Working for HMRC: hours, leave, sick pay and home working

HMRC publishes a summary of its terms and conditions for applicants. Full-time staff work 37 hours a week, start on 25 days’ annual leave rising to 30, and spend about 60% of their time in the office if the role allows home working. The terms are fixed for all employees and a hiring manager cannot waive or change them. They are a summary only, and a successful applicant receives the full contract. For pay, grade and the specific working pattern, the job advert is the authority.

Hours and shifts

All full-time employees are contracted for 37 hours a week, excluding unpaid daily breaks, whether they work in London or elsewhere. HMRC’s standard operating hours are 7am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, though the organisation operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Depending on the role, you may be asked to work overtime, shifts, or variable and unsocial hours including weekends and public or privilege holidays.

Many roles allow flexible working hours, where you choose when to start and finish within limits, provided there is enough cover. Some business areas have their own working arrangements, and the advert will say if you must be at specified locations or work a shift rota. Part-time work and special arrangements such as part-year or compressed hours are available, subject to operational and customer service needs.

Customer services have fixed rules. Employees in the Customer Services Group work to a roster that includes one weekday late shift in every week, covering the hours between 5pm and 8pm, and a maximum of six Saturdays a year. Standard hours there are 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, and nobody starts before 7:45am unless there is an agreed business need. Our HMRC customer service adviser guide describes the job itself.

Home working

Home working is not contractual. HMRC says you are expected to spend 60% of your working time in the office. If your role is suitable, that means you can work from home for two days a week averaged over a calendar month, or a proportionate amount if you work part time. Some jobs are not suitable, and the advert should say so.

Annual leave

The leave year runs from 1 September to 31 August. If you join part way through, your first entitlement is pro rata from your start date to 31 August. Full-time employees start on 25 days a year, pro rata for part-timers, and gain one day for each year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days. People who transfer from other government departments have their earlier service counted under separate rules, and HMRC publishes a transfer document.

Public and privilege leave comes on top, depending on where your office is. In England or Wales it is eight public holidays plus one privilege day, for the King’s Birthday. In Scotland it is eight plus one, for Victoria Day. In Northern Ireland it is ten public holidays plus one privilege day for the King’s Birthday. Part-timers get a pro rata share. For a wider look at civil service leave, see the guide to Civil Service annual leave and privilege days.

Sick pay

Under HMRC’s Supporting Your Attendance policy, if your absence is certified in line with the policy you get full pay for one month in your first year of service plus one month at half pay. The entitlement grows by one month at full pay and one month at half pay for each year of service, up to five months at full pay and five months at half pay from the beginning of the fifth year. Sickness absence is paid for a maximum of 10 months in any rolling four-year period. Part-time and part-year staff get a pro rata amount.

These figures are HMRC’s own, so if you are comparing jobs, check the terms of the other department too. Our guide to Civil Service sick absence and sick pay covers the management code and how sick pay sits with Statutory Sick Pay.

Other terms

New entrants to the Civil Service serve a six-month probation period in which performance, attendance, conduct and behaviour are assessed. HMRC can ask you to do other duties appropriate to your grade, and can require you to transfer permanently to any HMRC or other Civil Service post at your grade, in the UK or abroad, where it is necessary for the business. You may be asked to serve away from home for temporary periods on detached duty.

HMRC provides paid and unpaid family leave, including maternity, paternity, adoption, surrogacy, foster care, parental and parental bereavement leave. Special leave covers jury duty, domestic emergencies, bereavement, career breaks, serving in the reserves and study leave. Employees join the Civil Service Pension Scheme, and the Civil Service benefits guide gives the wider picture.

What to check before accepting a job

• The business area’s working arrangements, especially if it uses shifts or Saturday work.
• Whether the role is suitable for home working and where the office is.
• The grade and pay on the advert. We have not quoted HMRC pay scales because the pages we read do not give them.
• The transfer rules, if you are already a civil servant. HMRC’s applicant page links to a document on pay on transfer.