To wonder why the Civil Service is so worshipped?

Don't know about now, but it used to be next to impossible to get sacked in the civil service, so it's a great place to work if you are a talentless jobsworth.

If you were really awful, you just got shunted off into another department, plus you get a pension that far exceeds any contribution to the country you might like to think you make.

Well this is exactly it. Sweeping statements about the civil service are a bit daft really. There are around half a million civil servants in something like 450 different departments. The idea that every single one of them has the same work ethic (or lack of) is clearly crazy.
I think whether they are a desirable employer also depends hugely on what area of work you're in and what area of the country too. I doubt the salary looks competitive if you're in IT or living in London. Where I live the salary is pretty competitive actually.

It depends. Some provide direct support to gov and opposition. Politicians come up with ideas and civil servants enact. For example the budget- Rachel Reeves will tell the Civil Service to produce options for reducing expenditure by X billion focusing on not increasing the tax rate and civil servants will produce options for her to pick from.

Others run things like DVLA and HRMC, administration of benefits, job centres etc are all civil servants.

MI5 are civil servants.

That's just a few examples.

Ha true, worshiping it perhaps not! However it is definitely my ideal job in terms of what I was looking for with work life balance, job with meaning etc

I didn't look to join public sector company but did after being made redundant by a private company and only 6 weeks to get job as redundancy was naff all.

Free travel, final salary pension, discounted national rail, flexible working and so on. I feel better protected from redundancy, sure they still happen but it's not as easy or quick. The pay isn't quite where private sector is but it's offsetting by my benefits.

However its not the benefits that keep me there its the work. Project managing changes to streets and roads to maintenance on bridges. I leant so much about how our streets are designed, the politics that influence what we do etc. Plus I get to leave a lil mark on London.

I generally do my hours and not stressed out. Don't feel like I'm just some number.

What exactly does a civil servant do?

Advantages : often a pretty age blind employer. They don't act like you are too old to train at any age. As well as all the sickness, maternity, paternity, adoption leave. For my disabled colleagues they really try to accommodate and make working possible.
I know there are some people who "coast" but a lot of people work incredibly hard and pull off minor miracles on a much smaller budget than the private sector.

Article by civil service world. Oh dear.

Pension, holidays and sick leave are way better than private sector. Not sure it's worshipped though. I know some people who work really hard in various departments and others who absolutely doss and take the pi$$ knowing it's almost impossible to be sacked

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article/uk-civil-service-ranks-sixth-best-in-new-global-index

The UK Civil service consistently ranked one of the best in the world even with years of lack of investment in pay. Can see the Daily Fail readers have joined this thread. Yes some people slack off but shock horror that happened when I worked in the much worshipped private sector too. Now I work with people passionate to make a difference.

I'm a CS and have been for nearly 3 years. I don't think I'd be able to go back into private sector. When I was pregnant in private sector the first comment was "was this a planned pregnancy" whilst when I told my line manager in CS back in Nov he just said "anything you need, I'll support you"

I wish I could work more at home than 40% of the month but the flexibility of being able to work around the school run is something I find amazing. So when I'm in the office I start at 930 and finish 530 as I've got the after school childcare sorted but if I ever need to go and collect my son I can make the time up at a later date

Wow, this just about sums it up.

So have any of the decriers applied for jobs to try and change it or is that someone else's responsibility.

As is normal on mumsnet people are fast to complain but slow to be part of the solution.

Well look, I was a civil servant and I wasn’t like that…doesn’t mean everyone was the same as me either. It’s an infantile way of defending your point.

I've never heard of a single person who worships the civil service.

ok apologies, I don’t mean literally nowhere else to go. But “worshipped“ gives vibes of highly desirable workers rejecting roles at google, McKinsey, top pharmaceuticals, the UN, the world bank etc in their desperation to secure a role at DEFRA and the like 😂

@Anniedash You are showing yourself up there. The entire civil service is rotten? Because of comments on threads like this?

However I was a senior civil servant. Went through the bonkers selection process and everything.

One thing I missed from my list. If you get fed up with your managers trying to get you to actually do some real work you can raise endless grievances. Pisses off the seniors no end.

@Anniedash crikey, did a civil servant piss on your corn flakes? Calm down or we will start thinking you're a Russian bot...or Elon Musk.

It’s true, everyone knows it. The civil service is an absolute joke in this country.

The productivity shows it, comment after comment on this and many threads shows it.

The fish is rotting from the head.

This is me.

And the pension.
And we had flexi time decades ago, when it was virtually unheard of elsewhere.

I think for me it's the breadth of opportunities when you get in, you could work in policy, but then move into strategy or ops when you get to a certain level showing certain behaviours. They've paid thousands of pounds for my qualifications over the years, (over £10,000, more than I paid for uni!) I'm actually a specialist so haven't moved around professions, but have moved around a hugely interesting breadth of context. I actually earn very well, it would be difficult to get what i get in the private sector. I have a huge amount of flexibility, more than anyone else I know, and a job that has genuine impact, the work I'm involved with is often in the headlines, and I get a lot of satisfaction from that.

Compulsory redundancies are very rare. But don't get me wrong there are issues too, lots that frustrates me, but I have a very cushty role atm I can't complain.

@Anniedash Wel its nor proof is it? Its someone saying something on an anonymous internet forum

And here is proof

Probably because of the low productivity and everyone knowing that you can rob a wage if you work in the civil service. There isn’t a single civil service function that is working well or delivering. Not one.

So if you want a job for life without ever having to lift a finger when you get there, civil service seems to be the place to go.