Compliance Caseworker (453R) at HMRC

Compliance Caseworker (453R) at HMRC Job summary – Discover a career in your hands at HMRC.  Whether you’re seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it’s really like to work at HMRC.

Salary details

£29,475 – £31,536 (National)
£34,093 – £36,461 (London)

Location

Belfast Regional Centre (BT1 4GF), Bristol Regional Centre (BS2 0EL), Cardiff Regional Centre (CF10 1EP), Croydon Regional Centre (CR0 2WF), East Kilbride (G79 1AA), Edinburgh Regional Centre (EH8 8FT), Glasgow Regional Centre (G2 8HS), Ipswich (IP1 2AN), Liverpool Regional Centre (L2 0RD), Manchester Regional Centre (M3 5FS), Newcastle (NE98 1ZZ), Nottingham Government Hub (NG2 1AW), Portsmouth (PO6 3XA)

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Are you looking for a job that offers you genuine long term career progression? Do you want a job where every day feels different? Have you got an eye for detail and the ability to tailor information to different audiences? If so then a career as a Compliance Caseworker could be what you’re looking for! HMRC is the UK’s Tax Authority, it’s our job to make it easy for customers to get tax right, and hard for anyone to bend or break the rules. The Customer Compliance Group (CCG) is key to this, helping people and businesses pay the right amount of tax and acting when there is a risk of that not happening. The money we collect in tax pays for our public services and helps to fund things like schools and hospitals, build roads and public buildings, and support communities. HMRC operates out of a number of regional centres where we provide safe, modern and inclusive workspaces that promote good collaboration, smarter working and a culture where everyone feels valued. New flexible environments and improved technology support all of us to work differently, in a smarter way.

The locations where we are recruiting people to train as Compliance Caseworkers are shown above and you will be asked to select your preferred location at the end of your application. Please ensure that you select from the menu as we aren’t able to consider any free text responses.

Job description

HMRC is seeking talented people to train as Compliance Caseworkers and be part of our dedicated team. In this crucial role, you will play a vital part in ensuring the integrity of the UK tax system by investigating potential cases of non-compliance. Your analytical skills, coupled with strong verbal and written communication abilities, will be instrumental in conducting thorough reviews of evidence and presenting findings effectively.

As a Compliance Caseworker, you will be responsible for reviewing financial records, identifying discrepancies, and working closely with taxpayers to resolve issues. Your numerical skills will be essential in interpreting complex data and making informed decisions. This challenging yet rewarding position offers the opportunity to contribute to HMRC’s mission of collecting the revenue due while fostering a fair and efficient tax system. 

As a Compliance Caseworker, your role is critical to HMRC and you’re responsible for ensuring adherence to tax regulations and identifying potential instances of non-compliance. This position requires a keen eye for detail, exceptional analytical skills, understanding of the relevant tax law, and the ability to communicate complex information effectively. You will work closely with taxpayers, investigating cases, gathering evidence, and facilitating resolutions in a fair and impartial manner. 

Once you’ve completed your training you will be assigned to one of our tax specialisms and, although there are differences, the core responsibilities of each role include:  

• Reviewing financial records, tax returns, and other relevant documents to identify potential discrepancies or areas of concern, applying your understanding of tax legislation to financial transactions.
• Conducting thorough investigations into suspected cases of non-compliance, gathering evidence and analysing data to determine the appropriate course of action.
• Liaising with taxpayers, their representatives, and other stakeholders to gather information, clarify issues, and facilitate resolutions.
• Resolving disputes effectively and in a way that is lawful and aligns with HMRC’s Customer Charter and Compliance Professional Standards
• Preparing comprehensive reports detailing findings, recommendations, and supporting evidence.
• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date case files, ensuring you adhere to HMRC policies and procedures.
• Collaborating with colleagues and cross-functional teams to ensure consistent application of tax regulations and best practices.
• Participating in ongoing training and professional development initiatives to stay current with changes in tax laws and compliance procedures.

This role is varied and includes a mix of desk-based investigation and visits to taxpayers’ premises. This could include offices, warehouses, pubs, banks, licensed gambling premises or anywhere a business operates from. You might need to stay away overnight in some cases. 

Working arrangements

At HMRC we operate on a hybrid working model. This means you can work from home up to 40% of your time. You are expected to attend a HMRC office location for your remaining time. In HMRC we calculate working time in days and not exact hours and minutes.

Our Compliance Caseworkers operate between the hours of 7am – 8pm Monday – Saturday and you’ll work up to 37 hours each week within our opening hours.

Training

Successful candidates will need to complete the HMRC Civil Compliance Foundation Learning (CCFL) to be an established Compliance Caseworker. This is a demanding but rewarding learning programme that will provide you with the essential knowledge, skills and experience to be an effective Compliance Caseworker. Trainees will be appointed to a cohort group who will all start on the same day. The training programme is 18-months in total.  

• The first 3-months (12 weeks) are completed as a cohort group in the Central Training Unit (CTU) to complete your induction and provide you with an introduction to the Compliance Caseworker role. As you will be operating as a training group you will be required to work full-time for those first 12-weeks of the programme, across a hybrid working week with at least 60% of your time in the office.
• After the induction stage you will remain in the CTU for a further 6-months to complete stage 2 of your training developing, building, and practicing the core requirements for being a Compliance Caseworker.
• When you have successfully completed stage 1 and stage 2 of your training, you will then be assigned to a business area and spend the remaining 9 months of your training working on a specific tax regime further developing your technical skills and knowledge.

Working arrangements during training  

This is a demanding training programme and, to provide the best possible opportunity for you to succeed, working arrangements are fixed for certain stages as below:

• We can only offer one cohort start date and all trainees must be available to commence on that date. Trainees unavailable for the cohort start date will be offered a place on the next cohort.
• Trainees must complete the first 2-weeks training so annual leave will not normally be allowed in that time.
• Training will be full-time for the first 12-weeks.
• After 12 weeks, part-time working (minimum 22 hours per week) and alternative working patterns may be available upon request. Course timescales will be extended as appropriate to accommodate part-time working.
• Learning activities are scheduled throughout your training journey that are fixed and trainees must attend.
• We expect trainees to commit to complete the programme so we will not normally authorise applications for alternative internal posts during training.
• This is a 3-stage training programme, and we expect trainees to complete all elements of stages 1 and 2 of the programme in 9 months to successfully meet the standard required to progress to stage 3.
• Trainees will be provided with the knowledge, skills, and support throughout the training to enable you to meet the required standard within 18-months. In exceptional circumstances, this may be extended up to a maximum time of 30 months to enable you to demonstrate you meet the standard. We will support you to reach the required standard of the training programme, however, should you fail to reach that standard, we will use existing standard policies for managing poor performance, where required, that may result in you leaving the programme.

If you want to know more

You can find out more about the role of a Compliance Caseworker on our Civil Service Careers website – The role of a Compliance Caseworker | Civil Service Careers

Person specification

You’ll need to be able to demonstrate:   

• Analytical skills.
• Verbal and written communication skills.
• Numerical skills.

Offered benefits

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments.  We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs. 

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days. 

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it’s really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders.  

Selection process details

To help you prepare, below is a rundown of what to expect during the selection process:

•Full Application form

•Caseworker Skills Test

•Civil Service Numerical Test

•Civil Service Situational Judgement Test

•Pre-recorded video interview

•Virtual In-tray assessment 

We acknowledge that AI can assist you in your application. Find our guidelines here.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: compliancegrouprecruitmentqueries@hmrc.gov.uk Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – 412811 Compliance Caseworker & vacancy closing date 30/06/25’.

Online tests

After submission of your full application you will be invited to complete a number of tests. Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 1st July 2025. The closing times for the online tests will be staggered as follows:

11:00 on 1st July 2025 for Casework Skills Test.

13:00 on 1st July 2025 for Numerical Test.

15:00 on 1st July 2025 for Situational Judgement Test.

You must complete your application form before 14:00 on 30 June 2025 to receive invites to the online tests. 

If you fail to complete the online tests before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website. You can find out more information about the tests and how to practise here.

Please ensure that any technical issues with the tests are reported – with supporting evidence – prior to 08.00 on 1st July 2025. There will be no extension to the deadline for completing the test.

Please also be advised that online tests may only be one element of the application process.  You should ensure you set aside plenty of time to undertake the full application process for this role.  Late applications will not be accepted.

Notice: Online Tests Unavailability  – Saturday, 28th June 2025 (00:00 to 23:55)

Please be aware that the online tests will be unavailable on Saturday, 28th June (00:00 to 23:59) due to scheduled maintenance by Civil Service Jobs. We kindly ask that you do not attempt to complete any tests on this date, as doing so will impact your application.

Only if you successfully pass the tests, you will later be invited to complete a video interview.

Interview

The interview will be conducted as a pre-recorded video interview. If you are invited to participate, you will receive a detailed guidance pack containing all the information you need to prepare.

The interview will focus on assessing your skills and experience relevant to the role. Civil Service Behaviours will not be assessed as part of this process

If a high number of applications are received we will implement an interview approach whereby if you fail to achieve the minimum standard on any of the questions, the assessors will not mark the remainder of the interview.  If your responses consistently demonstrate the required level in these areas, we will continue with a full evaluation.

We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.

In-Tray Assessment 

If you successfully pass your interview, you will then be invited to complete a virtual In-tray assessment at a later date. Details regarding assessment will be sent to candidates who pass their interview. 

In this assessment you will be given a scenario similar to the type of work you would be undertaking in the role as a caseworker, but don’t worry, you don’t need to know about tax! Candidates will be invited to book a 1 hour slot via Civil Service jobs for their assessment which will be submitted online.

Please note, you must pass both the interview and the following In-tray assessment to meet the criteria for this post.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles – if this applies to you, we’ll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account. Offers from the reserve list will be made in strict merit order.

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process.  To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact the UBS Recruitment Team via compliancegrouprecruitmentqueries@hmrc.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.  For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:

Please note that this role is unsuitable for contractual homeworkers due to the nature and/or requirements of the role.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required.  Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK.  For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles.  The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process. 

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD).  This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences.  This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued.  Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.