To take a job with the DWP even though I will lose friends

[Sunsnet]

I currently work a minimum wage job in retail. It's long hours, exhausting and for really shitty money. Sometimes I earn less than minimum wage as I'm salaried and not entitled to overtime.

I've just been offered a job with the DWP. I'll earn 50% more, have a WAY better pension plus more benefits. I'll even be able to work fewer hours so I can spend more time with my family and STILL be better off than now. BUT, I have friends who think the DWP is immoral and by working for them I will be implicit in that immorality.

I agree that the way the DWP works at the moment is immoral, but surely we need good people to work there to ensure that people who need the help and are entitled to it actually get it. Or am I just clutching at straws to justify my position?

I have one friend in particular who says they will never speak to me again if I take the job. This friend is independently wealthy and never needs to work again, I am not. I do not own property, have a family to support, I'm a single parent and I have no qualifications so have no hope of a better job.

Would I really be that awful a person to sell out and take this job?

Unless said friend is going to make up the difference in wages and pensions TAKE THE JOB!
The people who work in jobs like this are just people who work in the job, the fault for its problems are much, much higher up the food chain.

Someone needs to administrate benefits otherwise no one would be able to claim them - unless your friends propose the benefit budget is just airdropped from the sky like confetti.

It's the same as when people moan about what goes on in schools when in reality it's government policy that's being introduced. I got so fed up with one parent in particular who seemed to hold me personally responsible for changes to the curriculum that I eventually snapped at her Do you seriously think we enjoy having to do all the extra work that this crap needs knowing that in a couple of years we'll have to do it all over again? She looked quite shocked!

😂
Take take take the Job! Government jobs are slightly bonkers with the pathways required to process or change anything but comparatively a good place to work with generous flexibility (comparatively) very good pension(comparatively) and very possible to progress to higher positions.
I really wouldn’t count your friends as friends. They are not. If they were , they would see that you will have better home-work balance and improved income. They sound ignorant. Do what is best for you and your family.

If you lose friends they were not real friends. The job will help you and your family. Take it.

What grade is the job you are taking and are you working in a jobcentre, or at a head office.

Take the job. Judging a friend by their job is immoral!

Depends on what the job is surely, its a big area. There's some areas I wouldn't want to work in, but I guess once you're in you can move around.

Your friend, if a true friend, wouldn't put their own personal views onto you and expect you to make a decision on 'your life' based on what they've said. Any advice a friend gives should end in 'it's what works best for you and what you think that matters'.

It might not be as good as it looks or sounds on paper but you'll only find that out once you're in the job. If you're unhappy with your job now, a change will show you what else is out there.

It was a lovely lady at DWP who examined my State Pension forecast and saw I’d been under-assessed. Saved me nearly £4k I thought I’d have to pay to increase it.

Another employee helped me sort out paperwork and procedures ( complicated ) when I was widowed.

Take the job. Your “ friends” don’t sound like real friends. They’d want the best for you if they were.

It’s a good job ‘those people’ work for the DWP otherwise there’d be no-one to process the claims and pay the benefits. Could you live with that?

This!

What strange friends you have! Never heard of anything like this before. Of course you take the job! I wonder if your "friend" is claiming benefits fraudulently and is worried she'd get found out 🤔... I can't think of any other reason for this weird behaviour!

This! There may be problems with DWP, but it’s much better than having no one administering benefits. What a ridiculous view your friend takes.

Definitely take the job OP

Some people who work at DWP are relatable and supportive. They need more people like this not less as it can be a difficult experience having to engage due to unforeseen circumstances that happen in life eg related to work or health. Some of these peoples are heroes IMO.

Your ‘friend’ is a privileged twat.

I agree with this

Take the job, 100%

You must accept the job with the DWP. Don't hesitate.

Congratulations!
Take the job.
Dump your dickhead friend.
Hope it goes well for you! 😊

Take the job OP - and ditch any "friends" who are pathetic enough to complain. I'm sure these so-called friends won't be offering to pay your bills, therefore they get no say.

Take the job

FFS

Take the job!

And well done for getting it.

Tell your friend, they are a hypocrite and they are the ones that are selling out

Oh get over yourself and stop being so judgemental! Someone has to do the work and they carry out what policymakers tell them. People have to feed their families.
When you're on your uppers then tell us you wouldn't work for the DWP!

Congrats on the job offer! Assuming that your opinionated but wealthy friend hasn’t offered to cover your bills and living expenses indefinitely if you don’t make the move, then you absolutely should take the job.

Friends may have different views on things but they should be celebrating each other’s successes and recognising what that extra income will mean for you and your kids lives. To threaten to end the friendship would be the point where I would walk away myself.

Not to dampen your mood but just be aware that the working environment at the DWP is apparently pretty rubbish. My SIL worked there for 20+ years (until about 3-4 years ago) and the focus now is all on hitting targets; churning quickly through calls and cases. With high staff turnover levels, it often means claimants that need help get a shitty experience and usually won’t get issues sorted their first time of contacting DWP.

SIL had to leave as her MH was being badly impacted. She’d been there years, knew the job inside out and had always prided herself on helping out claimants and putting things right the correct way. But it ended up where she was getting penalised for taking too long on cases/calls and no longer felt capable of doing a good job.

She’s now working in Immigration and sadly it sounds like that service is going the same way - focus all on quick handling of asylum applications rather than properly assessing and handling the claims, under resourced teams and those that are there haven’t had the proper training. She’s hoping she may be offered redundancy in a few months time, as she should get a decent payout and can then find somewhere to work that isn’t as toxic.

Hopefully things have improved since SIL left DWP.

Take the job. Congratulations on gettIng the job, that’s a really great achievement. The DWP is actually part of our welfare state. If you compare our country with most other countries, we aren’t so bad. We do actually look after those in need far better than in many other places.

Your friends are batshit, to be frank.