R&C/BB/315&317/11

APPLYING FOR VACANCIES IN HMRC
&
GUIDANCE ON WRITING COMPETENCY STATEMENTS

Simon Boniface - Deputy Group Secretary
Margi Rathbone - Assistant Group Secretary

BB 315 - Applying
for Vacancies

Background

We currently expect that HMRC will advertise a significant number of vacancies in enforcement and compliance (E&C) work areas in the next week. A further circular dealing specifically with that exercise will follow at that time.

As part of their considerations for this exercise HMRC have decided that no member of staff applying for these vacancies will be allowed more than one hour of official time, in total, to both complete their profile on the new civil service resourcing site and to complete their application. They are saying that any other time used will have to be your own time.

 

PCS response

We were first told of this at the end of last week and sought to dissuade HMRC from this course of action. They didn’t consult us over this action and our agreement was never sought though they did enable us to make representations. Unfortunately not only have HMRC not been dissuaded but some of them have already communicated this approach to their staff.

We believe that this approach demonstrates quite clearly exactly why HMRC has the lowest employee engagement scores in the civil service. The one piece of really good news that they have (the vacancies in E&C) and they manage to sour it by making the act of applying more burdensome than it ever needed to be.

We are particularly concerned that some of our members are disadvantaged by this decision:

  • Members who work part time and have few hours in the office anyway.

  • All members who have significant domestic and care responsibilities to go home to and simply don’t have much time outside of work to concentrate on a job application.

  • Members who do not have access to IT outside the workplace. Especially those members who cannot afford a computer or computer access at home.

  • Members who need additional time to complete both actions on the computer as a reasonable adjustment.

We are concerned that this unnecessarily restrictive approach to applying for these vacancies will put some members off or cause stress and angst for individuals applying that need not have been created. We also fear that there could be complaints and grievances arising from this constraint.

 

Conclusion

It has been a few years since many of us last had any vacancies to apply for and a bit of support and assistance would have been welcomed and, perhaps, also expected from a considerate employer. This is particularly true given that the system has only just changed.

We have in the past explained to senior management in HMRC that it is not just what they say but their actions that determine what their staff think of them and their leadership. This action does not reflect well on them or the department and while it is not an office closure, a job cut or a pay freeze, it appears unnecessarily mean spirited and many staff may think worse of their leaders as a consequence

 

BB 317 - Guidance on Writing Competency Statements

Members will have seen the briefing BB/315/11 from Workforce Change negotiating team, expressing PCS severe disappointment regarding the management decision to restrict time to complete applications for upcoming vacancies to 1 hour or Departmental time. It appears that the decision to minimise the time staff have available to complete their application has been made at the highest level and therefore it will be applied to all Directorates. It is our belief that to minimise the help support and time given to staff is a short sighted view that will disadvantage many people and as a result will not give equality of opportunity to the widest number of people.

This arbitrary management decision, taken without recourse to the DTUS will come as a blow to all of our members across the Department. Very few people have had the opportunity to complete CVs as there has been so little movement due to the last five years of job cuts and office closures, so it stands to reason that everyone will need as much time, advice and support as possible to write an application that will get through to the top of any sift. We have been pressing these points with the Official Side to ensure that staff get as much help support and guidance as possible to give themselves the best possible chance of success when posts are advertised. There have been some help offered such as CV writing courses, but we imagine that these will be massively oversubscribed due to the sheer weight of numbers needing them and most people will not get on a course.

What can we do to help?

PCS have already drawn attention to the need to register on the Civil Service website (BB/303 refers). We would also draw our member’s attention to another piece of helpful material that has been published in the Department of Work and Pensions. The document is entitled Guidance on writing competency statements for a job application and although it is not a HMRC document, it contains some very useful advice in how to complete a competency based application. Here is the link to the document.

DWP competency guidance

I sincerely hope that the advice in this document will at least help individuals to complete a quality application.