HMRC staff 'undervalued' as satisfaction falls
HMRC staff satisfaction has fallen in the face of increasing cuts and pressure to increase yields, Bloomsbury Professional finds
AS MUCH as a fifth of HM Revenue & Customs staff say they plan to leave the tax authority over the next twelve months, as the level of employee satisfaction fell to 43% – a 2% fall on last year’s figures.
Staff feel increasingly undervalued, with the proportion of workers who think their pay adequately reflects their performance down five percentage points to 20% from 25%, according to tax and accounting information group Bloomsbury Professional.
Around 45% of staff now feel overworked – from 35% last year – amid increased pressure to boost tax yields with fewer resources.
Last year, it was announced 14 offices would be closed by December this year, with 690 administrative staff invited to take voluntary redundancy. In addition, 46 staff on the administrative assistant pay grade in Cumbernauld and Shipley were invited to take voluntary exits, while 453 affected by the office closures were redeployed.
At the time, HMRC cited the automation and digitisation of many processes and the need to meet commitments to become “more highly-skilled and to operate from fewer locations”.
But Bloomsbury professional managing director Martin Casimir said those pressures were impeding HMRC’s ability to be as effective as it could be.
“Despite budget cuts, HMRC has regularly managed to increase its revenue from tax investigations over the past few years,” he said. “But pressure from political parties is mounting on HMRC to keep delivering more and more. Unless it receives more funding from the government to achieve this, the quality and accuracy of the work carried out by HMRC staff is likely to suffer.”