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CJRS: Employers urged to get their data right

26 August: Employers may face delays to claims for grants under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) as format issues could see bulk upload files rejected.

28 August: ICAEW has been made aware that there is currently a problem uploading xls and xlsx file types. Employers are advised to use the CSV or ODS file types.

HMRC has updated its guidance to highlight that from 25 August 2020 files uploaded to claim a grant under the CJRS containing the details of 100 or more furloughed employees may now be automatically rejected if an incorrect format is used.

If an employers’ file is rejected, the employer will receive a message to say it has not been accepted and their claim will not continue.

The file could be rejected due to:

  • an incorrect file type; 
  • too many columns or sheets; or
  • too few columns.

If employers are making a CJRS claim for 100 or more employees, they can download and use an HMRC template from gov.uk. Using the very latest version of HMRC's template should help ensure that their data is in the format required to enable HMRC to process the claim.

Further support on the format that data should be provided to make a CJRS claim is available from gov.uk.