As the weekend makes a very welcome appearance over the horizon of a particularly long and tedious week, what do you make of the gossip about Dave "Jack" Hartnett being lined up to takeover from The Grande Dame?
Could it be that his public promise to HMRC staff the other day, about what will happen to staff survey results, was a sign of a power shift?
Could it be that the Grande Dame's protracted sick leave will be used as a diversion to quietly shuffle her off with a massive payoff?
What do you, my loyal readers, think/know is going on behind the scenes?
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Unfortunately Father Ted's not with us anymore, but Father Dougal would make a suitably gormless right-hand-man for "Father Jack" Hartnett, he'd be right up HMRC's street. Where can we find him?
ReplyDelete"DRINK!!!"
Could it be that the Grande Dame's protracted sick leave will be used as a diversion to quietly shuffle her off with a massive payoff?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you, my loyal readers, think/know is going on behind the scenes?
Almost certainly the 'Dame' is doing to go with a big big bag of gold and a nice executive post somewhere else to go with it, funny how they can always find the money to make big payouts to inept executive staff but plead poverty to everything else. The list of idiots is growing.... Former CIO Deepak Singh (good article here which involved the Dame http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1319941/HMRC-civil-servant-given-19k-new-job-employed-50k-month.html)Paul(data breach) Gray - Chairman HMCE, David Varney and presently Phil Pavitt, Steve Lamey, Mike Clasper need i go on. Most of this 'Talent' brought in at great expense from the Private sector (remember you have to pay the going rate to get the best talent for the job'. Spectacular Failure is the only word to describe this lot!! No wonder staff morale is so low and HMRC is a national laughing stock! I used to be proud to say i worked for then HMCE i can barely mention HMRC for the shame.
Ken, you are bang on the money.
ReplyDeleteStrathie is toast. There has been no improvement at HMRC in her time and the previous People Survey had us going backwards!
Remember the select committee report published last month labelled Strathie as "delusional". The same report castigated pacesetter and recommended yet more scrutiny on HMRCs performance, going forward. In her very public PDE in parliament, I can safely say she was given a "needs improvement" and narrowly avoided getting a "poor".
Now the real question is should be, will the rest of the management dross now be taken out and shot?
They should be. The SCS, 6&7s, SOs and my particular hate group, the HOs. I am an AO and my line manager has been the best in my 14 years here. Unfortunately, she is moving to another civil service department. Her replacement is going to come from a bunch of tossers, so I may add Band O's to my list in a few weeks as well.
I am mightily pissed off with the whole lot of these morons.
LGD is already lined up for her new role running a Civil service wide system, originally trialled within HMRC. She will head a quango equivalent organisation doing something worthless with service issues of some sort. A good researcher should find the answer on google or HMRC's website, if I can find it I will post it later.
ReplyDeleteTop management is a bit like a revolving door in HMRC, the lower levels though are more akin to an Ealing Comedy, tripping over in everything they attempt.
For the AO at 16:05, don't give up!
I think that we are getting towards the nadir and at some stage working conditions will improve. Until management regain their sense of responsibility, accountibilty and civil service ethos this is going to take a bit longer, but, you will come out on the other side of "the darkness" and may find yourself able to ensure this dreadful state of affairs never returns - that is the challenge for your ilk, go to it, use the staff survey as it should be - honestly. good luck.
As i said if most of EXCOM is swept out or jump before they are pushed (resign) their termination packages should come under very close scrutiny, i bet a pound to a pinch of shit they have all got 'contractualy bound' settlements in place. Once again failure is rewarded. A more incompetant,inept and dare i say gutless group of people i have had the displeasure to have to work under.
ReplyDeleteHeard this from a reliable source:-
ReplyDeletePacesetter is on borrowed time!
Wonder if someone woke up to the fact that it doesn't actually do anything constructive that was not being done before by good managers?
I bet an MP or the Treasury Select members have finally realised how much "customers" money was being wasted - not good in these frugal days?
To AO at 16:05 - Not all HO's are as yoyu describe - some of us are caseworkers not managers -and we are just as disillusioned as you with the standard of higher management and their incompetence -after 37 years in C and E/HMRC my experience has been that caseworkers (regardless of grade) have been competent, it was when people were appointed as managers who had minimal people management skills that the problems arose
ReplyDeleteUnfit for purpose...
ReplyDeleteIs there any greater indictment of a major public service?
Wait untill someone works out how bad the mess really is with UKBA formed and stamping passports the door for smugglers is open wide. Import and export controls - don't make me laugh its all so fragmentated even the criminals are confused as to who they are actually defrauding!
As for serious HMRC prosecutions, are they on the Cites endangered list?
Thank you @Old Codger: had been about to say the same from an ex-IR point of view!
ReplyDeleteSome of the "managers" i have come across have been atrocious, never mind lacking people skills they do not even possess a modicum of common sense let alone a mix of life skills and real world experience. I would not let some of these people do my weekly shopping for fear of them getting even that wrong. The worst I have seen are ex. IR staff who get over promoted to HO, and ex. customs who get up the tree a way bit further, they both operate in fiefdom mode and this is where a lot of the bother arises.
ReplyDeleteIf you read between the lines of Dave Hartnetts' recent missive you have to give him and his advisory team some credit for what has been stated. he has either had a revelation on his own road to Damascus or the obvious is so obvious it can no longer be ignored.
AO of earlier posting - take heed, there is much to be done but a glimmer of liht is breaking through.
The next staff survey will be a watershed, staff should use it wisely!
Wonder when someone (Ken, Private Eye, Guido et.al.) will pop the "undue influence" question?
Would they dare change or reword the questions in such a way that would damage limit what will probably be an extremely damning verdict on the management / EXCOM. I don't think they would be so stupid but heh they have a hell of a track record it can't be discounted.
ReplyDeleteThis could prove to be an interesting time.
ReplyDeleteI would guess some form of "night of the long knives2 has already been planned and "exit strategies" agreed and finances secured.
There is going to be an almighty "ventilation" of the incompetants who will take their "just dues" happy in the knowledge that they have escaped unscathed.
Wait till the public and politicians realise what ha been going on and how immoral let alone illegal it has been.
I bet the delete buttons and shredders are already doing sterling service.
You can run but you can't hide.
Go get em IPCC!
Have a look at the definition of malfeasance in public office.
ReplyDeleteTime for reckoning for those that deserve it?
Cut out the rotten wood and get it back where it should be, leading by example, serving the public and not hung up on customer or pacesetter.
One heck of a challenge given the current situation.