Job in civil service - on hold?

[BirdieFriendReturns]

I was offered a Civil Service job back in February. Security clearance is taking ages! A few weeks ago my new manager emailed to say once I had my SC I could go in and get a laptop then work from home. Since then the base I would be working on has partiality closed - I only know this as DH works there and is now WFH!

I’ve had no communications from the HR people. The vetting website front page says new vetting forms will only be accepted for priority posts. All other work will be done when they can do it.

My CS Jobs status changed a couple of weeks ago and now states they are not waiting on any further checks.

DH looked on the intranet, recruitment and onboarding is still offering a partial service on the status update. Recruitment is on hold for new posts that haven’t got to the post interview stage. Priority posts are still being pushed through.

I have no idea if my new job is a priority post or not.

There are no other jobs out there to apply for. I have applied for Jobseekers Allowance but not heard back. Financially I am fortunate to be in an okay position. Just not sure if I should forget about this job and move on with my life! I have a couple of Skype interviews for salaried teacher training starting in September so perhaps I should forge the Civil Service and focus on doing a PGCE instead?

Even outside of these pressured times CS recruitment can take an age. Are you in a position to do the PGCE interviews, apply for other posts etc and have the CS post on the back burner? We loose so many good people to the painfully slow recruitment!

I’ve worked for them before (graduate scheme) and it wasn’t this slow then.

DH found that the latest guidance on the intranet that says candidates may be taken on “at risk” if recruitment checks have been done but SC is still pending. I’ve had SC before. Do you think it’s worth letting my new manager know this or will it look too pushy / weird? Or asking them if my post is one of the priority ones?

I’m wondering if I’ll be waiting months for this, IF I get a PGCE place to start in September I will start the course. I can’t wait another 5 months with no communication from the Department.

Someone at my work has had their start date delayed but will be having training via Skype . They may be figuring a few things out .

Contact the recruiting manager.

Email HR and just ask what the current situation is.

Just email the contact. To be honest everything is in chaos at the moment even though we have come a long way in 3 weeks.

Do you think it’s worth letting my new manager know this or will it look too pushy / weird?

Not weird at all, make contact with whoever you've been dealing with so far, normally Recruitment, and let them know you've been SC in the past, to see if they can fast track this through. Definitely push it, they just need a nudge!

Definitely worth confirming you've had SC previously. As others have said, I'd keep both tracks moving if you can. CS recruitment is certainly still going ahead but it's really hard to say how long delays might be. If you reach a point where you have a start date but youve started PGCE you'll just have to decide which to go for then.

The recruiting manager is looking into this for me. Zero communications from vetting or HR despite internal documents saying that applicants should be kept informed!

It’s only due to the fact that DH works there that we are able to read the updates on the intranet. Otherwise I would have no clue.

Wonder if I’ll still be “on hold” this time next year?