Payroll professionals ‘losing patience’ with HMRC helpline, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals.

The CIPP – the Chartered Institution for payroll professionals in the UK – ran the quick online poll of 210 people with some 94 per cent of respondents admitting they had ended the call before being connected to an adviser.

In addition, a further five per cent of people admitted they had been tempted to hang-up the phone during the call before speaking with anyone. Only 1 per cent said they hadn’t considered putting the phone down before being connected as part of the online poll.

Associate director of policy, research, and strategic visibility at the CIPP, Karen Thomson, said: “This is a worrying statistic as it seems to suggest that people are losing patience with the telephone service provided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). In addition, it is of grave concern especially when you consider that the alternative resource of the gov.uk website isn’t particularly helpful in its existing state either.”

The CIPP is already aware of concerns within the industry about the current telephone system amid claims that waiting times are far too long and the automated process is time-consuming for those trying to reach an advisor.

Karen added: “Whilst the call volumes were within acceptable limits by HMRC and indeed their previous annual reports shared this view, it is likely that given the problems already highlighted with the gov.uk website that people are now turning to pick up the phone instead. The CIPP’s policy team will share these findings with HMRC with a view to working together to understand what the issues are and more importantly resolve them.”

The website cipp.org.uk has more information about the CIPP.