Job Retention Scheme applications for employees with no National Insurance Number or a temporary National Insurance Number

HMRC has provided us with the following information when making claims under the Job Retention Scheme which include individuals where no National Insurance Number (NINO) is held or the employee has a temporary National Insurance Number.

When making a claim to the Job Retention Scheme, employers are asked to provide a National Insurance number (NINO) for each employee that they have furloughed. We are aware that in some limited circumstances an employer may not have a NINO for all employees, or the employee may have a temporary National Insurance Number.

Employee has a NINO but employer does not know it

Where an employee has a NINO, but the employer does not know it they should make all reasonable efforts to establish it, including by making use of the RTI NINO Verification Request submission if appropriate.

Employee does not have a NINO, or has a temporary NINO

Where an employer has fewer than 100 furloughed employees but has one or more without a NINO, or a temporary NINO, they should contact the COVID-19 Helpline on 0800 024 1222. The process from there will depend on their individual circumstances (e.g. number of employees, % of NINOs they do know, employees under 16 etc.).”

The claim may then be made over the phone, in which case this would be the entire claim for all employees – so all information would need to be on hand to relay to the advisor.

“If the employer is claiming for 100 or more furloughed employees, and therefore uploading a file to support their claim, they should ensure the claim contains the Payroll ID (employer’s may know it as the Staff Employee Number). The template upload files that are now online in guidance include this as field. There is no need for employers in this position to call up as they will just get told this instruction and to proceed as before.”

Further information on the Job Retention Scheme can be found here.