Concept of work for furlough purposes

The taxpayer ran parties discos community events and after-school clubs for children aged 0 to 11 years old as well as parent and baby groups. The two directors spent a lot of time on social media generating interest in their offering.

During lockdown the time spent on social media reduced dramatically – barely five minutes over an entire month. In April 2020 for example there were only three posts whereas before lockdown there would have been 80 or 90.

The taxpayer claimed payments for both directors under the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) for the period 23 March 2020 to 30 September 2021.

After reviewing the claims HMRC said the social media posts comprised work for the purpose of the scheme and should be repaid.

The taxpayer appealed.

The First-tier Tribunal said it had ‘no hesitation’ in agreeing with the taxpayer that the furlough scheme was...