HMRC – Compliance Caseworker Manager

Our Customer Compliance Group (CCG) plays a vital role in ensuring that compliance standards are met across multiple customer-facing areas. At the heart of this effort are our Compliance Caseworker Managers – leaders who guide specialist teams in delivering fair, effective, and customer-focused compliance work.

Discover how our Front Line Manager and Business Unit Head roles lead and oversee our caseworkers while driving strategic improvements and make a meaningful impact in compliance.

Q&A’s with a Compliance Caseworker Manager

What is your role?

My role as an Senior Officer means I have responsibility for managing teams across multiple grades to complete large volume compliance work. In my business area I have a mix of both Higher Officer Front Line Manager’s (FLM’s) and also Higher Officer Techs who I directly line manage. The FLM’s have a team of caseworkers who complete task based work for the programme we are assigned to. We work closely with stakeholders and partners across other parts of the business.

image of two colleagues sat on chairs opposite each other, chatting.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy supporting and developing my teams and the variety that my role brings. I enjoy working in a fast paced changing environment and collaborating with colleagues.

What does a day in the life look like?

The days can be varied, I have meetings with my team to provide any updates, review performance and quality. I have meetings with stakeholders and colleagues in other sites to work collaboratively together for the programme of work. Parts of my day could be undertaking HR, managing the workload across teams and any other adhoc tasks that come up.

What skills do you need to succeed in this role?

You need to be flexible and adapt to any changes that may arise, good people skills and be able to communicate and have a supportive approach with your teams. Good organisational skills are also needed and be able to prioritise workloads.

Would you recommend this job to someone thinking of applying?

I would definitely recommend this job, it is challenging and has the scope to develop your skill set.

Caroline, Senior Officer – Compliance Caseworker Manager

Compliance Caseworker Manager – A typical day

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00:01 [Text on screen: Compliance Caseworker Manager. People. Purpose. Potential.]
00:04 [Text on screen: What does a typical day look like?]
00:08 [Ben, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] No day’s the same, but there are a lot of things that happen sort of frequently. It’s a lot of case discussions, a lot of discussing how cases are progressing, making sure that caseworkers are meeting certain performance criteria, but also supporting and encouraging in how they work their cases technically and tactically, pointing them in the right direction for the right kind of support, encouraging them and discussing how to plan and carry out interventions. A lot of the work they do is off site, so they are visiting offices and it’s making sure that they have the appropriate support in doing that, that we comply with health and safety regulations and we make sure that obviously their well-being is paramount. We also have management assurance to do, which is making sure that the cases hit certain criteria and milestones are met and that work is conducted promptly and effectively.
01:15 [Sean, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] Typically I plan my day so my diary includes meetings with my team as a whole and also individual one to one meetings, plus plan specific tasks. This then allows me time for other aspects of the job, including my own development. This to me is working in a smart way as it allows me to manage and prioritise my work and also maintain a healthy work-life balance.
01:38 [Ann, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] I log on generally between 7 and 8 o’clock in the morning. I greet my fellow managers on the team chat and then send my own team a good morning GIF ready for when they log on. I then look for any messages that might have arrived from when I logged off the day before and make sure that I share any important updates with them in order for them to do the job correctly. I also then look for any case authorisations that might need to be completed, such as penalty authorisations, and then I might hold personal development conversations with individual team members or case reviews in order to ensure case progression.
02:16 [James, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] Firstly, it’s about making sure your team has the right tools to do their job and they’re fully supported. After that, it’s about making sure the flow of work goes nationally to all teams that we deliver to. After this, I get involved in working with stakeholders across the business, looking at things across improving technology efficiencies and lots of different portfolios like business continuity, which gives a lot of variety to my role.
02:46 [Text on screen: People. Purpose. Potential.]

Compliance Caseworker Manager – What makes my job so enjoyable

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00:00 [Text on screen: Compliance Caseworker Manager. People. Purpose. Potential.]
00:03 [Text on screen: What do you enjoy most about your role?]
00:08 [James, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] It's all about the variety for me, being involved in national workflow, looking after your team's well-being, but also involved in transformational projects nationally, all around AI, bringing new technology in and making efficiencies across departments.
00:27 [Ann, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] I enjoy networking with colleagues and fellow managers, from holding performance meetings through to dealing with upskilling sessions, arranging upskilling sessions and my corporate contribution every day is different and life is never mundane. Every day is busy but I enjoy the work life balance that working for a big organisation affords me and I'm able to plan and prioritise for my own needs and for that of my team. I also enjoy watching particularly our trainees develop and grow through their time with us and actually that feeling that it gives me when they actually succeed and manage to achieve their goals.
01:08 [Sean, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] Working with a great group of people both within my team and also the wider management team and business group is really enjoyable. Everyone is highly professional, helpful and ready to assist. I see myself as supporting my team, but they also support me too, particularly when addressing areas of tax technicalities. I'm also proud to be a civil servant who supports our customers in getting their tax affairs right and doing my part to bring in unpaid tax to fund our public services. To me, making a difference is so important.
01:39 [Ben, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] I think there's two things that I enjoy particularly about the job. Firstly is the interaction with my team and supporting them in the work that they do. It means that my work is quite varied and I get involved in a lot of the decisions that they make, the technical and tactical discussions about how to approach work and I'm there to encourage them and support them in doing that and also support their development as individuals. I also really enjoy the work that we do. I think the work that we do is very important. We are evasion focused. So we deal with customers who we believe are likely to, or we can find are actually committing tax evasion and I think that's really important because it levels the playing field for honest taxpayers and it protects the revenue.
02:27 [Text on screen: People. Purpose. Potential.]

Compliance Caseworker Manager – Would you recommend the job?

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00:00 [Text on screen: Compliance Caseworker Manager. People. Purpose. Potential.]
00:03 [Text on screen: Would you recommend this job?]
00:08 [Ben, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] Yes, I definitely would recommend this job to anybody that's applying. It is a really interesting role. It's very varied. No day is the same. You can find some very interesting cases that your caseworkers work and you do get to meet a lot of people within your area of business, but also the wider department. We're very much at the cutting edge of HMRC's commitment to tackling tax evasion, which I think is really, really important and that means that we often work very challenging cases in some challenging circumstances and I really enjoy that and I enjoy supporting the caseworkers in meeting those expectations and it's really good fun.
00:58 [Sean, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] If you are thinking of applying to be a compliance manager, then my advice is to go for it. It is a challenging role but ultimately a rewarding one. You'll develop your skills in tax compliance while at the same time develop your managerial abilities. This will mean that your prospects of advancement increase and I have found skills I have developed with managing myself and my team also apply in life outside of work too. So if you're looking to develop yourself with tax work and managing a great group of people then apply today.
01:27 [James, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] I would recommend this role because it's very varied. No two days are the same. There is also a lot of support from teams and managers that can help you develop. I'm currently learning Welsh, supported by HMRC and I'm also doing an accredited course on management.
01:47 [Ann, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] I enjoy working for HMRC and am proud to do so. I help people be compliant and help to contribute towards society. If you enjoy watching people succeed and working in a fast-paced environment, then this could be the job for you. As a manager I'm still learning about people and processes and tax every day. There's lots of different career pathways to follow in HMRC to develop both yourself and also your teams. The sky's the limit in HMRC.
02:19 [Text on screen: People. Purpose. Potential.]

Compliance Caseworker Manager – Required skills for the role

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00:00 [Text on screen: Compliance Caseworker Manager. People. Purpose. Potential.]
00:03 [Text on screen: What skills do you need for this role?]
00:07 [Ann, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] You need to have people skills in order to do this role well as you're going to be dealing with lots of different age groups, cultures and abilities. You need to be understanding, you need to be determined. You need to enjoy helping others and also to enjoy a challenge. Organisation skills are an absolute must. You must have the ability to multitask and to really think on your feet would be really useful. You must be able to work both independently but also to be able to foster really good working relationships as you'll be doing a lot of networking in this role and you should ideally be able to put yourself in someone else's shoes, to be empathetic at the same time to have that determination and be driven to succeed.
00:56 [James, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] For me, it's all about communication skills. My teams are based nationally, all around the country, so using different communication methods for different people to get the best results from them and making sure they feel supported. You know, we've got Teams, we've got e-mail, got a phone call, all work differently for different individuals. The other thing is about prioritisation, how you can prioritise work so that you can do project stuff, portfolio work and also juggle the many demands of being a frontline manager.
01:36 [Ben, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] Skills wise, I think interpersonal skills and excellent communication are really, really important. We often have to relay messages very quickly and concisely with encouragement. So being able to talk openly to your team and establish relationships with them and encourage them in the work that they do is really, really important. And also wider stakeholders, we engage with other areas of business, we interact with them and it's important you're able to quickly build a rapport and establish strong relationships very quickly to ensure that work is progressed. Management and organisation skills are paramount. It's important to be well organised, to organise yourself, to organise your team just so you can keep on top of it. It can be quite fast-paced, which makes it very interesting. No one case is the same. So you do see a lot of different things and you get to understand a lot of different areas of business and how things work commercially. And so quite often you're picking up things as you go along, understanding them and then putting them into the context of the work that you do and then communicating that to your team.
02:55 [Sean, Compliance Caseworker Manager, HMRC] Well, management needs planning and delivering, but it also means having empathy, understanding and kindness when helping your staff, other managers and our customers. Do not be afraid to ask for help yourself. There will always be someone who can assist you. Lastly, remember, however experienced you are, you are always learning and developing your skills. You never stand still, so being open to change is important and ultimately fulfilling.
03:21 [Text on screen: People. Purpose. Potential.]

Compliance Caseworker Manager – What’s it like to be a Business Unit Head?

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00:00 [Text on screen: Compliance Caseworker Manager. People. Purpose. Potential.]
00:03 [Text on screen: What do you enjoy most about your role?] [Peter, Business Unit Head, HMRC] I think the number one enjoyment for me in the Business Unit Head role is the variety that the job brings. It's truly a job where you can start off the day, perhaps planning how the day is going to shape at 9 o'clock in the morning and by early afternoon you find that the day has gone in a completely different direction and some pressing matter needs sorting out urgently and supersedes everything else that you plan to do. I also though, enjoy the engagement with the managers who I manage. I'm a people person, so either on teams calls or actually visiting other offices where I have teams. I like obviously the engagement with the manager, but also to meet the caseworkers on the teams who are actually doing the job and to discuss the job and how they're finding the work. It's a role where I find that I'm actually quite close to the decisions, the major decisions that have been taken in my business. I am a member of the senior leadership team and consequently I feel that I can influence the direction of the business and make a real difference both for myself but also for those in the business unit and in the wider business as well.
01:19 [Text on screen: What skills do you need for this role?] Well I find that the role requires a high degree of self-organisation to ensure that I complete all of the essential tasks on time and in the correct way, as required by my senior managers and those who work for me as well. There is some pressure involved in delivering performance targets and it's important to stay calm and focused even when things are in the business and in my business unit aren't going quite as well as I would like at any one point. I think anybody doing this role will need to be a good communicator, delivering key messages in a positive way to the business unit. You'll need to be comfortable talking to groups of managers and case workers as required and also listening as well as talking, very important to take on board obviously the opinions of others. You'll need really good people skills as you'll be engaging with senior management, obviously the managers that you manage and their teams on a regular basis and potentially dealing with some quite difficult issues within that as well and adopting your style of communication and engagement depending on who it is that you're talking to. So lots of different skills I think required there.
02:41 [Text on screen: Would you recommend this job?] So I've had two Business Unit Head roles now and each probably in total lasting between six and seven years, I guess and I can honestly say that this has probably been one of the most enjoyable roles I've had in HMRC and before that in the Inland Revenue, which probably dates me slightly as well. It's a busy role. I think you will have guessed that from what I've said previously and it offers a chance to take a lot of responsibility in terms of delivering targets and performance. So you've got a clear tangible result at the end of your week's work in terms of what you and your business unit have produced. It's a role as well where you've got the chance to be involved in strategic decisions and as I've said before, one in which you can really make a difference. So absolutely, I would recommend this role to anybody thinking of applying.
03:39 [Text on screen: People. Purpose. Potential.]