Monday 22 October 2012

HMRC's Demographic Timebomb



Despite "valiant" attempts to shore up its shattered "bulkheads", HMRC continues to sink further beneath the waterline and experienced staff continue their exodus.

The Telegraph reports that, according to an internal HMRC presentation, approximately 33% of staff at HMRC's enforcement and compliance division will be eligible for retirement in the next five years.

These are of course HMRC's most experienced professionals, and ones that it can ill afford to lose.

What therefore is HMRC's solution to this exodus?

The HMRC presentation provided the following "strategic" response:
We have done some initial modelling about reducing headcount costs ... based on replacing people retiring with a cheaper younger workforce.”
There you are folks, HMRC's strategy is:

"Cheaper Younger"

Yes, that will work!

As Richard Mannion, national tax partner at Smith & Williamson, said about young HMRC tax inspectors:
"They know a little about a little, rather than a lot about lot [compared to] in the old days.
However, according to one loyal reader, HMRC have another "string to their bow". Seemingly, according to my loyal reader, HMRC are promoting staff who are to retire within 3 years. This despite the fact that they don't have the competences and are unlikely to gain them before retiring.

What is the point of such a waste of resource, and how does that help resolve HMRC's demographic timebomb?

Views and comments always welcome.

Tax does have to be taxing.



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12 comments:

  1. Get the Government onto this FFS!

    Promoting people within 3 years of their retirement is an absolute disgrace in these circumstances and totally immoral - why?

    Because within 3 years of retirement allows them to get on their max. and get a better pension, thats why!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I suspect your 'loyal reader' has an axe to grind. If they are promoting anyone at all without the requisite 'competencies' (to use the jargon)it is more of a sign that they are desperate to fill certain posts with at least some experienced staff rather than cheap young transient ones with lots of paper qualifications and no actual knowledge of anything.

    Still, I'm sure that the tax dodgers who bleat on this site would much prefer the latter to the former.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello TWAT @ 20:29 - no, not a tax dodger, very far from it actually.
      What is stated above is factual i.e. within 3 years then basically the best year of the last 3 is counted for pension purposes, so if you happen to be promoted e.g. from AO to EO (yes old grades) and get onto maximum within 3 years (not impossible) then higher amount counts for your pension. (Cue Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas and Fuck You Joe Public and the rest of the Civil Service in one foul swoop).
      NOW PAY ATTENTION TWAT!
      If your promotee is at a higher level he/she will correspondingly get a greater (£) payrise and pension.
      Is that clear enough for you?

      Delete
    2. I'm not the Anonymous from 20:29, but want to comment as your reply is offensive.

      Sites like this have the potential for being really useful forums to discuss and maybe even improve organisations like HMRC.

      Ken really tries to get some important issues out there. Unfortunately, abuse from keyboard warriors like you pretty much makes debate impossible.

      Which is a real shame.

      Delete
    3. Getting on to a max within 3 years is COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE. There's been a pay freeze for years and even then the span would be way more than 3 years.

      Delete
  3. Surely some mistake.I thought HMRC decided years ago it did not need staff with experience an expertise as all tax matters could be be broken down into idiot processes to be performed by lowly paid monkeys. After all frittering away dough on trivialities such as training up Tax Inspectors is such a waste when the money could be so much better to spent on recruiting a bevy of top managers with titles like 'Chief Swizzle Stick Of the Sacred Filing System' to keep the plebs on their toes and to dine at the top table with the likes of Vodafone. Needless, to say as the reality of this stupidity has started to bite they are trying to put the gears into reverse. Now they think that they are going to get Premier League tax experts for Ryman League wages. The slight problem is that HMRC's appalling treatment of staff in recent years means that any halfway intelligent young tax investigator knows that he will be treated by dirt by his employers who will screw him over at the first opportunity on wages, pensions and work conditions. As a consequence most will be trotting off to join the opposition once they have their training and a little experience under their belts

    ReplyDelete
  4. As "the keyboard warrior" I apologise for any offence caused by the posting.
    I will endeavour to self-moderate from here on and not get in the way of debate.
    I agree with 21:15 points and accept the criticism.
    It is of greater importance that Ken continues to get the issues relating to HMRC raised.
    Therefore retain the posting I made but remove all the swear words please!
    Suitably chastised.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Keyboard Warrior Anon..
    I wasn't upset about your post. You made a perfectly valid point.

    Nobody worth their salt would stay at the Revenue a moment longer than necessary. I didn't and that was back in 1975. When they told me I would never be an Inspector because I was female and might leave to have babies!

    My salary and working conditions are much better than they would have been if still at the Revenue.

    I honestly cannot see what is going to happen to the Revenue but I predict some kind of serious meltdown in the next three years at most.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is true of all levels. The office I work in has over 400 staff. All bar about three are over 30 (because there has been virtually no external recruitment for permanent staff in about six or seven years), and there is a heavy preponderence in the 50+ range.

    I suppose that will make it easier to use 'natural wastage' as an excuse for closing it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, the Keyboard Warrior is now confused, all of a sudden those who have shielded their lights have come to the fore.
    Are there more of you out there whose need to speak has overcome the reasons not to?
    Now is the time to stnd up and be counted, no matter how long ago it may have happened let your M.P.know they are starting to join the dots at last!
    Ken, there is a volcano just about to erupt, get in closer FFS!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Most of the people being promoted in this way have already been promoted beyond their level of competence, the benefit is likely to be that they are left to play with micro management systems that proliferate the department. No expertise therefor available at senior level. At least 90% of them are unemployable in the real world.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Marvellous what £917 million "reinvestment" [staff promotions]can do in the absence of pay rises...................

    ReplyDelete