Civil Service Offer Process

[resuwen]

There are a ton of threads on this but none recently. I've received an informal offer from the Civil Service - any idea how long it is currently taking for security checks and a formal offer? My notice period is only four weeks and I'm concerned I will end up out of work for a lengthy period in between handing in my notice and the new job beginning. Thanks!

It can take months. Don’t hand in your notice until you have been granted security clearance and received a formal offer. People join all the time and induction courses run regularly so you’re unlikely to be put under pressure to start at short notice.

Agree can be very lengthy. In my previous role I was nearly 6 months between the offer and getting started, HR systems and processes are notoriously slow.

Congratulations @resuwen

I agree. Don’t hand in your notice til everything is sorted. The civil service are used to waiting a long time for people to start a new job.

Agree with @Fightingtalk , do not hand on your notice until you have passed vetting and you have received a formal offer. it's 3 months plus at the moment to clear security checks.

Anywhere from 3 to 12 months depending on the area at the moment.

Thank you! This is very useful. Thanks for the congratulations @ssd, it's a great offer and I'm really pleased. Very much hoping it will be less than 12 months!

Hopefully yours won’t be one of the 90,000 that’s threatened with being cut

It varies wildly by department/office. I got my clearance within 2 weeks, but I've heard of people waiting 4 months plus. I think it also depends on the type of clearance you need for the job.

Ach, dont put a dampener on it for her!

@sosickofthisshit I applied before the news, but I have been thinking about that. If cuts are made, they are likely to make them through a recruitment freeze by the looks of it, so I expect it's safe (as safe as anything, these days!). Thanks 😊

There won’t be 90k ‘cut’ - as they’ve always done they’ll run voluntary redundancy schemes (there will be many a person quite happy to take a payout) and they’ll freeze future recruitment to allow for natural wastage. I’d be very surprised if anyone was mandatorily made redundant.

Agree - do not habd any notice in until you get a contract etc. they are used to waiting another four weeks and far more, so dont worry its too long. My first job in CS it took 4 months, then all my transfer in between have been 4-8 weeks, even with full security checks in one post.

Very much depends on who it's with and if there's clearance involved. Home office background checks are different to DWP checks for example
Congrats

Just basic level security checks needed, nothing extra, so hopefully not too long!

As I understand it, you have to give the CS permission to request references at this stage, before a formal offer exists and therefore before you resign. This puts me in a bit of an awkward spot, doesn't it? And what if, for whatever reason, the offer was withdrawn? 😬

Maybe I worry too much. I'm not great with uncertainty! 😂

Well done! Yes it's frustratingly slow and irritating.

When I joined in January 2014 I had been interviewed in Oct 2013.

I'm recruiting at the moment and mindful I won't have my new joiners for yonks

Don't hand in your notice until you have a start date then if needed ask the gov department to delay it if you don't have a months notice

In my experience they don’t bother taking up the references anyway.

My checks were about 3 weeks January of this year. Interview Dec, Offer early Jan, started March.

I applied for my new role in December, interviewed early March, received the provisional offer 10 days after that, and then didn’t receive the formal offer until 9th May. I am due to start in 2 weeks’ time.

As soon as I received the provisional offer I provided all of the information and I.D. they requested to complete the pre-employment checks. They did take up all three references but were very specific in what they were asking for (1 x employer within the last 3 years, plus 2 x friend or family friend who have known me for more than 3 years). I was able to use a previous employer plus two friends, and managed to avoid having to ask my current employer.

Good luck with your new role.

I was offered in November and started end of Jan, checks took about 4 weeks, I did tell my manager once my security checks were underway but didnt put my resignation in writing until they came back. None of my referees were contacted!

There's a real range here! Thanks for the examples, that's really helpful. I'll ask the recruiter tomorrow what his best estimate is.