Robustly defending union members, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said that ‘this is totally unacceptable. If you are a manager, there is absolutely no conflict with you being a union member and being a manager’.

The union said that ‘managers are just as concerned at the low levels of pay, the attacks on pensions, and about job security, as any other member of staff; as a manager you have the same voting rights in any trade union ballot, and remember: managers are just as free to take action as any other member of the union’.

Meanwhile, the union has told members that they do not need to tell HMRC that they will not be working during the strike on Budget day at 15 March.

PCS has been made aware of at least two lines of business that have asked members to inform the department whether they intend to strike or not, including asking members to contact the department on the actual day of the strike.

PCS wants to be completely clear on this point, telling members that ‘there is no obligation on your part to contact your employer to let them know that you will be striking, either in advance or on the day itself. In fact, PCS strongly suggests that you do not contact them in this way’.

Normal practice is for staff to record the fact that you have been on strike, at the first opportunity after the strike and when you return to work. PCS recommends that strikers maintain this approach.

HMRC workers will not be paid on the strike day but the union does operate a group hardship fund to assist members who have taken industrial action and are suffering particular financial hardship.

‘It is not strike pay, and the usual amount that can be paid to successful applicants is roughly £30, to maximise our ability to help members from a limited pot of money,’ the PCS said. ‘Each application will be looked at in its own right; and we may be able to pay more, if cases merit this.’