As of 29 May, Personnel Today report that HMRC had received 1,868 reports of fraudulent use of the Coronavirus Job retention Scheme to its digital reporting service. This is more than double the number of reports it received as of 12 May, at 795. Whistleblowing charity Protect has also revealed that 36% of its Covid-19-associated calls involved furlough fraud. Three main types of fraud have been identified: (1) A company furloughs staff but asks them to continue to work or volunteer unpaid. (2) Companies furlough staff without telling them. The workers only find out when they are paid. (3) A company claims furlough money for a “ghost” employee who may be someone they dismissed or “recruited” so they could claim the money. The number of employees placed on furlough since the scheme began is now 8.7 million, across 1.1 million employers, according to HM Treasury figures.
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