The UK tax authority has faced a wave of misconduct related to data security, with 354 employees disciplined for breaches between 2022 and 2025, resulting in the dismissal of 186 individuals. The past year alone saw 50 employees terminated, raising concerns about the handling of sensitive taxpayer information. Some incidents, like sending personal data to private email accounts, reflect a troubling trend attributed to increased home working post-pandemic. Despite representing 0.1% of HMRC's workforce, these breaches could erode public trust in the authority's commitment to safeguarding taxpayer information.
Between 2022 and 2025, a total of 354 staff at HMRC were disciplined for data security breaches, with 186 employees dismissed for such incidents.
In the past year alone, 50 employees were removed from their positions at HMRC, highlighting an increasing trend of unauthorized access to taxpayer records.
Cases of misconduct included serious breaches, such as an employee emailing himself a file with detailed personal information of 100 individuals for personal printing purposes.
Managers noted that the rise in data breaches coincided with increased home working since the pandemic, where employees blurred the lines between personal and official data.
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