To wonder what it's like working for the civil service?

[malificent7]

I do enjoy my current role in healthcare but i've been hearing about how good the perks of the civil service are.
Tbh i know nothing about it and I suppose there are a wide range of roles, pay grades etc. Please can you all tell me what it's like? Good and bad.

I agree NineCmNails far too many people read the rubbish in the tabloids and believe it. Which is the point a pp was making about furlough. The media were saying that civil servants weren’t working - we were, just at home.

I’ve been a civil servant for many years - there are so many departments and roles. I don’t recognise a lot of the negatives posted here

Ex DWP then took redundancy and went to Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS). My god the sheer level of incompetence and lack of management in HBOS made DWP look like the most forward thinking, advanced and customer focussed company ever!

Reading with interest as I've just been offered a civil service role as a technical specialist.

However, my main impression so far is that everything is slow! They started doing pre-employment checks over a month ago and still don't seem to be any closer to concluding them. They still haven't even confirmed my right to work, despite me sending my British passport several times.

It's ok if you aren't bothered about ever having a payrise.

@Octomore

Reading with interest as I've just been offered a civil service role as a technical specialist.

However, my main impression so far is that everything is slow! They started doing pre-employment checks over a month ago and still don't seem to be any closer to concluding them. They still haven't even confirmed my right to work, despite me sending my British passport several times.

Depending on the department you're going to, pre employment checks can take several months. Although you should have been made aware of this when you were called offering the role. Pre employment checks with some civil service roles can include security vetting which is a lot more than bog standard reference checking.

The security vetting can take a long time. If its developed vetting, it can take up to a year.

I joined nearly 5 years ago after a career break, freelancing and before that private sector. When I first joined, I couldn't believe how long everything took to be done and the many levels of sign off. Like a pp, I came in at a lower level than I should have done but have found it hard to break through that due to a lack of policy experience.

One thing I didn't realise before joining was how different each department is in terms of characteristics. Mine is predominantly young, male & posh with lots of very intelligent people just out of uni with little life experience. People tend to change jobs every 2 years which I found rather stressful.

But there are lots of positives. I work on really interesting stuff that is often in the news. The flexible working is great. They're trying to do more about diversity and inclusion - although this has yet to cut through to senior management IMO. Pay isn't great but for me the flexibility and holidays make up for this.

I joined the CS last summer. It's one of the best places I've ever worked. Challenging and interesting work (but not so much that it's impossible to have work-life balance). Great colleagues, flexi-time and decent A/L allowance. Pay is ok (on par with other public sector, substantially below private sector) but job security is good. There is bureaucracy, but on a par with other public/ third sector orgs I've worked for. Importantly for me, there's scope for promotion and growth without needing to change overall employer.

It varies so much between departments, and even between teams. On the whole even though the 'benefits' such as sick pay etc are a fair bit worse than even a few years ago, overall your job is pretty secure and you have quite a lot of protection. Pay depends on the level and the role, when DH started he was on a good wage for the role compared to the private sector, now he earns a substantial amount less but also has a better work life balance than a lot so he thinks it's worth it.

It's kind of a gravy train really. Pay's not the best but it's basically impossible to get sacked unless you're the scapegoat in a high profile case. Pension and other benefits are barely recognizable to those in the private sector, they're unbelievably good. It's usually not challenging work so if you want a reliable job with excellent pension and are not too worried about high pay it's a good option.

Depending on the department you're going to, pre employment checks can take several months. Although you should have been made aware of this when you were called offering the role. Pre employment checks with some civil service roles can include security vetting which is a lot more than bog standard reference checking.

I wasn't called to offer the role - it was offered online through the CS jobs site. I have chased up to ask what the potential timescale is, but the response has been that they can't say.

Tbh, except for the interview there seems to be very little interaction with human beings in the process!

I don't think the role I've been offered would need security clearance btw.

@Octomore

Depending on the department you're going to, pre employment checks can take several months. Although you should have been made aware of this when you were called offering the role. Pre employment checks with some civil service roles can include security vetting which is a lot more than bog standard reference checking.

I wasn't called to offer the role - it was offered online through the CS jobs site. I have chased up to ask what the potential timescale is, but the response has been that they can't say.

Tbh, except for the interview there seems to be very little interaction with human beings in the process!

I don't think the role I've been offered would need security clearance btw.

The advert would also have detailed what level of security checks would be needed, if any. In any case, pre employment checks with the civil service are different and more involved than many other places, with a lot of other parties/agencies involved so the speed of completion often relies on others outside the actual recruitment team. I'm sure they'll be able to assure you that it's all in progress and will let you know as soon as they can.

Re security I had my interview in august then nothing for 3 months re our security for DWP clearly not as we had a convicted sex offender working in plain site with vulnerable people and yes the management knew and no we weren’t allowed to say anything otherwise we wd have a disciplinary

I did 2 years as a crown servant and I'm coming up to 2 years as a civil servant after my role swapped home organisations. Currently trying to move on within the CS.

Perks
Good holiday, good pension, family friendly inc mostly flexi friendly- although you get the benefit even more if you're not in a role that means you have to be in the office due to nature of docs handled etc. One of the reasons I'm hoping to stay in is because I want a family. Also perks like discounts etc which all add up. Options for training, too.

Cons
It's not the most ambitious culture so you have to stay motivated and push. I'm trying to move to a dept with more opportunities and linear progression possibilities; there's nothing where I am. It's easy to get stuck if you don't work at it (although I stayed put longer on purpose as I wanted the security in the pandemic). The pay isn't the best but it's still ok. The worst working bits, as highlighted by others are dire tech and a lack of support/people- my HR is self service and it's awful. Trying to get someone to fix IT can be maddening- you're a wee cog in a huge engine, good luck getting through to a human. I'm still waiting on 2021s p60 (I've asked 3 times). I've cried with frustration and fury at wasted time before. If you don't have a supportive manager, it can be lonely, trying to get on, too.

Most of all, it's slow; especially recruitment.
My recruitment as a crown servant was easy peasy but I'm currently waiting on a contract in the post so I can move roles after a 9 month recruitment process. If your job requires vetting, it can take up to a year. Be prepared for v minimal contact whatever- if recruitment processes were the dating game, the CS is a fuck boy. See also, some departments having weird application processes (looking at you, national archives who want a bloody ucas statement for every job).

One other perk though is that even if you department hop from the MoD to DWP for example, I think your CS accrued leave etc stays. This is really nice.

One other perk though is that even if you department hop from the MoD to DWP for example, I think your CS accrued leave etc stays. This is really nice.

@MrsToothyBitch

One other perk though is that even if you department hop from the MoD to DWP for example, I think your CS accrued leave etc stays. This is really nice.

I'm not sure that this counts as a perk - it's absolutely standard!

I have never worked for any organisation (private sector or public sector) where you would lose your accrued benefits just because you change departments or service lines. Even in the NHS, you retain accrued benefits when you change trusts.

@Octomore - I was in retail before this. Never kept a holiday package etc. Being told that all my leave, my pension, my mat entitlements etc will click over, and no starting from zero is a really nice prospect.

@Octomore I'm not sure where in the private sector you would move employers and keep your accrued benefits? As for public sector, it's very much at the discretion of the organisation and would be specifically detailed in their HR policies. I've previously worked in local council then NHS. In the NHS they did not recognise my service from the council and I started at the beginning - but if I had gone from NHS to the council then my service would have continued. In the civil service, you are moving employers (not just departments) and keeping your service intact, that's a benefit I can't think anyone would get in the private sector.

The NHS and Council have different T&Cs for employees, so that's different. If you move from one NHS Trust to another, you retain all benefits because you're still on the same set of NHS T&Cs.

The Civil Service appears to be similar and have uniform T&Cs across departments, doesn't it?

@Octomore

The NHS and Council have different T&Cs for employees, so that's different. If you move from one NHS Trust to another, you retain all benefits because you're still on the same set of NHS T&Cs.

The Civil Service appears to be similar and have uniform T&Cs across departments, doesn't it?

They're broadly the same but moving departments does mean a new contract with a new employer. And I can't think of anywhere in the private sector you'd move employers and keep your T&C's? (Unless you're TUPE'd but that's a specific situation)

I was referring to moving departments in the private sector. So same employer.

Moving NHS Trust involved a new contract with a new employer, but all T&Cs are the same - that's the distinction.

Recruitment is extremely slow, I'm sometimes surprised we manage to recruit anyone from the private sector, because they must receive other faster-moving offers (I compare with DH's private sector company).

I think 3-6 months is quite common. Basic clearance is included in that and everyone has basic clearance. For higher level clearance you are talking 6 months to 1year for clearance alone.

I used to work for CS
Good things - job security, good pension, good holiday, flexitime, you can get away with doing bare minimum,
Bad - heavily beaurocratic, institutionalised, pay is not competitive, pay freezes, not many opportunities for promotions because people don't leave or move around much, you are a number not an individual