Pupillage Vacancy Information
About Authorised Education and Training Organisation
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is the UK’s tax and customs authority, responsible for making sure that the money is available to fund the UK’s public services and for helping families and individuals with targeted financial support. It is responsible for the administration and collection of taxes and duties in the UK.
HMRC Solicitor’s Office and Legal Services (SOLS) is an integral part of HMRC, providing legal services to the whole department. We advise on legal issues arising from HMRC’s policy and operational work and conduct the Department’s litigation.
We provide advice on the interpretation and application of legislation and guidance on the full range of HMRC work including advising Treasury ministers on tax law. We work closely with Treasury and HMRC colleagues in developing policy and on proposals for the Budget. We also implement policy through primary and secondary legislation, principally the annual Finance Bill.
We conduct litigation in the most significant and valuable cases for HMRC, protecting billions of pounds for the exchequer each year. Our caseload regularly takes us to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
Structure of Pupillage
SOLS is offering two pupil barrister positions to start in early September 2027.
The training period will last two-years in total. The pupillage period (first 12 months) is likely to comprise of a six-month (non-practising) training seat in the SOLS and a six-month (practising) seat in a set of external barristers’ chambers. The Professional Statement describes the knowledge, skills and attributes that you will need to develop and apply during the pupillage period in order to qualify as a barrister. During the following 12 months of the training period the aim will be to provide you with wider experience of the legal work undertaken within SOLS.
As part of our current smarter working policies, HMRC employees are expected to work at least 60% of their contracted hours each month from an HMRC office (unless adjustments are agreed for disability or caring responsibilities).
Whilst you can expect to be involved in the wide and interesting range of work in which the department and chambers are involved, we use the services of external counsel for much of our court work. This means that court-based advocacy opportunities are extremely limited. Those wishing to focus principally on a court-based advocacy career should bear this in mind.
Whilst this can never be guaranteed, after successful completion of the 2-year training period, we hope to be able to offer a qualified lawyer position. This will be subject to meeting the standards applied in our recruitment of qualified lawyers.
Financial and Other Support Available
Funding will be available for the Bar Training Course (BTC) where the course has not started.
A bursary (maintenance grant) will be available for the BTC where the course has not yet started. This will be around £5,400 (National) or £7,600 (London). You will need to discuss your eligibility for a bursary with us at the offer stage.
We provide our pupil barristers with a laptop and mobile phone and other working from home equipment as required.
There is funding available to meet the costs of compulsory courses during pupillage and reimbursement for pupils’ travel expenses for court attendance. Other arrangements in place to support employees include, for example, season ticket loan, rental deposit and salary advance schemes.
Equality Diversity and Inclusion
We are looking to recruit high quality legal trainees from a wide range of backgrounds.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme | Civil Service Careers for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria
How to Apply
The application process will open on Monday 5 January 2026 (11:00 am) on the Government Legal Profession (GLP) website and Civil Service Jobs. Please note that the deadline for applications is Thursday 22 January 2025 (11:59pm). For further details, and to apply, please visit the GLP website at www.gov.uk/glp
