Civil servants - come and share tales of swingeing cuts in your department

[Wigeon]

Any other civil servants out there? I am in a Whitehall department and they've just announced the voluntary redundancy scheme - they are hoping for up to 1,000 people from HQ to take it - there's only about 3,000 people in HQ so that's a massive reduction (we also have a big agency in the regions and they are quaking in their boots, expecting big cuts too).

I am trying to think through all the pros and cons of taking up the scheme versus staying and it's making my head hurt!

No colour photocopying and no refreshments at external meetings seems pretty trivial now. Everyone rather depressed!

Any one else fancy sharing what's going on in your department?

Probably better to take it now than wait until the government change the terms and conditions by law. The terms aren't brilliant now but are sure to be worse after. Have you tried using the formulas to calculate what you would be entitled to?

I think I'd get two years' pay (need to read the stuff properly) as I've been a civil servant for about 9 years. I know that the terms they are offering now are the best we'll get. But would I get a job anywhere else considering the state of the current job market? And what if I was planning a spot of maternity leave (hopefully!) at some point in the nearist future?

Are you in another dept Wolfcub? What's it like where you are?

Our office ( along with 8 others across the country) will be shut soon. Don't know any timings yet. 1400 jobs at risk. At the moment no voluntary redundancy scheme announced and we suspect they are deliberately waiting until the new bill passes and they can offer much less.

Happy days!

That sounds a bit grim, not yummy. How are you feeling about it all?

Tbh I am in a luckier position than some. One if the guys that works for me is also married to a lady in this office and they gave both been I'm the civil service since they left school. So, little compensation, 3 kids to raise and a mortgage to pay.... And little public sector jobs that would suit their backgrounds.

I am fairly senior but not the main breadwinner and have a mixed background including private sector consultancy , so I am hoping that I may be able to find another job ( although prob not straight away....)

what about you? Do you feel able to take a chance and take the package ?

That's good that you have options if it's pretty much being forced on you. I think I've worked out you are in a GO (GOEM?) - everyone must be pretty depressed there. Think there are quite a few people here (Home Office) wondering how we are going to deliver a whole bunch of stuff without you!

I'm just not sure what job I'd get, given I'm pretty much a career civil servant (G7), especially as I am hoping I might be pregnant at some point in the coming months - no one would employ me with a bump! I'm also the main breadwinner (earning twice as much as DH). And after all, I might survive all the cuts since some people will. But I think the scale of the cuts means that being good (or even very good!) at your job isn't enough to keep you safe.

If you are the main breadwinner then it is v difficult. There may be consultancy jobs going, and you may find that if you can spin your experience as in anyway 'internal' consultancy within government then your skills are reasonably transferable. That said, if you are planning to get pregnant then the maternity package is probably better within the civil service. Might be better holding off getting pregnant until you find out if there will be ant compulsory redundancies. Unemployed and pregnant probably not great ....

Yes, GOEM it is btw!

It's interesting to read everything going on - I resigned from central Govt (HO HQ too!) in May as my request for a career break after my maternity leave was turned down. Wigeon, agree, it's hard to imagine how a lot of things will work with no GOs.

I still keep in touch with a few people in the department, everyone is pretty depressed; I know a lot of career civil servants who feel almost unemployable.

Should have said that my career break was turned down because of cuts - my ex-HoU coldn't guarantee me a job at any point in the future. I'm the first person I know to have ever been turned down for a career break.

I'm in a NDPB so not technically civil service but still very much affected.

Have been sent details of the proposed new organisational structure and 40% of jobs in our directorate have gone. My team has been wiped out entirely

I am on maternity leave at the moment so trying to work out whether I will be redeployed or made redundant. The rest of my team our definitely going which I am about - they are all good people who have worked hard.

It is bloody depressing isn't it? I am trying to remain professional, and have a team to lead, but understandabley they have other things on their mind. We still have various Depts ringing us up with loads of questions and part of me wants to go ' sort this out for yourself, feller, because none if us will be here to broker any of this in a few months....'

Do we need a civil servants anonymous support thread?!

Hello fellow HO person, flipflops! Which bit were you in? I am on the 5th floor in 2MS (does that mean anything to you?). I can see why they turned down your career break given the cuts that were coming, although how frustrating considering how straightforward it was to get a career break previously. What are you doing now? (apart from bringing up a baby presumably).

Sleevelessvest - are you going to be allowed to apply for other jobs in the restructure? Or would you just get redeployed to a random position?

Notyummy - you should say that to them!

It's quite interesting / useful to hear what is going on in other depts as it's hard to judge whether things are better or worse than the average where I am. I think we are in a bit of a limbo period at the moment where no one is quite sure quite how small we will have to get after the CSR. There's been no actual reorganisation yet but I should think it's immiment (probably after things are clearer after the voluntary redundancies). I think the only certainty is that we certainly won't be the same as we are now!

bizarrely I have just managed to get reinstatement, have had to go down a pay grade in order to do so. It's in the only area of growth in whole of the agency, job is part funded by a statuatory requirement thing, EU commission and commercial contracts. DH works in the same office and yes it's all very scary as we are being merged with another huge department.

On the plus side our buildings are very new so our physical office and labs will still be opertating but I can imagine a bun fight over positions. The other organisation is extrememly top heavy so perhpas they will make large savings by getting rid of higher earners rather than 4 times as many lower earners.

Our agency is the worst paid in the civil service I believe so actually perhaps that gives us better protection as we are such cheap labour for the grades

Sleeveless vest are you me?

I'm in an NDPB and the outlook for us is really bleak but nothing can be confirmed until the CSR. Am on maternity leave at the moment too - due back in December if there's something to go back to.

As the main breadwinner in our household, am trying not to worry too much as I can't do anything at the moment, but I'm so frustrated as if I was at work, I know I'd be looking for another job now. But as I'm on maternity leave if I were to find something else and resign before I am due back at work I have to pay back my maternity money, which we can't afford to do!

It feels like I am in limbo awaiting the worst...sorry to hear so many others are in the same rubbish place...

Hi All. I'm civil service too, based down the road from you HO people!

We still have no idea what is going to happen. But know my section has tried to make cuts, but as we're totally driven by EU law, actually need about £150m pa extra to stay on the right side of it. So feeling fairly safe, if rather stressed as will probably end up doing about 4 jobs as can't fill empty posts.

But our Agencies have had a hammering and its all getting rather scary.

Anyone else constantly being embarrassed by not bring allowed refreshments for meetings?

Had 4 people in yesterday, who had travelled from northern Scotland by train (they are also public sector and not allowed to fly). Had to go scavenging mugs.

Worst though by the consultants we had in, (not paid by us! btw) who arrived with coffees from Starbucks from us. Very nice, but very embarrassing - especially as we then had to declare it as a gift!

I'm a civil servant too. Lots of cost cutting measures work-wise - things we've had to cancel or shrink. Nothing's been announced officially yet, we've heard various mumblings that my team are 'safe' from this perspective or that perspective, but in the end, no-one is safe really. Apparently we're on target already with current staff cuts announced since the emergency budget due to natural wastage (got to love that term, eh?) but its really going to hit the fan come October I'm sure. I'm not the main breadwinner but I do find my job interesting and its fantastic flexible family workwise. And am now a bit niche/specialist so not sure what direction I'd go in after this. Got to wait and see I guess and keep those fingers crossed.

I am a local govt officer.
So far we have lost 2500.
This is mainly down to reduction of Area Based Grant.
Our redundancy has been capped at 20 weeks, regardless of length of service

We have to find £70m of savings this year - just been told we've lost c.£300,000 of the budget that was just awarded us in April

Hello other civil servants! Anyone know what the collective noun is?

Sorry to hear about everyone else's situation, but very interesting to hear about others' experiences; thanks for posting.

Jcee - I imagine that being on mat leave while this is going on is actually worse than being in the department...can you take any comfort from the fact that employers have to be extra careful about making people on maternity leave redundant?

Turkeyboot - being down the road from us means you could be in practically any dept! I'm guessing DfT or DoE...

On refreshments - we have a "no refreshments for internal meetings" so we can still give external visitors a cuppa. It has had the added bonus that there is a lot more home-baking coming into the office in place of the usual corporate biscuits, which is very nice!

I'm also 'down the road' from the home office - although currently terrified about what's going on there as I'm back from maternity leave soon. Only been in the civil service for 5 years but that is pretty much my whole working life. Not sure what else I could so tbh. Can hardly put Minister wrangling on my cv now can I?

Hello Fuchzia! I do think that career civil servants have lots of transferable skills, but I just think that there are hardly any other jobs out there in other sectors, and so it is a hard time to move out of the civil service even if you do have a good set of generalist skills.

Minister wrangling

Aside from the money I also do what I do because I love it - and I do believe it makes a difference to people's lives. I'd be sad to leave.

The unions are again fighting the change to redundancy conditions through the courts as unlawful. We didn't take out redundancy insurance as there was no need to (and if you refuse to move to another location then it would be considered voluntary redundancy anyway!), of course now we can't take it out because the government announced that there will be redundancies across the board so we're screwed.

It well be interesting to see if union membership inscreases and if we're prepared to strike over the changes to the redundancy and of course they'll be attacking the pension we've already paid into next.......AVC part has already been changed.

zam - I loved the flexibility/famil friendliness too...until they turned down my career break that I requested for family reasons!

wigeon - I was 4th floor, the yellow end! Not a policy area, was in support. I'd been in the department 10 years as a specialist, went on maternity leave for the first time in 2007 and got reorganised out of job while I was off. Came back to a short term role, on the agrement that it'd be redeployment when that ended. In some ways I was lucky that by the time I returned to work I was pregnant again so avoided redeployment by going on the second round of mat leave. The career break request was mostly because I couldn't face going back (hated a lot of the changes, staff etc) but also the practicalities of a long commute, the costs of childcare and DH's job changing.

I haven't got round to cancelling my union membership yet so keeping up with a lot of stuff that way!

Our cuts started back in 2006

I transferred to a different Dept last year, after being pre-surplus for a year. My old office closed in March and my colleagues all got made redundant. I still wonder if I should have hung on and taken the money, especially as we've had to move across the country and it has cost us a fortune. But only a couple of my colleagues have been able to find another job.

I'm in a Finance post at my new office and it's quite a vital job, so the bigwigs tell us we are as "safe" as it's possible to be

Worried about the pension side of things too. DH doesn't have any pension provision and we will be living on whatever I get. Too old now to start a new private pension- and couldn't afford it anyway.