HMRC to publish Furlough Claimant details

Thursday 19 November 2020

Last Friday, when the Treasury published their most recent Treasury Direction on the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) it included confirmation that HMRC will publish information about employers utilising the Scheme from December 2020.

The most recent Treasury Direction states that HMRC must publish information about an employer who has received a payment pursuant to a claim made under the Scheme if the claim period occurs:

• in the December 2020 Scheme extension calendar month; or
• in the January 2021 Scheme extension calendar month.

HMRC will publish the following information:

• The name of the employer;
• The amount (or a reasonable estimation) of the value of the furlough claim made by the employer; and
• The employer’s company registration number (for companies and Limited Liability Partnerships).

The Treasury Direction also confirmed that HMRC will not publish the names of employers who can show that the publication of this information would expose employees, or anyone they live with, to “serious risk of violence or intimidation”. This includes:

• employers that are individuals;
• employers that are companies;
• employers that are partnerships;
• employers that are limited liability partnerships; and
• trustees of a trust.

Additional information on how employers can request that their information is not published by HMRC will follow in the next few weeks.

It is assumed that HMRC have made the decision to publish names of employers to reduce fraudulent claims for furlough monies and unnecessary reliance on the Scheme. It is thought that as much as £3.5 billion in furlough monies has been paid out to fraudulent claims so far.

If you have any questions about the extended Scheme, please email or call our Employment Law team today on 0113 207 0000.