Today the HMRC online portal opened for claiming the grant against 80% of a furloughed employees wages, the employers' NI and the employers' pension contribution. From the reaction of employers you would think that today was the only day a claim could be made! Perhaps they think the Government is going to run out of money tomorrow?
Payroll this month is difficult enough with all the rules to consider and the calculations to be done without the added pressure of emails and telephone calls from stressed employers who want us to claim it today. Sadly there are only a certain number of hours in a day and it is just impossible to process payroll and make claims for everyone in one day. Complicated payroll is draining and not something you can do for hours without a break.
We are not key workers supporting the sick or ensuring the nation can receive deliveries of vital resources but we do provide a service which is key for businesses which will enable their staff to retain their jobs and buy their necessities during this difficult time.
Fortunately many of our employers understand that we will do their payroll and claim as soon as we possibly can. Several of our employers have shown their appreciation of the updates I put together for them over the last 3 weeks or so and it does make such a difference to morale when you know that they appreciate it and its not all in vain.
Did I mention that we have also changed payroll software this month? Something we committed to at the end of last year so not ideal in the current situation. However Brightpay have been fantastic at supporting us with our queries and their calculation of furlough pay is brilliant. Using any new software is a challenge at first and it would have been nice to have more time to get used to it but so far it is going really well.
I know this is going to be a long, tough week for us and we will be working a lot of extra hours, but we will get through it. Its good to know that other payroll bureaus and payroll providers will be going through the same us.
There will certainly be a sense of achievement for us all when the final RTI and claim for CJRS for April is made but is a real shame that our team won't be able to celebrate our achievement together.
