r/civilservice

The window for selling up to five days annual leave (at HMRC) opens 13-31 October. Worth remembering for those wanting the additional money in time for Christmas. It will be paid in the November salary.

Part timers can claim up to the equivalent pro rata amount.

Hi everyone, had to make a Reddit account as I am getting sick of waiting now!

There must be some sort of problem with MOJ & their vetting checks…. Does 10 weeks waiting for BPSS/PEC’s sound normal!?

Seems colleagues from other departments haven’t had to wait as long.

I interviewed for a HEO role in DWP- there were 10 jobs across 4 locations. I heard that I was on the reserve list, and then the same day asked if I would consider 6 further locations for the same job.
I’m interested to know wether they will have offered my preferred location to someone else already, and are now opening up other options to those of us left, or, if they initially put everyone in reserve, send out further locations and see if anyone comes back with being happy with other locations before they offer anyone anything… Any ideas?!

I thought I would do well since I’ve already worked in an administrative/customer-role for HMRC before. Section A and B had answers that practically overlapped in meaning to the point where it became a matter of just picking the least confrontational one. Section C gave me only 10 minutes to answer more than several questions where I had to spot small incongruencies across multiple tables of data per question, and then do math on top of this as-well (it was basic math but I suck at math in any case, the questions also seemed to be out of place and more appropriate for an accounts-based role rather than a customer advisor so it felt a bit unfair.)

Not even 10 minutes passed after submitting my answers before I was hit with a rejection message. Surprisingly, I excelled at Section C but below average for A & B.

I just wanted to vent more than anything as I’ve been job searching for months and have been forced to claim benefits just to survive.

Hi everyone! I’ll be relocating to the area for a job at the DWP Treforest office, and I’m struggling to find suitable accommodation. Most of the properties I’ve seen in Pontypridd seem to be student lets, and some haven’t been great.

For those who work at the Treforest office, where do you live, and how did you find your accommodation? Are there any nearby towns or letting agents you’d recommend?

I’d really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

I’m a recent graduate who’s going in to his first “proper” job in a graduate scheme within the civil service. What are things I should be doing my first week?

I already know I’ll be doing lots of training etc, but should I be arranging calls with people in my team to get to know them? If so, what should I be asking them? Should I be attending seminars that they offer me also? And if there’s other things you think would be useful for me to do or that I should be doing then please let me know.

Thank you.

On the 8th of Sept I finally saw that my PECs were completed. Was very happy and expected to hear something in a week or so but I have still heard nothing from my hiring manager. I’ve even been on holiday and come back but still nothing 🤣

How long does it usually take to hear from your manager after your checks are completed?

Mine is for campaign 13510 PSO if anyone else is in this intake.

I was recently placed on a Civil Service reserve list after interviewing for a role. The original campaign was recruiting multiple people. I was told I had met the required standard but couldn’t be offered a role immediately.

At the time, I asked the vacancy holder where I was on the reserve list. He explicitly told me that they do not confirm reserve-list positions as a matter of protocol and policy. I then asked whether he thought the reserve list was likely to be used during its 12-month life, and he said he was unable to comment on potential future recruitment requirements, as these would depend on business needs and approval processes.

About a month later, however, he contacted me completely unprompted and said:

"You are next on the reserve list and we may be in a position to make additional appointments in the near future. While we are still awaiting final approvals, please could you let me know whether you would still be interested in the role?"

I immediately confirmed that I remained very interested and would be delighted to accept.

What I find particularly encouraging is:

he previously specifically said they couldn’t tell me my reserve-list position, but has now volunteered that I’m next

he referred to additional appointments in the plural

he said "in the near future"

he said they are awaiting "final approvals"

he proactively checked whether I would still accept

For anyone familiar with Civil Service recruitment/reserve lists: how would you interpret this? Does this normally mean an additional vacancy has effectively been identified and they’re just waiting for final headcount/budget approval before making the offer?

I obviously know nothing is guaranteed until I actually receive an offer, but this feels considerably stronger than a routine reserve-list update.

I am currently undergoing pre-employment check woth DWP. They requested for my COS document but I dont have a copy of it but I hav my license number and COS number. DWP has refused to accept those details. What other detail are they looking for pls? And what can I do?

For context: I apply for a plantilla position in a Local Government Unit (LGU). Recently, I received an email saying that I am "qualified" to take the examination, but when I see the names/email of other applicants I see some familiar names from that same office and an outlook account.

Should I still continue with the examination? Should I lower my expectations because this might be a "formality" examination? Thank you for your answers.

--Started PEC for DWP EO august 18th. ---DwP sponsorship team requested for pre 2023 COS, which i sent 18 August. --Current sponsorship got suspended Sept 22nd. ---Consent letter sent on sept 24 asking for my consent to check my employment history from HMRC( possibly 1 referee didn't respond).

Now, will my offer be withdrawn based on the date my current sponsor licence got suspended. I know of someone who was told"they couldn't find the employer onlist of sponsor" and offer withdrawn.

Anyone able to share if HMT have any regional offices aside from Darlington and what is the current wfh culture?

Thanks

I’m due to start on Monday when I accepted my offer 2 weeks ago and got my start date I emailed asking about parking and didn’t hear back so this week I emailed again and got a response in the afternoon that parking is only available when I’ve registered with the parking committee but I don’t know if I’m able to do this before starting as where my job is there’s no alternative parking except on a dodgy looking road and now this has messed me up since by public transport it’ll take an hour to get there compared to the 15 minute drive and I wouldn’t assumed if I needed to register it would’ve been included in previous emails - is it easy registering since I can’t do public transport all the time until this gets fixed as I budgeted for enough petrol and filled my car up ready for this and now I’m facing additional transport costs

Hi everyone,

I'm considering joining the UK Civil Service and would appreciate some advice about overseas career opportunities.

If I join a department other than the FCDO, would I be eligible to apply for internally advertised overseas positions?

I've noticed that most FCDO vacancies advertised publicly in Europe are locally employed roles. Are UK-based Civil Service overseas postings, particularly in Europe, generally advertised internally?

I'd be grateful to hear from anyone who has experience with this or knows how the process works in practice.

Thanks in advance!