'Furlough fraud' | What do HR teams need to know?

A law firm has revealed that a whopping 13,775 whistle-blower reports relating to furlough fraud have now been received by HMRC.

The multinational firm Pinsent Masons has said that, due to the complex and changing rules that surrounded the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS or commonly referred to as furlough), error as well as fraud have crept into the corporate world.

What is furlough?

The furlough scheme was introduced as a lifeline to businesses and employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

Launched by the former Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, it was unveiled to prevent wide-scale unemployment and to keep people in jobs. The scheme properly closed in September 2021.

HMRC stepping up activity

Law firm Pinsent Mason has said that HMRC is now increasing its enforcement activity efforts in a bid to “recovery, issuing penalties and pursuing prosecution or directors disqualifications where appropriate”. The firm shared the below examples to help put this into context.