ACCESS TO WORK WOULD BE INCREDIBLE IF THERE WASN’T SO MUCH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STIGMA - JUST LET ME FUCKING WORK!

I've been trying to change my beneficiaries on the pension website but keep getting an error. Has anyone been able to make changes to their beneficiaries since capita took over and how did you do it??!

Civil service pensions is a world of its own which does not make sense…

How on earth National Highways which is owned by the government… wait for it… their staff don’t even get access to civil service pension.

The Met Police which which is not even part of the civil service, their staff has access to Civil Service pension.

Make sense out of this!?

Hi everyone.

I need further advice from here, I have got an offer for Customer Service Advisor for HMRC. I currently work in banking as a customer support advisor but potentially looking to move towards fraud.

I just want to know if there are any targets, flexibility (such as Flex Time or such), benefits and what the role entails more towards- phone calls, emails or web chats (messaging). I want to know if there is a difference and is it worth me accepting the offer?

I have been instrumental in successfully expanding my team’s remit; it now includes a high priority strategic programme that I’ve integrated with my BAU responsibilities. I have 5 staff as a G7 analyst. The work is clearly expanded beyond what can realistically be delivered by one G7 team.

A highly optimistic assumption (with very little scope to test that assumption) is that a substantial proportion of work needs to be redistributed across the G6 area, some work can be deprioritised and start after completion of a priority work stream. Alongside this, there is still a need for 2 new G7 teams.

The discussion about this is centred on what G7 area I will pick up. Obviously this pivots me away from a role with substantial strategic influence and oversight toward project management and BAU. There’s an assumption, in my view, that the current G6 area can absorb two new G7s and associated junior staff when they already have 6 G7 teams (they are a 1.5 FTE). A lot of the new work is time-limited.

I am trying to suggest that they could have FTAs for a lot of this, including a 12 month G6 to oversee. It’s landing on deaf ears.

I think there are legitimate operational reasons to entertain the above - and there is some self interest. I’m on the future leaders scheme and I’ve worked unbelievably hard to build this programme and influence. My reward, it seems, will most likely be a demotion in all but name. Finding it hard not to bring emotion into this, but I’m human. Very demotivated and glum.

Any practical advice welcome.

Hi, I'm feeling utterly exhausted in my HEO role, I work part time but have a high case load which won't change, there are not enough hours to get it done. My department for my role has high turnover because people get burnt out fast. There have been comments about me being part time and aspects of the role. Part of me feels this isn't worth it and to see if I can take a grade lower in the department but all I ever hear about are level transfers and promotions. Can you move down a grade? How do I go about it and should I speak to my manager about options. I see an EO role in my office but I don't want to manage anyone, so ideally I'd like to to to an AO and just not have the high level of stress and urgent deadlines coming from every angle. Is it doable? I think I would even increase my hours if I was an AO.

After starting as an apprentice 12 years ago and working my way to G6, I’m leaving the Civil Service in a few months to join a tech consultancy. Excited but nervous. Any tips or advice for the world of private sector would be greatly appreciated!

I’m a teacher of 6 years, 2 as HoD, looking to get out of the profession, mainly due to poor work-life balance (I miss having weekends) and the ever growing list of needs that students have (and are impossible to meet), and it has sucked the soul out of being able to teach my subject that I do genuinely have a passion for.

I’m looking to move into the civil service and I just want to know that, if you are an ex-teacher:

Is there a significant change in work-life balance?

If you took a pay cut (I am M6 + TLR), did you manage / was it worth the trade off?

If I was looking to complete this final academic year before leaving, when should I start applications?

What type of job roles would be suitable? EO? HEO? / Policy? Operations?

Thank you for any insight / advice

For a HEO grade with 16 day AL (annual leave) leftover, do you think it would be worth selling 6 of those days and letting the remaining 10 days roll over into next year? I understand any AL selling needs to be done this month

Hi everyone,

I started a new policy role this week. It's my first policy job; I've moved over from the operations side. There's a lot going on, with some key milestones in the next month that I need to work towards.

The policy area is very complicated and I'm not an expert in it. I know my role is to work with the experts, but it's still a lot to take in.

Right now I feel like I'm pretending not to be overwhelmed by all the new information, while also needing to engage with stakeholders and ministers from day one.

A few questions for anyone who's been here:
- Is this overwhelm normal, and roughly how long did it last for you?
- Any tips for getting up to speed quickly?
- Has anyone else moved into policy from an operational or external background? How did you find the transition?

I'd really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Just been informed by my manager I’ve been offered a position as I’m effectively in the warehouse, this application was put in by a previous line manager. The role sounds interesting to be honest and something I could do easily.

My question is if I don’t accept it is that me then not considered for future roles?

We have recently had a user claiming to be from ITV news trying to get info from a member of the sub in a post.

Please remember we should not be discussing Civil Service business with journalists, these users will be banned from the sub should we see them. If we don't see them please feel free to report them and we will act on this asap.

I just wanted to say I am pleased to receive an offer for EO case manager role in disability services in access to work in Blackpool. Just wanted to ask anyone’s opinions on here how the role is and how the flexibility is within dwp and for this role and also how is the caseload and how are the calls for this role meaning will it be lots of telephone calls or is it more decision making and could you work any days from home as well thanks.

Just thought I'd post my recruitment timeline for reference. I understand the timeline varies massively throughout the civil service.

Happy to delete if not allowed 😊

My timeline:

5 May – Invited to complete Online Situational Judgement Test

6 May – Online test result received

11 June – Invited to interview

12 June – Interview booked/confirmed

22 July – Interview completed

28 July – Application update

6 August – Interview survey received

12 August – Interview result received

12 August – Provisional offer 🎉

14 August – Started pre-employment checks, ID/right-to-work validation and further information requested

18 August – More pre-appointment information completed

26 August – PEC information received/being processed

2 September – PEC update

9 September – PEC update

16 September – PEC update

23 September – PEC update

30 September – PEC update

7 October – PEC update

9 October – Pre-employment checks COMPLETE ✅

12th October - Call received regarding start date (formal offer to be sent)

9th November - Start Date

How to survive in a Ministerial PO as an introvert and any general advice?

There’s someone in another team who sits on a transformation board with decision-making authority that I’m not senior enough to have at G6. So when I need something agreed, I have to go through them rather than my own line management chain.

The problem is, they absolutely love taking credit for work that I’ve sometimes spent years delivering. They’ll present it to the board for approval, copy in as many people as possible (including Directors), and somehow make themselves look like the person driving it, when neither they nor their team have had anything to do with it. I’m sure most people on the board should know this, but the wider audience maybe doesn’t.

On the one hand, I get the agreement I need, so I should be happy. On the other, it really, really winds me up that my hard work gets no recognition, while I’m usually relegated to the end of the CC list. I don’t know if I pissed them off in a previous life or what, but I’m getting absolutely sick of it.

Short of confronting them directly, how do I Goosfraba this shit, stop letting it get to me, and move on with my life? Is this just something senior people love to do?

Hello. I’ve written one or two other posts on this sub regarding career changes and how qualifications like university degrees factor into employment career progression in the CS.

My question here is what jobs or careers offer a work from home and/or a hybrid work routine. I’ve been working a 12hr nightshift job for the past couple of years and to be frank I’m close to breaking point. The hours are killing me. The job itself is easy enough but this shift pattern is massively unhealthy both mentally and physically. Right now I would kill for a decently paying job with normal sociable hours that allow me to actually see and experience a morning! I haven’t gotten up 8am and went out for a walk in the fresh morning air for months now. I mainly work weekends too which means it’s a struggle to arrange some social time with friends and family.

What attracted me to the CS in the first place is that I have a friend who works in the Home Office and mostly works from home. He gets up at anytime between 7-9am, begins working on his laptop and has pretty much all of his work done within an hour (two at the most). He works in the office once, maybe twice, a week. He also claims to be earning over £40-odd grand a year (that’s with overtime) as an EO. I know this to be true because he has showed me payslips and his bank account in person. He gets all of his overtime done within the week so his weekends are entirely free.

From someone who has basically lived on a job site for the past couple of years working 12hr night shifts, to have a job like this would be an early Christmas. I actually wouldn’t mind working in an office right now because it would allow me to meet some new people and have a new routine to adjust to which I desperately need, so a hybrid job would be ideal.

As it stands, I have applied for and undergoing the tests for the Fast Stream which opened this month, so hopefully something can come of that. I have a 2:1 degree from a Russell Group university in humanities which i know probably won’t mean much in the CS, but there were plenty of jobs on the fast stream which required a minimum of a 2:2 degree, some even post graduate degrees.

If there is anyone out there who works a job similar to my friend in the CS, please let me know what would be the best course of action to pursue a job like this.

Let’s say you manage 10 people, id say it’s unlikely all 10 would be putting leave through in a day. Or how likely is it that you’d be swamped doing like 5+ return to works? If my understanding is correct there is no need for any technical skill training which really affects what your output of work would look like.

Do you have targets like how much leave you authorise in a day?

Please educate me by explaining how hard it is to manage a team of semi skilled professionals (who from my perspective, practically manage themselves)

Hi everyone,
I’ve just received a provisional offer for a Work Coach position with the DWP, and I’m feeling quite torn about whether to accept it.

My husband has been against me taking this role from the beginning, even before I submitted my application. Having spent some time reading posts on here about the job, I’m also becoming concerned about the workload, burnout and the impact it can have on mental health.

The salary is okay, and the Monday to Friday working pattern is appealing. However, I currently work in a different role where I can earn extra through additional hours, so I’m trying to weigh up the financial benefits, career prospects and work life balance against the potential stress.

I know people are more likely to post when they’ve had a negative experience, so I’d really appreciate hearing from people who currently work as Work Coaches or have done so in the past.

What are the genuine positives of the role? Is the workload manageable with a supportive manager, and would you recommend taking the job? Equally, if you left the role, what made you decide it wasn’t for you?

I’d appreciate honest opinions, both positive and negative, to help me make an informed decision.
Thank you!

Just started an EO role, they offered me one of my backup locations, a relatively close one so I was pretty happy and I am ultimately still. It is still just a long and expensive commute, I have long covid which does affect it (just found out my bus isn't coming down into my village for the next 3 weeks so I have a massive uphill walk in the morning) and it will feel longer once I am done with the training and they aren't letting us all knock off early.

Both work coaches I talked to while I was waiting to hear about the role in the last few months were very definite about transferring being a pretty reasonable request, almost to be expected, something you could even ask about during probation potentially? If so that feels very different from any other role I've ever had where you know, asking about stuff like that early doors would be deeply frowned upon. CS feels pretty different in that regard though, I just don't know how accurate that feeling is.

I also read some threads on this subreddit that said HR have started saying "no you accepted the job here, so here you will remain for the foreseeable" but that was from a year or so back.

I kinda do want to settle in before I investigate the possibility anyway, it'd be a middle of next year wish perhaps, it'd cut an hour or so off my commute and give me an extra £200 or so a month. Obviously I can just ask my manager right without repercussions I hope/assume but figured I'd ask here first just to make sure it's not fully insane.

STFC (part of UKRI under BIST aka. DSIT) announced they will be taking voluntary redundancies soon, likely at the start of the next financial year.

No idea or the scale yet, and no word on any "golden handshakes".

Not directly civil service employees so maybe not directly relevant to the sub, but definitely civil service adjacent. https://www.ukri.org/news/ukri-is-transforming-how-it-works-backed-by-record-government-investment/

Hey, been working in DWP for 7 years and on my current team for 4. I am planning to start gender transition in the coming months and with the negativity for trans folk in the media, I’m a bit nervous about coming out at work, and dealing with stakeholders I’ve known for 4 years etc.

Has anyone here come out as trans and transitioned within DWP and can give me some good news stories that it went OK? Thanks 🙏

Has anyone got a case administrator role after only working retail based jobs previously?

I really want to leave retail and get into a civil service role and this seems maybe one of the best ways in for someone without experience? I think I’d enjoy this type of role but just wanted to see if there are people out there who have got the job without previous admin experience or if I should try to get into a more office based job first then try applying in a couple of years.

I do also have an arts degree so unsure if that would help me

If an individual decides to hand in their 30 day notice period while they are on a formal stage 3 PAL plan would they be dismissed by a decision maker if the notice period ends after the final stage 3 Pal plan? as I believe at Stage 3 PAL the next decision is with a decision maker regarding potential dismissal?

Hi I was successful at interview and completed all PECs last week but I’ve heard nothing since, I’m waiting for the formal offer and start date. The recruitment mailbox on the advert is a central one with a 5 day response time, I’ve had a generic response from central HR asking me to wait another week before trying to contact them again.
I’ve just been selected for a free skills bootcamp with a TV Studio via my local council in a field unrelated to my new role, that starts at the end of November for 2 weeks. I ideally want to do the course to keep my options open, as upon completion you get 6 months of job support too. Also slightly concerned the CS job could be pulled as I still don’t have my formal offer.
Does anyone have any idea how long it would take for this cohort to start? They are recruiting approx 40-45 people across the southern region, and from everything I can see on here (admittedly older posts though) imply this stage could take a while?