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The government may have paid up to £ 3.5 billion in erroneous or fraudulent claims through its licensing scheme.
HMRC chief official Jim Harra said his staff believes that 5-10% of the license cash may have been misdirected, either due to fraud or deliberate error.
The job retention plan covers up to 80% of an employee’s salary while on leave.
The government has so far paid £ 35.4 billion for a license, according to the latest figures, which means that between £ 1.750 and 3.5 billion may have gone to the wrong places.
Harra added that an academic study has estimated that the level of fraud and error could be even higher than 10%.
“What we have said in our risk assessment is that we are not going to set out to try to find employers who have made legitimate mistakes in compiling their claims, because obviously this is something new that everyone had to deal with in a very difficult situation. . time, “Harra told MPs at the Public Accounts Committee.
“While we will expect employers to verify their claims and reimburse any excess amounts, we will focus on addressing abuse and fraud.”
The scheme had been implemented at breakneck speed for emergency shutdown and it was considered a great feat, but it also made experts warn that a certain amount of fraud was inevitable.
It is ending now and is expected to end for good next month, but companies bringing staff back from leave will receive another £ 1,000 if the employee is still on the job at the end of January.
Approximately 9.6 million people had been put on leave with government support, and 1.2 million employers claimed the support as of August 16 of this year.
Around 2.7 million self-employed workers have claimed around £ 7.8 billion in support from the government.
