September.

It is important to be aware of the deadlines in relation to both schemes.

CJRS deadlines

The deadline for the final CJRS claim was 14 October 2021. That means that any claims not submitted by this date will not be able to be submitted unless there is a reasonable excuse.

HMRC will only permit late claims if the employer has:

• taken reasonable care to try and claim on time
• a reasonable excuse
• claimed as soon as your reasonable excuse no longer applies.

Employers can still log on to access the online portal to view previous claims or to amend claims for claim periods covering September 2021. Employers can amend claims for September 2021 up until 28 October 2021.

This means that, once the 28 October 2021 has passed, there is no way that employers can amend any previous claims. However, this does not mean that employers should not consider whether they have made any errors in their previous claims.

CJRS compliance

HMRC have already started undergoing enforcement action against employers who have submitted incorrect claims through the scheme. The strict enforcement regime attached to the scheme can lead to employers having to pay back any overclaimed grants, as well as paying penalties of up to 100% of the overclaimed amounts.

If an employer is able to identify any errors they have made in previous claims and voluntarily disclose these to HMRC, they are more likely to receive reduced penalties from HMRC for any errors that have occurred.

We would encourage all employers to review their claims since March 2020. Crowe have a wealth of experience with calculating and reviewing claims, and would be happy to assist in this process.

SSPRS deadlines

Like the CJRS, employers can only claim for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for employees who were off work on or before 30 September 2021. However, employers have until 31 December 2021 to submit any final claims or amend previous claims for an SSP rebate.

As a reminder, employers can claim through the scheme if they:

• have already paid an employee’s sick pay
• are claiming for an employee who’s eligible for sick pay due to coronavirus
• have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 28 February 2020
• they had fewer than 250 employees on 28 February 2020, across all PAYE payroll schemes.

If this is the case, the repayment can cover up to two weeks of the applicable rate of SSP.