Senior HMRC staff have decided to go on strike on 14 February 2014 in protest of a new performance management system demanding fixed quotas which will compel 10% of staff into the lowermost category regardless of performance, the Association of Revenue and Customs (ARC) has announced.
In addition, ARC - which is a section of public servants' union, First Division Association, and representative of senior staff including tax inspectors, accountants, lawyers, managers and other leading professionals - are protesting over new terms and conditions which will give poorer deals to those staff who are promoted.
ARC recently balloted members on taking action over the new system, resulting a turnout of 48%, with nearly 60% voting for strike action and 78% voting for action short of strike such as work to rule.
The dispute is understood to concern HMRC's introduction of a reform plan and a requirement to review terms and conditions, effective for the current appraisal year, which began in April 2013.
ARC president Gareth Hills said that members - who are a grade 7 and above at HMRC - have been asked to strike in pursuit of some basic principles, such as reducing bureaucracy so HMRC senior staff can do their jobs and obtain fair performance appraisals which would be a fair deal for professionals.
'Our members are not faceless bureaucrats, but real people striving every day to serve the government and the public. The work they do builds schools, hospitals, libraries and playgrounds. It's work that funds the social fabric of the UK and delivers for the nation. They deserve a fair performance system, one which allows them to do their job free from the tangle of bureaucracy,' Hills said.
An HMRC spokesman confirmed that ARC informed it of two days of strike action, beginning with a 'work to rule' day on 13 February and full strike plans for 14 February.
In a statement, HMRC said: 'We are determined to improve our service delivery under the wider Civil Service Reform package. Assessing the performance of staff through a fair and reasonable performance appraisal system is a key part of these reforms. We remain committed to resolving disputes through dialogue and we will do everything possible to ensure services to the public are not affected by industrial action by a small minority of our workforce.'
