Revenue & Customs: Tax workers protest over cut in office hours

The Public and Commercial Services union said 58 tax enquiry centres across the UK are having their hours cut, some to just one or two days a week.

The union claimed the cuts coincided with errors with tax codes sent out for the new tax year because of problems with a new computer system.

"Many customers were unable to get through on the telephone because of the high volume of callers and visited their local tax enquiry centre only to find it closed," said a union spokesman.

The PCS claimed that Revenue and Customs is planning to cut hours in another 117 tax enquiry centres. Since 2006, HMRC has cut about 20,000 staff, with a further 5,000 planned to go by March 2011, and more than 200 tax offices have either closed, are due to close or are under threat, the union said.