Friday 1 August 2014

Homer Admits She Gets Paid a Lot


Around mid July Lin Homer was asked about her £20K bonus, she said that she should keep it as it reflected “a very good performance”.

Unsurprisingly, given that some HMRC staff do not receive basic pay that amounts to £20K per annum, the issue was raised at a recent HMRC Hotseat Q&A on the intranet.

My thanks to a loyal reader who passed on a transcript of the relevant part:
"Lin Homer Bonus

Can you please tell everyone how you think you can justify the £20,000 bonus that is widely reported in today's media?

This is when all my colleagues have had to put up with either a 1% or no increase on their wages in the last few years that in real money equates to a wage decrease. The bonus you are receiving is actually more than an AA or AO grades salary!

If you did receive an exceed for your PMR then you should be receiving £3607 bonus which is 1.95% of your £185000 salary.

I look forward as does everyone else to your response.

Anon

Answer

Thank you for your question. I know that pay is a really important issue for you at the moment so I’m happy to explain the position on SCS pay, which is handled differently to AA to G6 pay.

Some years ago, a pot of about 9 per cent was created by putting some of SCS base pay into a non-consolidated pot, which was then awarded only to top and achieved performers.

This Government decided to freeze all but a third of that pot and only makes awards to top performers. These awards continue to be distributed.

I should stress that pay and performance management for senior civil servants are handled centrally by the Cabinet Office. In the case of Permanent Secretaries, a remuneration committee – with an independent chair – recommends whether to pay an award and the amount, after considering a wide range of feedback and evidence.

During my time as a SCS, in line with that process, I have been awarded a bonus on a number of occasions and not on others. This is based on evidence and a comparative analysis across all Permanent Secretaries. The decision is reported our Annual Report, and it’s this that prompted the Telegraph piece.

On my visits to our offices and at events many of you tell me the public sector pay cap is making things tough for you financially. I understand why my performance award has generated some strong feelings as I do get paid a lot."
You will observe that Homer doesn't actually answer the question wrt "justifying" it, she passes the buck saying that others have approved it.

On the plus side, she does at least admit that she gets paid a lot!

All happy with that response then?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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11 comments:

  1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/tax/10972205/I-deserve-20000-bonus-says-HMRC-chief.html

    Read the comments underneath on the article, it's not just homer it's four Ex-coms including Ruth "EC axer" Owen (who I still think is Rebecca Brooks in disguise)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Why does the article carry a photograph of Vladimir Putin? It's frightening the cat, delete!

    On a serious I applaud the HMRC individual identified as Chris Roberts in the comments underneath the article, well done in your openers and the conviction of your points raised.

    Perhaps more will find the courage to come forward, the NAO 2nd report on whistle blowing is in the open now and Hodge was holding forth on the news this morning.

    You have nothing to lose folks, your jobs are going anyway by 2020 at the latest. Use the time now while you have a chance. Just make sure you follow the whistle blowing rules.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How do you blow the whistle on practices that are integrated into HMRC from top to bottom and in the face of a massive PR campaign that purports to be "a national conversation" with all staff? In any case, the truth is out there, and no-one is picking up on it. At least Labour seem to have woken up to what is going on, but they just get fake statistics thrown at them.

      Delete
  3. Very Interesting!
    We are all in this together until it comes to money, those at the bottom might get a 1.95% bonus, when the flying porcines land! Those at the top get 9%.
    Hmm, unfair thinks me this is, how so is it?
    It takes the toil of those at the bottom so that those at the top can feed from the trough. The brass neck of these people is astounding, immoral and unethical fail to do justice to the reality of contempt.
    Shame on her and her like, bet she does not worry about making ends meet on that £20th alone?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dar dar dar dar.................

      Delete
  4. A shed load of money for SFA, please get rid of this woman and her cronies. Bloodsuckers the lot of them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. She says her bonus is based on evidence. If that is so (and I question how complete that evidence can have been, given how much she has demoralised her staff) it is more than the rest of us got. Arbitrary markings arrived at in a hurry and driven by the requirement to put 10%% of staff in the Must Improve category. Several colleagues have walked away, one straight into the arms of leading tax advisors, who, by the way, appear to value our professionalism more than our own senior management, even when we are in complete disagreement over tax issues. If the advisory community wants a motivated HMRC with integrity and commitment, it should start to speak up

    ReplyDelete
  6. "On my visits to our offices and at events many of you tell me the public sector pay cap is making things tough for you financially. I understand why my performance award has generated some strong feelings as I do get paid a lot."

    She "understands" but does she understand? I would think rather better of her, not professionally but personally, if she hadn't a clue what we were moaning about. This has reached a point where she has to decide whether to plough on regardless, despite the disastrous effect of her policies, and I rather think that is what she will do. Maybe one day she'll say "Francis Maude made me do it", and expect US to understand.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mark Reckless: Why do you keep on being promoted despite these major failures of leadership at the top of organisations, repeatedly?

    Lin Homer: I don’t accept that there have been major failures of leadership. I think I
    get promoted because I manage big organisations well and I’m not frightened to take
    on organisations that are not performing well at the point that I arrive. That’s
    something I’ve done on a number of occasions and, you know, as you say people
    continue to  have confidence that that’s a skill I bring to these…
    Mark Reckless: I didn’t say people continue to have confidence…
    Lin Homer: Well I assume they wouldn’t offer me the jobs if they didn’t.
    The above was taken from markreckless. com and there is a video of the PAC extract
    should you wish to see Whitehall Farce at its best.
    The PAC has followed her progress from Brum CC to HMRC yet she still survives!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Homer should see a chiropractor due to suffering from a severe case of managers elbow. This is a severe and debilitating condition caused by long term repetitive patting of oneself on the back whilst at the same time covering ones are! It is a condition whose underlying causes may include self-delusion, confusion of one's role and a total failure to accept responsibility for ones actions.
    A simple cure such as removing ones head from ones rear occasionally does the trick but more severe and invasive treatment such as colonic hydrotherapy can give instant relief.

    ReplyDelete