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With reports that one fifth of staff could leave HMRC, there are concerns that small businesses may suffer from a reduced quality of service.
Bloomsbury Professional, a tax and accounting information group, says that HMRC is coming under increasing pressure to deliver higher yields from its compliance work, while still operating under extremely tight budget constraints, which appears to be affecting staff satisfaction.
Satisfaction
Overall staff satisfaction fell to just 43 per cent, a two per cent drop from last year, and 45 per cent of staff now feel overworked – up by 10 per cent from last year, highlighting the potential for an under-par service from an increasingly overstretched and disillusioned staff.
Martin Casimir, Managing Director of Bloomsbury Professional, said: “Despite budget cuts, HMRC has regularly managed to increase its revenue from tax investigations over the past few years. 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.
“More funding for the Revenue would help to improve staff satisfaction and also help the organisation to become more effective, increasing revenue from compliance work.”
Staff turnover
Bloomsbury Professional adds that high turnover of staff could soon become a problem, with a growing proportion of HMRC staff saying they want to leave the organisation as soon as possible. Twenty-two per cent of staff say they plan to leave HMRC within the next 12 months or sooner, a five per cent increase on last year.
Martin Casimir said: “One fifth of the work force wanting to leave over the next 12 months is a clear sign that HMRC needs to address mounting staff dissatisfaction.
“Pay levels need to be adequate to motivate staff to be effective in their role. If the Revenue is unable to make salaries more competitive it risks losing top talent to other organisations that can offer more. Of course it cannot make salaries more competitive without an increased budget.”
Effectiveness
HMRC staff are also concerned about the organisation and management’s effectiveness. Bloomsbury Professional said that it is another potential worry for taxpayers if the staff do not feel well equipped to do their jobs; and nearly half of HMRC staff admitted they do not feel they have the tools necessary to do their job effectively.
Leadership is another serious concern for HMRC staff. Three quarters of staff think that HMRC is not well managed and four fifths do not have confidence in the decisions made by their manager.
Martin Casimir said: “HMRC is trying to achieve a lot in a short space of time; it is using new and increasingly aggressive methods, and it seems that many staff are worried about whether the organisation has the right leadership and resources to deliver the right results for the taxpayer.
"It may be time for HMRC to catch its breath and make sure it is getting the basics right, but without extra resources it will be unable to address these issues.”
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2015
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