First-tier Tribunal has no jurisdiction to rule on fairness

An employee B started employment with the taxpayer on 25 February 2020. The company processed its payroll for February on 24 February so B was not included in the February real-time information submission. He was included in the March submission but that was made after 19 March - the statutory deadline for coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) eligibility.

The company submitted a CJRS claim for B for the period March/April 2020 to January 2021. During a compliance check HMRC said B was not eligible for furlough and issued an assessment to claw back the payments.

The taxpayer appealed. It said it should be able to claim a support payment for B because he was employed ‘well before the deadline of 19 March 2020’. The timing of the processing of the payroll was ‘just unfortunate’. Even if it was not in strict accordance with the legislation ...