Tue, 31 Jan 2012

HMRC call centre strike goes ahead on SA deadline day – Revenue assures people there is a two-day extension

Up to 20,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union who work in HMRC call centres are striking on self-assessment deadline day today.

The strikers, who work in face to face enquiry offices, have walked out as tens of thousands of taxpayers seek advice about filing their self assessment returns.

HMRC’s homepage still states: “Self Assessment. Do it online by 31 January. Even if you owe nothing. Miss the deadline and you’ll get a £100 penalty.”

However, as reported in PW last week http://www.payrollworld.com/article/13331/magazine/self-assessment-deadline-extended-by-two-days the Revenue is continuing to reassure taxpayers that there is a two-day grace period for returns.

A spokesman said: “Strike action by HMRC staff will mean that many people who want to file their Self Assessment tax return on 31 January and try to phone us with questions they need answered to do that will not be able to get through.

“Because of this nobody who files online on 1 or 2 February this year will get a late filing penalty.”

Strikers’ concerns

The one-day walkout is in opposition to year-long call handling trials using two private sector companies, Sitel and Teleperformance, due to start next month in two enquiry centres in Cumbria and Scotland.

The PCS union, which represents around 60,000 staff in HMRC, believes the trials are unnecessary as the skills already exist in the department and set a dangerous precedent of allowing the private sector in.

The PCS says one of companies advertised posts for the trial as ‘permanent’ and at a rate of pay several thousand pounds less a year than the civil servants doing the same work are paid.

PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: “Our members in tax offices want to do a good job and provide the best possible advice and help to taxpayers, but there are fewer of them working in fewer offices as a result of misguided and damaging cuts.

“Instead of making even more cuts and throwing public money at private companies, ministers should be investing in their staff and tackling the billions in tax avoided and evaded by the super-rich.”

HMRC expects about 90,000 people will try to contact its helplines today, based on the level of calls it received last year.

See also:

• More than a million P14 records remain unmatched by HMRC
• Polish immigrant’s benefit claim exposes HMRC's own 'dirty data'
• PAC: HMRC favours big businesses over ordinary taxpayers