Both the Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have well-established processes for dealing with staff disciplinary investigations, and both Departments work from the presumption that the conduct of an investigation, and any suspension from duty applied, does not imply that any wrongdoing or disciplinary conduct has taken place. Both have a policy to maintain staff on full pay while suspended unless there are compelling reasons to suspend without pay.
As a smaller Department, it is not the Treasury’s practice to comment on investigations, including whether or not a suspension has been applied, as to do so might compromise the outcome of current or future investigations.
Currently 22 HMRC staff are suspended, eight of those have been suspended for up to three months, three for three to six months, seven for seven to 12 months, two for 17 months, one for 25 months and one for 26 months. These suspensions have been applied because staff are under police investigation for matters in their private lives, because they are under criminal investigation by HMRC’s internal investigators, or because they are under investigation for potentially serious disciplinary offences.
Both Departments keep their disciplinary policies under review.