HMRC Graduate Tax Specialist Programme 2016

Just to chime in... this 'shuffling" was mentioned at my AC as well but not in the way described above.
My understanding was locations are offered on strict merit as we have all been told and expected.
Then if rank#17 declines their place in Manchester for whatever reason they will then go down through the remaining candidates 18-280 to find the next person who had Manchester higher on their preferences list that the one they were offered. So if they discoverd rank#59 had been offered belfast but preferred Manchester they would get offered it. This would then mean they check candidates 60-280 to see who had Belfast higher and so on.... as such this creates a whole shuffling effect!!!

That makes sense. Unfortunately, it also indicates provisional offers haven't had location placement applied to them.

Unfortunately i think so too.

If this is the case, which it sounds like it is now, I find this to be quite cruel? Is that just me? To give someone a provisional offer and then it may actually turn out that if you are low enough down the list and all your choices are full, you haven't got a place at all?

I think it is the fairest way if I am honest... the cruel part I believe was not just waiting till they had locations decided before telling us we had provisionsal offers

Yeah, that exactly what I mean, I think they should have waited?

Okay, so I've clearly interpreted the whole thing wrong so if you don't mind could you explain the following scenario for me please?

Hypothetical... number #100 is in the reserve pool because none of their choices are available. They get to the end and there's a place at Cardiff. Number #100 hasn't put Cardiff, but number #220 has, and they're in the reserve. Would #100 be offered Cardiff (even though its not in their choices) before they offer to the reserves who have put Cardiff?

My understanding initially would be that this would be offered to #220 and this was the attraction of being as flexible as possible when selecting locations. As at the AC he did finish by saying once all allocations had been made there would be some vacant spots and candidates left on the reserve list who they would then call and see if they would be willing to accept one of the places (that are left but they didn't have one their list)
As I say this was my understanding and why I even put down 2nd/3rd... preferences. If i thought they would contact me anyway asking me to take a remaining spot once they reached me on the list, I would have just left it at my first preference.
Another reason to support this theory is that we have heard of no one being contacted yet... they couldnt move past #100 if they only had one preference that was full without moving them to the reserve list

I hope that's not the case!! eek!

On the Facebook I'm sure I've read somewhere that we are not guaranteed one of our choices.. which suggests those with provisional offers are going to be offered whatever is left at the end of the placement event. Which matches with what's been said today....
And therefore I would assume that they would allocate from top down as best they can, and then those towards the end of the list who are in the top 200 (but whose choices are all taken) would be offered what's left before they go into the reserves who aren't in the top 200?

Imagine you're number 50 in the list, and you've only put 1 choice and it's full, but at the end of the placement event there's a place free somewhere else, it seems unfair that it could be offered to someone maybe 200 places further down the list (who has chosen this location) and you wouldn't get offered it because it's not in your choices? If it works like this, what would be the advantage of being in the Top 200?

For those asking about CTA - completing the course gives you some exemptions. If you look at the entry requirements for CTA I believe you need to either be a chartered accountant, qualified solicitor of have completed an internal HMRC course to a sufficient level before they will let you join.

TB

Good point NJ... maybe they stop at #200 and try and fill the places remaining before entering into reserve list

I would think (and hope) that would be the plan, because otherwise there would be no advantage to the Top 200 and they will have made all of us provisional offers which could well just be void and I don't think they can really do that?

So I'm hoping that is what they'll do... allocate as best they can and everyone who can't have their choices goes into a separate "top 200's reserve list" and those people are offered the places that are left.

Then.... people accept or reject and it goes onto the shuffling thing that you described very well up above.

Fingers crossed anyway! I hope you get somewhere on your list! Where have you chosen? I've put Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff, and Edinburgh.

I've been told before you can't take leave during certain parts of the year when you're on the TSP - does anyone know what times of the year this is exactly?