r/civilservice

I work in an area (trying to be vague) where I speak to stakeholders and random people . There is a person who I do not have a direct link to apart from the odd hello who speaks in a way that is very similar to my son who has a speech issue . The speech issue is not a stammer or stutter as one would call it and is reasonably unique and stems from ASD.

Would it be weird or crossing a line to contact him to speak to him as when he talks you can hear it sometimes (they do a great job) . I would like to gain some insight into how they have progressed from a child with this, and how they manage in an environment like they do today . I never thought someone with this condition would/could do that role ,which really gives me hope for my boy. I just dont want the person feeling embarrassed that its being picked up and feeling like they have to open up even though it would/could be a massive help to me .

I'm worked in the private sector for over 10 years, most recently in tech roles and I enjoy research but its not my main job function. I've done a research heavy degree and have element of research in my role. I'm looking to pivot in a research role in the civil service. I've found a lot of the recruitment is geared towards graduates and apprenticeships but there's not a lot of information for career switchers. Has anyone changed careers into a civil service role? Or does anyone have any useful information?

Thanks!

The role is for EO (currently an AO) and the behaviour is Working together. I’ve never done this before and have been scouring through posts and now I’m overthinking and unsure. Not sure if I should be using STAR in my PS or not. Ahh. Thank you in advance 😊

Just wondering if this is a set of rules, or something set in legislation? I’m particularly wanting to read about fairness in terms of groups included and excluded, and what the rules are all round that.

The situation is two schemes running at the same time - one for a directorate and one based on location. The directorate one excludes a group as they are essential and can’t be replaced (which is nonsense) but this group is allowed in the location scheme.

I find it quite bizarre as some of the ‘essential’ people have now left (although they will be easily replaced). I’m just wondering if that decision to exclude the group from the directorate scheme was fair (and legal…).

ive heard of flexi Audits being done across some departments and I know it's bad but I left one hour early one day relatively recently when no one was in the office.

from what ive seen this is gross misconduct under time theft.

now I'm not here to dispute ive done wrong and screwed up but how do TLs and HEOs etc actually know the hours recorded ? is it ID scans ? or laptop uptime or signed in time ?

Hi, im new to the civil service from the private sector (I haven't started yet).

This is a bit of a long one but any advice would be appreciated.

I applied to a contact centre roll in December, and scored pretty well i think (I still dont know how the scoring works completely, but I scored 26). Anyway, I was successful and have been waiting for a start date since.

Today I finally received the call (yay!) asking if im still interested to which I stated yes and they offered me a different role to what I had applied to. The new job sounds way better to be honest and is in a different location. When discussing the role they stated the start time for training would 8am to 4pm for 1 week and then be 7am and go til 4pm for 8 weeks. I let the vacancy holder know as I don't drive and live fairly rural I would not be able to get to the new location for 7am and due to public transport the soonest I can get there is 8am.

They asked if they could call me back later to which I agreed, and when they called me back they let me know the entirety of the training would go from 8am to 4pm and therefore was something I could do, so of course I accepted. I was told I would receive a questionnaire to fill in and submit asap and that was the end of the conversation.

Now this is where I think I may have made a mistake and I'm looking for opinions on where to go from here. When I received the questionnaire I filled it in and as I was about to send it off I noticed it stated that the training will be 8am to 4pm and then 7am to 4pm thereafter and do I agree. I put yes as I assumed maybe it hadn't been edited and sent off the questionnaire. I didnt query this which I now realised is a mistake.

I guess my question is, what do I do from here? Do I contact the vacancy holder and query this?

I'm due to start early May, so I need to act sooner rather than later I think.

I'm not gonna lie I really need this job, I was made redundant last year and haven't succeeded at landing a role yet until this one - do you think they will just move me back to the original job I applied for as I can't meet the hours they wanted?

TIA!

Do you think this job will be replaced by AI soon?

Hello all!

Just wondering if I apply to multiple roles, does it hurt my chances? Coming from private sector and a field where unless you’re a fresh grad, it’s usually not a good move.

First time applying to CS. Sent off first ever application yesterday and now looking to see if there’s more roles I fit.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

*No qualifications required*

Summary: If you’re interested, search ‘Entry Level Security Professional’ on Civil Service Jobs. If you’d like to hear from previous graduates, find ‘Government Security Academy’ on LinkedIn and watch the candidate information session on YouTube, which are both linked in the advert.

Locations: Leeds, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, York (there is no flexibility on this currently).

Important info: you need to be able to work full time for the 10 weeks training and there will be some face to face training in Leeds or London during that time. Depending on where you live, you may need to stay overnight several times throughout the 10 weeks (travel costs will be paid for you in these circumstances). Start date: September 2026 or January 2027 depending on your location.

Longer story:

I got into the Civil Service, and more specifically the security profession, through a training programme called the Government Security Academy, and they are recruiting again now.

Don’t be put off by the idea of not knowing anything about security - I didn’t either! The whole ethos of the programme is recruiting capable people, with strong core skills who are keen to learn and develop.

Reasons it has worked for me:

- No professional qualifications or previous experience in the sector required

- Genuinely interested in core skills & positive behaviours over everything else

- Flexible / hybrid working (option to have 2 days a week working from home)

- Lots of room for progression and getting qualifications on the job

- 10 weeks training before being posted into a permanent role

Person specification

Are you:

Committed to personal and professional development?

Able to communicate in an engaging and authentic way?

Comfortable working in a changing environment?

Able to make effective decisions?

I can now genuinely say I love my job and I have a career I’m excited about!

Hi all looking for some advice. I’ve been so lucky and been offered 2 very similar roles. The civil service one is for a customer service advisor and the one for Barclays is a specialist customer services advisor. The civil service pay is slightly more and better pension contributions, however Barclays is 3 days working from home and I would be based in their Glasgow office which has fantastic amenities such as a gym, bar, cafe e.t.c. Both overall seem like amazing employees with great benefits but I don’t want to make the wrong decision. Any input or personal experience with either would be very appreciated.

TL,DR: chances of getting a marketing role off the reserve list?

First time applying for a CS role, I went for an SEO level marketing role in the HO. I found out today I met the required standard but not offered the role and have been placed on the reserve list.

My interview scores were mainly 5s with one 4 and one 6. So 29/42. I think a pass is 4? So I just passed and so guessing I’m low on the list as it’s in order of merit.

I’m disappointed but honestly so proud of getting through to interview first go applying and really enjoyed the experience.

But my question is from other’s experience have you been offered an SEO level marketing role from the reserve list?

TIA

Applied for the Compliance Caseworker vacancy but unsure about application process!! I don't work for the CS but do work for a related org, and the CS process seems very foreign to me (a lot of acronyms!). Hopefully some of you are able to help with me questions!

I applied to the vacancy today and scored well so feel hopeful about an interview but the advert says it's a prerecorded interview. What's the normal timescale for getting an interview?

I still have some questions about if the job is suited for me, the type of thing I'd usually ask in an interview. But with it being pre-recorded, I'm curious when I would have the chance to ask those questions? If offered the role, is there an opportunity to ask questions before accepting?

If you were offered the role and turned it down, would that impact your future chances with Civil Service roles?

If offered a pre-recorded interview, are the chances of being offered the role high, or is the pre-recorded interview competitive and it's still a long shot?

Not sure if anyone has experiences with the specific job, but some of the questions I have (that I'd ideally like to ask in an interview...)

Is the job likely to include a lot of in person or phone conversations with clients? I'm unable to drive so would be wary of a role that includes a lot of on-site visits. I've also done a lot of telephony work previously so I'm not eager to return to anything that includes that. I'd like to understand a bit more about what the job entails and if it's a lot of working independently or a lot of dealing directly with clients.

The advert states it's 7 am - 8 pm Monday - Saturday, how does this work? Can you work anytime during these hours as long as you're meeting specific minimums or would you be given specific days. I'd prefer to avoid late evenings and Saturdays if possible due to external responsibilities.

The advert advised there's an 18 month training period, is it typical that people will fail during this period and be kicked out or not meet probation requirements? I've been in current place of work for approx 10 years so I'm a bit nervous about the possibility of starting somewhere new and then losing the job...

On that note, are CS jobs relatively stable? My current role is not great but offers a lot of stability and I have my concerns about moving somewhere where redundancies could be an issue. I would like to progress my career at this stage so I'm open to moving but wish there was a way to get a bit more information on the specifics of the role!

Thanks in advance!

The 2.5% cap being floated feels like a massive kick in the teeth considering how much the efficiency savings are already squeezing everyone

Does anyone currently work in or has worked in HM Land Registry.?

If so, are they strict with the 60% in office?

Considering a role but need to ensure the travel will be worth it.

Hello,

There was a recent VES exercise at my department, which I’ve applied for.

An excerpt of the guidance states the following:

“If you are re-employed in an organisation covered by the Civil Service pensions and

compensation arrangements outside the 28-day period, but within the lesser of:

a. six months, and

b. the notional period of the compensation payment.

You will have to pay back the compensation payment pro-rata”.

Just two questions

1. When it says “organisation covered by the Civil Service pensions and compensation arrangements” does that simply mean ANY organisation that offers a CS pension?

I don’t want to be caught out when applying for new jobs, especially considering a few jobs on CSJ do not offer a CS pension as a perk.

2. What does notional period mean?

Thanks for reading

Sorry, a recruitment question… interviewed for a role recently and have been placed on the reserve list. My feedback showed scores for the behaviours but 0 for the strengths. Emailed asking if this was an error and apparently none of the interviewed candidates were scored on strengths, so everyone was marked as 0… does this seem flawed to anyone else? What’s the point of having four strengths questions if you’re not actually marking them? And surely those scores could’ve changed the final outcome?

I'm on a reserve list for a role, she contacted me 6 weeks ago asking if I was still interested and said that she was hoping to get a role authorized and she felt confident about it and once it is would I be interested. It's now been 6 weeks and I've had absolutely no updates, I appreciate that 2 weeks of this was Easter but when do I chase? How long can a recruitment authorization take? She is a g6 so I'm not sure on the process

So, my department's merging with a few others, and that means a whole new team. My hours, where I work, everything's changing.

I'm stuck trying to figure out if I should join this new team or go for formal redeployment.

Honestly, I'm not super excited about the new team, but my current situation makes it a tough call. Do I stick with what's a bit more familiar, even though I'm bored, or do I risk it and go for redeployment?

I'd love to hear from anyone who's been through a formal redeployment.

I would ideally like to get a different role with Flexi, but I'm also a bit worried about the downsides.

Thanks for any advice you can give!