Member Article

£10million of furlough claims processed by Garbutt + Elliott

York and Leeds based accountancy, advisory and audit firm Garbutt + Elliott, have helped over 285 businesses safeguard jobs across Yorkshire and processed more than £10million of furlough claims through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

As the first phase of the CJRS scheme comes to an end, the firm is assessing the impact felt by Yorkshire businesses following the outbreak of the pandemic and how their team has changed their working practices to meet the increased demands.

Sarah Ashton. Partner at Garbutt + Elliott said: “The last three months have been a rollercoaster for many businesses both financially and personally. The pressure and uncertainty that business owners have had to deal with has been far greater than anyone could have imagined at the start of this pandemic. The furlough scheme has certainly been a welcome support financially, but the over-complicated rules and initial lack of clarity have made it more challenging to administer than was necessary.

“Our role changed with the introduction of the furlough scheme – we needed to understand these new rules inside out so that we could guide our clients through the furlough “minefield” and take the stress away. In addition, we have continued to prepare the payroll for all our clients offering the same high level of support as always. I am extremely proud of my team who have adapted their ways of working to provide that extra level of help to businesses, especially when it’s needed the most – it’s part of our values to go the extra mile.

“As we enter phase 2 of the CJRS scheme business owners will have to consider how they plan for the future. There may be some tough decisions ahead regarding redundancies and staff retention on full or part-time. The next few months will be so important as the lockdown restrictions are lifted – we’ll all be looking at the R number. Whatever is ahead of us it’s important we continue to work as a team, supporting each other – we are much stronger when we do.”

To date across the UK Government figures have confirmed 9.3 million workers have been furloughed with a claims value of £25.5bn.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Garbutt + Elliott .