Led by partner Lee Muter, UNW's award-winning Employment Taxes Team delivers comprehensive advice and support on all aspects of Employment Tax, from both a compliance and advisory perspective.
Following growing demand from clients, UNW has invested significantly in its specialist Employment Tax offering in recent years with the appointments of Paul Tucker, David Paul, and Parm Bhachoo as Senior Employment Taxes Specialists, and with the creation and subsequent expansion of its one-of-a-kind Employment Tax Graduate Programme which has seen Becky Hood, Leah Harrison, and Louisa Edwardson join the department.
Becky, Leah, and Louisa recently took the time to reflect on their separate journeys to UNW, their experiences of balancing work and study, and how they’ve found life at the firm so far.
Could you tell us a little bit about your backgrounds and what led you to UNW?
Becky: I’ve always been interested in maths and stats, and with a family background in banking and accountancy, I decided to study Accounting and Finance at Newcastle University. I had previously done a bit of work experience with my sister, and that piqued my interest in what she was doing – which, at the time, was a bit of payroll, a bit of audit, a bit of everything, really! In my final year at Newcastle, I completed a module in Tax, and it ended up being the highest mark of my degree. I really enjoyed it and found the lectures very interesting, and it was very much in my mind as I started looking for jobs.
That’s when I came across UNW. Unlike other firms, UNW offered me an in-person interview, and as soon as I met Lee, I knew this was the place I wanted to start my career. The interview didn’t feel daunting at all, and he asked about my personal interests and hobbies. As the questions weren’t all work-related, I could imagine how I would be treated and feel at the firm – valued and appreciated and not just a cog in a wheel.
Louisa: I’m originally from Sheffield and have always loved maths. I came up to study Mathematics at Newcastle University during Covid, which was rather intense! After my undergraduate degree, I began a Master’s degree in Computer Game Engineering but decided that it wasn’t really for me. I then tried a bit of teaching but again, it didn’t feel right. So I went back to university, this time Northumbria University, and completed a Master’s in Mathematics, which I really loved.
Once it ended, I began to look for a graduate role and applied for a range of things. But like Becky’s experience, most of the application processes were exclusively online. Because of that, it was difficult to get a feel for the companies or a real understanding of the roles. So, when I came to the interview for UNW, not only was it refreshing that it was in-person, but I also really liked that the task I was asked to do was actually relevant to what I was applying for. I would also say that meeting the team at the interview made me really keen to work at UNW. Everyone was so welcoming, and it was reassuring to know that both Becky and Leah had been through the same process as me.
Leah: I stayed at home for university and completed a degree in English at Teesside with the intention of being a teacher at the end of it. After a placement in a school, I decided that it really wasn’t for me! Reflecting on things, I thought, “What’s the opposite of being an English teacher?” and decided, “Let’s try maths!”.
I did some research, looked at some firms, and found the Employment Taxes Graduate Programme advertised on UNW’s website. As I hadn’t taken maths beyond school, I wanted to find somewhere that would support me all the way through studying and hopefully give me the ability to train with other people of a similar age, and that’s exactly what UNW offered. To be fair, I did also like maths at school! But for this role, you need a bit of everything – you liaise with clients, problem-solve, and you do write a lot, so my background in English is pretty useful now!
Employment Taxes is a niche field. What was it specifically that appealed to you about it?
Becky: What drew me to Employment Tax was the combination of working with accounts while also delving into more exploratory and research-focused tasks, rather than just focusing on numbers. And as I’m quite a chatty person, I wanted the work to be more client-based. Most people’s idea of accountants is of them sitting in offices and not being client-facing, but that is not the case with Employment Taxes. At UNW, everyone is encouraged to build strong relationships with clients, and if you are happy to specialise in something, you gain expert technical knowledge while developing those relationships simultaneously.
Leah: Researching the role ahead of applying, it quickly became apparent to me that Employment Tax advice seemed like a service really in demand. It was encouraging to know that if I was to go on to specialise in it, my expertise would be needed. And although it is a niche area of tax, you don’t feel like you miss out on broader issues because we still cover everything in the training and exams.
Louisa: I’ll be honest, before coming to the interview, I didn’t really know what Employment Tax was! But during the interview, we were given a fictional clothing company, and we had to work out if there were any taxable benefits given to the employees – this was so helpful for me to understand what the job would entail and made me excited to work in such a niche field. Since then, I have come to understand the importance of Employment Tax! As Leah said, it’s a service in demand and honestly, no two days are the same.
What is it like training, studying, and working at the same time?
Becky: It’s difficult, I won’t lie, haha! But if you can get your head down and get the work-life balance right, you’ll be fine! It’s a very supportive culture here. When I’m training or revising for an exam, I like to come into the office at the weekend or stay later during the week. A lot of people in other departments have exams at the same time and are doing the same thing, so you feel like you are all in it together. Even though you might be doing different exams, everyone checks in with each other and supports each other through it.
We also get days off to revise, and Lee is very happy for us to book a room in the office to study rather than staying at home. That’s very helpful for people, especially around our age, who might not necessarily have a completely private space of our own to revise in.
Louisa: When I joined the firm, I was nervous about having a full-time job and revising at the same time. However, from the first day here, you have people around you who have gone or are going through the same thing as you and you have access to more senior members of the team like Lee, Paul, David, and Parm.
The learning opportunities that it brings you are amazing – but you can also speak with clients from day one, and that’s not something I thought I would be doing. I think it was only my fourth week when Lee and I went to deliver some training for a client in Warrington. It was nerve-wracking because I didn’t imagine myself doing it, but it was also exhilarating. It builds your confidence having people around you who know their stuff and can back you up.
Leah: Coming in without any experience and not knowing what was expected of me was a little unnerving but, having it all planned out for you at the beginning and being able to visualise your path as a result is rather helpful! I know that I’ll be 24 when I finish, which is still pretty young, to be fair!
Could you take us through a typical day in Employment Taxes at UNW?
Becky: My day starts with a cursory look through my emails. I will usually find client queries either directly from the client or delegated from Lee, David, Parm, or Paul. If they are small, quick queries, I’ll have a look at them myself and do some research, usually by checking the HMRC manuals. Sometimes I get a trickier question, and I might have to speak to someone in the team with more experience – not everything can be looked up in the manuals, unfortunately!
Quite a lot of the time, you have to call HMRC and wait on the hotline. They don’t necessarily always know the answers straight away, so you’ve got to ring around and contact a few people. Those queries involve a lot of problem solving, knowing who to call and how to get the answers, while chasing regularly and battling deadlines. It can take up to a year to receive an answer, so quite a lot of time is spent going between the client and HMRC just to make sure things are getting processed accurately and as quickly as possible. It keeps you on your toes!
Leah: Day to day, I do a lot of work on disclosures with HMRC. We might have a call with the client, they’ll tell us their problem, and then I look at all the information and work through it. With my background in English, we’ve worked out my niche – I’m better at the training elements of the role and explaining complexities to other people, so I’m constantly looking for webinars to show the rest of the team new things as well as compiling and drafting all the information necessary for presenting to clients.
But we are always working together. It’s rare that Lee, Paul, David, or Parm will give one of us the same query – they make sure they mix it up. That’s really good because if I get something I’ve never seen before, Becky or Louisa may have already been through it or have seen something on it and I can ask them for an opinion. We can put our brains together to find a solution.
Lousia: I’ve learnt quickly that Employment Taxes is a very reactive space to be in, but it makes for a highly collaborative team. In my first team meeting, I had no idea about what everyone was talking about (all the abbreviations, for example!), but very quickly, you get up to speed because you are talking about the topics all the time. And because we are sat next to each other in the office, you never really have to wait for something to be explained to you or to get assistance with something.
We are always afforded the time to go off and find an answer to a query and encouraged to explain it back – this helps your confidence enormously when a senior member of the team asks for your opinion on something we are working on together.
Do you have any particular highlights from your time so far?
Becky: I’d have to say that it was when I was asked to present a Construction Industry Scheme training session at Alnwick Castle. It was in a great, big hall, and there were more people in attendance than we had thought. I was definitely out of my comfort zone at first, but it was a great experience, and everyone seemed really engaged. Once the session had finished, people from the audience started to approach me with questions, and I thought, “I must seem like I know what I’m talking about!”.
Louisa: For me, it’s definitely the client training workshops. It’s great that you get to meet clients face to face, and it makes you feel like you are doing something important and making a difference. When I started doing the workshops, Lee encouraged me to get involved as much or as little as I felt comfortable with. But I got stuck in, and that really helped me grow. Afterwards, I was so glad that I had done it. At UNW, I feel like you are pushed out of your comfort zone but in a really comfortable way, if that makes sense!
Leah: It has to be the training sessions for me as well. We’ve just recently gone back for a second time in quick succession to deliver some training for a client, and someone in the audience asked me a question when it was my turn to present. I replied, and then we started to interact. I thought, “This didn’t happen last time, so I must be getting better!”. The seminars are also a big part of what we do. I think I’d only been here five months or so before I was on stage acting in a Scooby Doo-themed Employment Tax seminar! We are thrown into things but in the right way.
And finally, what’s the culture like at UNW?
Leah: I think it’s the perfect transition from university to a full-time career. I had feared what it would be like to head straight into a 9-to-5 – that I would be sat on my own in silence – but because of the way we work together and how much is going on here, like the socials, sports teams, et cetera, it’s nothing like that. I moved away from home for work and didn’t know a soul, so this place is perfect – just what I needed!
Louisa: Everyone knows it’s a big adjustment going from university to job life, but at UNW, there are so many things going on socially for you to get involved in that you settle quickly. My second day at the firm was the annual Away Day – I didn’t know anyone, but it was so much fun and the perfect start to help me get my bearings. When I talk to my friends or family, they say it sounds like a great place to work not only due to the social aspect but because there’s a real desire for the firm to get your feedback on your experiences and adjust.
Becky: I feel like I’m more social now than I ever was at university! Like Leah and Louisa said, there’s just so much to get involved in – recently, I’ve taken part in netball, badminton, a ‘Paint and Sip’ session, and personal training classes. When I talk to my family about it, they always say, “I want to work where you work!”. Coming in as a graduate, you might not realise just how good it is here until you hear others say, “We don’t get that, why do you?”. It really makes you appreciate the culture. UNW genuinely prioritises its people, and that focus isn’t just talk – it’s something you feel every day.
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