Jersey businesses able to challenge payroll co-funding repayment terms

Jersey's government paid out £140 million to help businesses survive through the pandemic, but some have struggled with repayments. Credit: ITV Channel Television

Jersey's government has launched a new appeals process allowing businesses on the island to challenge their repayment terms for Co-Funded Payroll Scheme overpayments.

Ministers set up the initiative at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to keep businesses running and staff employed. It ran from March 2020 until January 2022.

In that time, the Government of Jersey says it received more than 27,000 claims from 4,100 companies to support 15,000 members of staff.

But, the island's Auditor General revealed that more than £5 million was overclaimed by businesses while it was running, with some paying it back in instalments.

In March 2022, a scrutiny panel led by the now-Chief Minister, Deputy Kristina Moore, told the former Treasury Minister the way the government handled repayments left some businesses "feeling like criminals".

Now, Deputy Moore says the appeals process will still ensure the government is paid back but give businesses "a reasonable period of time to repay" the money they received in error.

Deputy Kristina Moore first raised the issue as a backbencher during the last States Assembly. Credit: ITV Channel Television

She says the new process will deal with businesses in a "fair, transparent and compassionate" way:

"I am all too aware that people have been worried about these repayment requirements for several months. The process we have established has been designed to bring a swift resolution to appeals while minimising the impact on business owners’ time.

"We are aware that many businesses are still recovering from the impact of Covid and are currently dealing with various global challenges. We are committed to supporting them where we can and enabling a thriving local business environment."

More information on the appeals process can be found on gov.je.