Revenue and Customs: Pay
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of compensation for HMRC staff due to the late award of the Flexibility Payment.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson
HMRC has considered the appropriateness and potential merits of compensation and reflected on the factors set out below:
- The new Flexibility rates required complex payroll system design, build and testing to ensure the 3,000 eligible staff would be paid correctly for their various working patterns.
- Throughout the relevant period between June 2025 – November 2025, HMRC frequently updated staff and Departmental Trade Union representatives on progress and timings.
- For clarity, the late award of the Flexibility Payment, refers to the new June 2025 rates. As standard practice, staff had continued to receive the pre-2025 Flexibility Payment rates to ensure they received their regular income.
- Staff received the new June 2025 Flexibility Payment rates in December 2025, which included backdated arrears. The arrears reflected the difference between the new June 2025 rate, and the pre-June 2025 rate that individuals had continued to receive between June 2025 – November 2025.
HMRC is acutely aware of its additional role as the UK Tax Authority to ensure that public funds are managed with propriety, regularity, and value for money.
On conclusion of the assessment, HMRC does not believe that the delayed payment of the 2025 Flexibility Payment rates, while staff continued to be paid the former rates are sufficiently exceptional, sustained, or significant to require compensation.
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