My thanks to a loyal reader who has written to me about multiple staff survey responses being submitted by a certain manager in a certain HMRC department (the results are published on the HMRC intranet).
"...You see ***'s (redacted by Ken) group in **** was around 100 staff at that time.Are there no depths to which HMRC will sink?
At the close of the staff survey period the published response rate for ***'s group was 130 responses out of 100 people. i.e. 130%!!!!
Generally around 60 responses would be expected.
This is fully checkable as number of responses are published with the survey.
Unsurprisingly his groups scores on certain key questions were 10-15 points above the HMRC average.
The point is that apparently you can submit multiple returns on the survey (the system does not stop you), and many staff in ***'s team are fully aware he and a few close 'minions' submit multiple positive responses for his area and have been doing so for several years.
Unfortunately the past couple of years he has gone over quota a bit.....
It not who votes that counts. It's who xeroxes the ballot paper."
Ironically, despite the manipulation, *** still managed to score 20%+ response rate on the bullying question (people who felt they were being bullied or had witnessed it) over his team of 100!
Tax does have to be taxing.
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I find this hard to believe, for no other reason than the manager's action are so stupid.
ReplyDeleteIt should be possible to follow the trail backwards or forwards, and prove beyond reasonable doubt what has happened.
Then, the twat of a manager should be subject to the full force of the law, starting with misuse of computer equipment through to one or more of the "in public office" offices.
When that shit has cleared the decks send in an ubfettered IPCC with instuctions to open and empty the cupboards of all skeletons handing over civil lawbreaking evidence to relevant authorities. Do it across the board, and do it well.
The time has come to drain the pond.
Could someone please wake up the politicians though?
offices = offences, typo ;]
DeleteErr...excuse me if I've got this wrong but are these survey results not made publically available?
ReplyDeleteCould the 'results' not influence people's decision as to whether people work for HMRC?
Could the 'results' not influence how public money is spent?
At best this sounds like gross misconduct, at worst we have further HMRC criminality - fraud or some kind of 'public office' offence.
Bearing in mind all the other cases we've heard about, with a whole range of unsavoury issues being suppressed, it is beyond doubt there are serious governance issues. The govt should call in the police to establish whether there is criminality with the HMRC.
This is HMRC corruption. Those participating in this shameful & dishonest manipulation of important data, once again under the professional integrity of the whole department,and I hope they are investigated and sacked!
ReplyDeleteThis is all senior management are interested in now.....the post is piling up...but as long as they look good in a "rigged" staff survey...that is their goal...it is truly scandalous...we are now being dragged from one propaganda meeting to another...MAKE IT STOP !!!! I am close to cracking up.
ReplyDeleteWhat are PCS union doing about this corrupt management practice ? Let me guess - Sweet f a
DeleteI am evidence of bullying being rife amongst HMRC management and being the cause of depression and work related stress amongst staff. One can get sacked for reporting bullying from management. I am in the middle of pursuing Employment Tribunal.
Delete@ 4/1 10:27 Good luck with the Employment Tribunal - nobody should have to suffer the violence that goes on in HMRC.
DeleteMake a Subject Access Request but watch out for any false fabricated documents in which some HMRC rogue in HR or management will attempt to re-write history!
I can vouch for the above. Make a SAR if you haven't yet and try and get the names of people involved in your case at HR level. You will find it hard to get names but your solicitor will help. Check for conflict of interests between HR and Management, collusion is rife.
DeleteFurther to the above, when my partner made an SAR to HMRC, he discovered that some guy in HR, a Neil Barker, had met with managers subject to serious allegations before they had even conducted a phoney 'independent investigation'. Certainly is collusion and contrary to all basic grievance procedures.
DeleteWhen my partner contacted Barker to challenge him about comments he'd made, Barker would not account for his actions but rudely suggested that taking legal action against HMRC would further damage his health (after HMRC had already done that). My partner politely & firmly pushed him to explain why he had met with managers, subject to a serious complaints, prior to the investigation, which provide a clear opportunity to collude and fit their own accounts around the evidence. There is a word for this kind of behaviour...unsurprisingly, he put the phone down. Cowardly, bullying, intimidation tactics.
It would've been good to talk, constructive dialogue is usually the best way to move forward with issues but Mr Barker only wanted to antagonise.
Requests to meet with Lin Homer or management also fell on deaf ears. They had destroyed my partners career but were very keen to run away from the unlawful mistreatment HMRC had inflicted.
The SAR also revealed documents written by HMRC management which gave two conflicting accounts - the fabricated revisionist one was there, but they forget to take the original...naughty, naughty.
My partner was left suicidal & destitute due to HMRC's vile bullying and their desperate attempts to block a just outcome. It really is despicable behaviour and if they treat their own staff like that...well, you catch my drift.
Someone needs to have a hard look at what goes in HMRC with the cover-ups. Join up the evidence and bring the guilty to justice.
Staff in Hull today being pushed into filling in the staff survey and being as positive as possible.
ReplyDeleteOn the same day the news about the Leeds office was finally announced.
Staff were told today by FLMs to find jobs as soon as possible, and not to hold out for redundancy packages as "there's little in the pot".
All this going on whilst Gerry Dorby floats around the office...
Shameful.
For Pyongyang read HMRC !!!
DeleteAll locations in Phases 2 and 3 were lied to about there being "no money for packages" and that "you need to get another job - and we'll help you".
DeleteThe actual fact of the matter, of course, is that there IS money for packages (why wouldn't there be? it's a legal necessity!). Not only that but, due to the PCS victory against the Government in the High Court over the 2016 'reforms' to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, there's actually MORE money for packages!
Don't believe a word from Excom which trickles all the way down to junior management. Or should I say 'cascades'?
Saddened to hear that the perennial axeman that is Gerry Dorby is till around...
Who is Dorby? A Grade 6? He sounds a bit like Moss of the East Midlands. A cowardly, bullying, bigot.
DeleteDrain the swamp FFS!
ReplyDeleteDon't expect HMRC management to call in the IPCC any time soon, there is so much law breaking covered up the average G4S operative should ensure a satisfactory outcome...err, oh shit.
The cynical might even believe that top and/or exceptional performers at the higher management grades have a vested (£$£$£$) interest in the results?
The staff on that team have missed a golden opportunity to screw the system with multiple low but true markings.
ReplyDeleteSuggest that the rest of the employees adopt this approach in future. Although given the results over the years they don't really need to worry.
Agree though that this behaviiur by those responsible is indicative of the malaise within the department, institutionalised lack of adherence to law and basic behaviour.
"lack of adherence to law" You might be right about that. When I made a subject access request to hmrc they decided to send me third party data in clear contravention of D.P.A. I informed them and they really could not care less in their attitude. Shocking it was.
DeleteCome on Jon Thompson, get your act together and restore some integrity to HMRC. I mean, I'm sure if you were personally aware of bullying and law breaking in HMRC you would stop any cover-up and ensure the matter is appropriately addressed...wouldn't you ? ? ?
ReplyDeleteAre you for real.....look at JT's twitter account...this boy has swallowed the HMRC's mantra hook line and sinker....hopefully his faith will save him from damnation !!!
DeleteI've look at Thompson's twitter account and was left wondering about how hypocritical some people are. DRAIN THE SWAMP! DRAIN THE SWAMP!
DeletePresumably no action will be taken against any individual because it would prove once and for all that the survey is not anonymous .........
ReplyDeleteI fear the staff survey is NOT anonymous.Never has been. I was a top performer for HMRC spanning
Deletethree decades.By coincidence or not,after giving honest answers I was relentlessly targeted by HMRC
to the point of mental breakdown and worse.
It would be informative if a genuinely confidential survey of the state of HMRC employees mental health were carried out. Not being an expert, but an observation reading various comments, I would imagine instances of mental ill health is a serious issue within HMRC.
ReplyDeleteIf a survey did confirm a more true measurement of the scale of the problem it would hopefully be a marker for action to be taken.
Don't bet on it, my case reached the PAC and the NAO via my MP and ...
ReplyDeleteThe powers that be are well aware of the problem, perhaps stats are distorted by the way in which certified sick leave is recorded?
Either way they all know about it, my psychiatriswt had 5 other HMRC emplyees on her books for work related stress and depression.
Homer couldn't even get the legislation correct when responding to my MP and as for Hartnet, well, Ken Doss saw him off, what does that tell you?
HMRC have ignored and rolled straight through many aspects of civil and criminal legislation as well as breaking their own and civil service rules.
Manipulating the survey results whilst bad is little by comparison to the damage inflicted on serving and ex. staff.
Problem is HMRC suppress the truth and prevent proper investigation into the HMRC wrongdoing. With the greatest respect the HMRC staff who conduct internal 'investigations' are either of exceptionally low intellectual ability or part of a conspirouscy to stitch-up/crush victims for daring to speak the truth (perhaps as a warning to other staff?).
DeleteEither way, the manner in which they approach serious allegations, and their intellectual inability, or refusal, to scrutinise indisputable evidence, creates a troubling impression of standards of honesty, integrity and professionalism of the department.
They have a responsibility to investigate themselves (Ha!) and/or refer allegations of criminal acts to the IPCC for investigation.
DeleteTrouble is if the first line of "assessment" is the same management silo or work area as the alleged offender/s, well, draw your own conclusions, its HMRC after all.
I still maintain there is no smoke without fire and the amount of smoke and effluvium emanating from within is akin to a massive forest fire.
What will it take to sort out this very innefective and corrupt organisation, a miracle? Or, the likes of Michael Mansfield on a class action pro bono or sponsored by the TUC?
DODD nor DOSS oops! ;]
ReplyDeleteI was happy enough with the first version!
DeleteIt is plain that there are a number of current & former staff who have been subjected to HMRC's violence and bigotry. If they treat staff like that, how can the public trust them? One would think that a point in time is reached where someone, in a position of power, says enough is a enough. If there is criminal and civil law breaking in HMRC then the only way this will all be opened is if a manager is prosecuted. That would be light on the issue and really open it up - like what happened with issues of bullying, malpractice and 'cover-ups' in the health service.
ReplyDeleteThat is shocking-those responsible should be SACKED. HMRC has never been a good place to work. The merger simply stripped the two decent PUBLIC SERVICES (IR and HMC&E) of employee happiness.
ReplyDeleteIt should be shocking and those responsible should be SACKED. It's not (anymore) and they won't be. HMRC SENIOR MANAGEMENT (even the NAO apparently) are aware of CRIMINAL and CIVIL LAWBREAKING by HMRC employees/management and yet have done NOTHING to ensure the OFFENDERS are brought to JUSTICE. Unfortunately I cannot see those fiddling the survey results even being investigated so there will be no disciplinary action and no sackings. I would draw your attention to the dodgy survey results being advantageous to HMRC. It's a cultural of quite dangerous casual corruption in HMRC, and if your face fits (applies to the majority in management) it appears you can pretty much act with impunity. The RULES and the LAW are only for the little people (taxpayers and junior HMRC staff).
ReplyDeleteTry these;
ReplyDeleteMisconduct in public office is an offence at common law triable only on indictment. ... It is an offence confined to those who are public office holders and is committed when the office holder acts (or fails to act) in a way that constitutes a breach of the duties of that office. {CPS}
malfeasance - the performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law; wrongdoing (used especially of an act in violation of a public trust). [Google]
Misfeasance in public office is a cause of action in the civil courts of England and Wales and certain Commonwealth countries. It is an action against the holder of a public office, alleging in essence that the office-holder has misused or abused their power. {Wiki.}
I would submit that Prima Facie Cases exist under each heading. Balance of probability, beyond reasonable doubt and the man on the Clapham omnibus notwithstanding.
It's only a survey not High Treason. Who actually cares?
DeleteWe,the HMRC staff do....we are paid to do a job...they won't allow us to do that....the core job of tax collection has been set aside to force us into producing a staff survey that shows the HMRC management in a good light.....fuck the length of time it takes to deal with taxpayers queries...they don't give a toss...fucking disgraceful !!!
DeleteThe staff survey results are important because of the fact HMRC is spending billions of tax payers money.
DeleteHMRC, as their staff and loyal readers will be aware, has a serious issue of workplace bullying and violence.
If the results are manipulated, the true scale of the bullying problem is being suppressed - with HMRC also be quite willing to fabricate stories/evidence to cover up individual cases of such attacks, this apparently deliberate attempt to prevent transparent data highlighting the issue being made publically available, acts as another barrier to their victims being protected and makes justice almost impossible.
I care. I care enormously that the department as a whole is so badly run
ReplyDeleteRecruit 300 new staff (mostly wet behind the ears graduates)to a discipline but do not tell them what work they will be doing. Many were shocked to find out on their first day. Many have since left or didn't manage to pass the training. Experienced stafg are moving sideways in the department, and their skills are lost and no plans seems to be in place to train anyone else in the skills that have gone with the staff. We'd never survive as a business-which is just as well as we aren't one.
And what difference did it ever make? What offices didn't close? what staff weren't made redundant? The cost is insignificant compared to a pointless election and 2 useless aircraft carriers.The government wastes billions every week.
ReplyDeleteHMRC has been bottom of the heap for years but people still apply for jobs. When the money stops rolling in the government may wake up. When they realise the customs computer will not be able to cope post Brexit they may sit up and take notice. Until then it just carries on regardless.
Sadly i agree....:(
DeleteI agree too. HMRC are criminals and bullies who fail to provide an healthy, safe, honest or law-abiding workplace.
DeletePeople should not apply to work for HMRC unless they are really desperate for work and are willing to accept the numerous risks of working under the senior management of these evil scumbags!!
Would be interested to know if any HMRC management have ever been prosecuted for health & safety failings, bullying/violence etc or any 'public office' offence?
ReplyDeleteUntil the law is enforced criminals within HMRC will know they can act with impunity. We need prosecutions to deter HMRC criminals and protect staff from their vile behaviour.
If it's rigged just say who and where. All this is crying wolf.
ReplyDelete