In a development that has surprised absolutely no one, it has been reported that between 5% and 10% of the monies paid out under the Governments’ various Job Retention Schemes amounting to an eye watering £2bn has been siphoned off to fraudsters. Given the increasing complexity surrounding the rules of the various iterations and the ease with which it could be claimed even the Government has acknowledged that widespread fraud was anticipated. HMRC is already beginning to investigate the more obvious scammers and it will only be a matter of time before smaller employers are put under the spotlight.

In addition to the straightforward criminal gangs exploiting the Schemes with ‘fake’ companies and employees, there is also the inevitable ‘mistakes’ made by genuine employers who simply got the rules wrong as they were changing almost daily. That is where some expert help and advice is invaluable. We have established the Furlough Defence Unit, comprising experts in tax and employment law who can audit your claims to make sure any errors are identified and to help you respond to HMRC enquiries should the worse happen. Please contact Nick Lakeland or Jennie Kreser if you would like to discuss your position.

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