Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assurances, if any, they will give to whistleblowers who raise concerns that they are being forced to work while money is being claimed on their behalf under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme that their employers, and not the whistleblowers, will be liable for fraud and the recovery of any money obtained illegally.

In cases of fraudulent claims in respect of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, HMRC will seek to recover funds from the claimant employer.

Using powers that are before this House in the Finance Bill, where the employer is an insolvent company and an individual with management responsibility knowingly made an excessive claim, HMRC will be able to seek to recover funds from that individual.

Whistleblowers can be confident that HMRC will act to protect their confidentiality, and that they will not be liable for recovery. This does not include cases where the employer and employee conspire to defraud the scheme.

Employees can report their suspicions of fraud on HMRC’s tax evasion form, available through GOV.UK.