HMRC staff take 500,000 sick days a year as millions of taxpayer calls go unanswered

"Staff at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have taken more than half a million sick days in each of the past three years, fuelling concerns over productivity and taxpayer service levels. A Freedom of Information request revealed that HMRC employees were absent for 551,064 days between August 2024 and July 2025. This was down slightly from 565,244 the year before, but still higher than the 540,052 recorded between August 2022 and July 2023."

"Last week, Jonathan Athow, the tax office's director general of customer strategy and tax design, admitted to MPs that up to four million calls go unanswered every year. Athow made the admission under questioning from Labour MP Liam Byrne, who highlighted that £46.8 billion in tax remains owed but uncollected. Asked how many calls are not being picked up, Athow replied: "Off the top of my head, we're talking three, maybe three or four million calls potentially.""

HM Revenue and Customs recorded over half a million sick days in each of the past three years, totaling 1.6 million lost workdays. A workforce of around 65,000 equates to roughly eight sick days per employee annually. Across the wider civil service, more than four million working days are lost each year, with absence rates rising over 10% in some departments. Up to four million calls to the tax office go unanswered annually, and £46.8 billion in tax remains owed but uncollected. Business groups and opposition politicians say high sickness and missed calls are damaging productivity and taxpayer service.

Read at Business Matters