The HMRC, which has been facing a backlog of unanswered letters for over a year, has recently established a special taskforce to address this issue. This backlog consists of more than 37,000 pieces of correspondence that have been left untouched for at least 10 months, as reported by this newspaper last month.
Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Committee, has expressed her concern regarding the rise of remote working at HMRC. She emphasized the importance of putting the needs of taxpayers at the forefront and stated her intention to question the tax office about the potential side effects of working from home on taxpayers.
Baldwin said, “It is crucial that any changes in how services are carried out undergo thorough scrutiny.”
HMRC implemented its flexible working policy in the summer of 2021, allowing employees to work remotely for a minimum of two days per week.
Chris Etherington, an accountant from RSM, has criticized the declining quality of customer service at HMRC, attributing it to the perceived failure of the flexible working policy. However, HMRC has repeatedly denied this claim.
Etherington stated, “While flexible working may benefit the staff, it is not benefiting the taxpayers.
“Before the pandemic, HMRC was not fully adapted to a digital work environment, and although they are making efforts to resolve this, it is evident that they have not yet succeeded.”
Additionally, the proportion of HMRC staff working at the headquarters in Westminster is decreasing. Official data indicates that in the week commencing July 31, only 39% of staff worked from this office, compared to 46% three weeks prior.
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