A FINANCIAL warning has been made to businesses which try to potentially misuse the government’s furlough scheme.
Employment lawyer Sally Morris said there has been a rise in calls to the employment team at mfg Solicitors from worried staff who are being asked to work even though they are meant to be on furlough leave.
Ms Morris, partner and head of thefirm’s employment team, said HMRC was prepared to spend the next five or six years investigating potential abuse of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and that it was vital businesses kept detailed records of its use and owned up quickly if mistakes have been made.
She said: “From July there will be some flexibility in the furlough scheme but it’s still possible that some employers will fraudulently claim the number of days or hours worked by an employee in order to receive more funding.
“This is completely against the law, let alone deeply immoral when such a vast amount of public money is having to be used simply to stop unemployment rocketing beyond levels seen in the worst recessions in history.”
She said enquiries were being received by her team from workers worried about businesses abusing the system.
“Some have told us they might be dismissed if they refuse to work illegally while some have complained of unfavourable treatment due to working part-time or because of their race and sex.”
She added employees in these situations might be able to have protection as a whistleblower and could bring a claim of automatic unfair dismissal if they are dismissed or resign.
“Employers thinking they can avoid HMRC are unlikely to win. There is a confidential online HMRC fraud reporting line, HMRC are conducting random audits, as well as investigating businesses who used the scheme and reported unusually high turnover and profits.
“Overall, it’s vital employers keep full and detailed records because HMRC is prepared to spend the next five or six years checking whether the Job Retention Scheme was used correctly.”
Ms Morris warned penalties would be severe but said employers had a 30-day window to notify HMRC and return the money without a penalty if an error has been made.
