The Civil Service

The Civil Service employs over 510,000 people (full-time equivalent) in 173 departments and executive agencies, making it one of the biggest organisations in the UK. These people work for the public through the government of the day, and are politically impartial, working to a code that describes the principles of their dealings with ministers and the public. Everything they do touches people’s lives, from formulating policy to advising on a tax return, and from drafting new laws to issuing a driving licence.

Much of the work, particularly at junior levels, is office-based, working 37 hours a week on routine clerical and administrative tasks. The next level of employment would probably include writing letters and minutes of meetings, and dealing directly with the public. After that could well come specialising in a particular area, or moving up the general administrative ladder, which would almost certainly include elements of budgetary responsibility, policy planning and advice to ministers and senior officials.

Staff are generally classified as industrial or non-industrial, although some departments have abolished this distinction. Major employing departments are:

- Work and Pensions – 125,000 (24 per cent)

- MoD – 91,000 (18 per cent)

- Inland Revenue – 76,000 (15 per cent)

- Home Office (including Prison Service) – 65,000 (13 per cent).

The vast majority of industrials do similar jobs to those performed by blue-collar workers in other sectors. Non-industrial staff include ‘fast stream’ recruits, administrative grades (including junior managers – formerly called executive officers and higher executive officers) and specialist grades (including lawyers, linguists and librarians). Non-industrials can also apply to join the Diplomatic Service – working in London or one of the 200-plus British missions in over 170 countries.

Members of the Civil Service are 18 per cent London-based, with the rest working in offices throughout the UK. Recent staff reductions in some departments and agencies have been offset by increases in others. Notwithstanding the process of privatisation and outsourcing services, which has contributed to a considerable reduction in numbers over the last 15 years, the government has announced an intention to shave another 40,000 jobs.

No one should expect to become rich in the Civil Service, although salaries at the very highest levels are competitive. Even nowadays, though, there is considerable job security, with senior staff being responsible for their subordinates’ welfare and development. Pensions are index-linked, and there is both money and time off for training courses; the personal development of staff is seen as a priority in the Civil Service. Offices can be in older buildings in city centres or more spacious open-plan facilities in greenfield sites, and the work culture also varies from rigid and hierarchical to a more relaxed, team-oriented style – particularly in some agencies.

The Civil Service and the Armed Forces

The Civil Service has many similarities with the Armed Forces. Both serve the government, and have recently had greater emphasis placed on them to increase performance and reduce costs. Both are Investors In People, and offer training and personal development schemes that lead to qualifications that can be used with a subsequent employer. There are similar appraisal schemes and a relatively formal, structured work environment with established ranks and grades, although these are now used less frequently by the Civil Service as it introduces private-sector working practices. Employees in both are able to work in different jobs in different environments and gain experience in new areas.

Many Forces people work alongside Civil Servants, sometimes sharing offices and often carrying out joint functions with them, like policy, finance, logistics and procurement. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen and women who value the Forces culture can well feel comfortable by moving into a reasonably similar environment when they leave.

Recruitment

Most recruitment of people who join the Civil Service each year is done by the department or agency that is looking for staff. They will probably advertise vacancies in JobCentres, and in the local and regional press. Most positions will be in larger towns and cities, and telephone directories (under ‘Government Offices’) will have a list of departments and agencies in the area. The Civil Service website gives links to all the major Civil Service employers. Junior positions are advertised under a recruitment gateway, while more specific searches should be directed at the relevant department or agency.

Qualifications for entry vary and depend very much on the department people apply to, the area in which they want to work and the grade at which they want to enter. Specialists will need the relevant qualifications – for example, a member of the Government Information and Communication Service will usually have a degree and some experience in the media field, an economist will have an economics degree and a lawyer will be legally qualified.

However, more general posts simply require a level of academic or vocational achievement to show competence to function at the necessary grade. So a junior post will need two GCSEs at grades A to C, while a more senior one will require five. Both will need English, but people without formal qualifications can be selected if they have relevant previous experience and pass a written test.

Unlike the Forces, junior managers can be recruited directly as well as promoted internally. Half of them are graduates, but the rest have other qualifications, with the minimum generally being two A-levels and three GCSEs, one of which should be English. However, some departments place less emphasis on education and look instead for people with competencies in such areas as decision-making, written and oral communication, managing resources, and planning. These skills are at the heart of military training, and applicants should be prepared to provide evidence of their skills and experience in these areas.

Around 500 graduates are accepted for Fast Stream posts every year, and many of the top tier and very senior civil servants started in the Fast Stream. The minimum qualification for external candidates is a second-class honours degree in any subject, but the selection process looks for the ‘leaders of tomorrow’ with strong intellectual, analytical and interpersonal skills. Serving civil servants are selected by their departments and do not need formal educational qualifications. Fast Stream schemes include:

- Central

- Science and Engineering

- European

- Diplomatic Service

- Clerkships in Parliament

- Statisticians

- Economists

- Government Communications Headquarters

- Secret Intelligence Service.

The selection process comprises aptitude tests on-screen, followed by interviews and assessments. It is a very popular option among graduates, and competition for places is fierce. Successful candidates can expect to spend some years in a series of high-profile development appointments (each of one year to 18 months), designed to give them experience in a variety of areas. They then enter competition with everyone else, although most tend to continue a rapid upward path through a series of demanding jobs.

There are generally no age limits for the Civil Service, but applicants will be expected to have a reasonable working life ahead of them.

The Military Support Function (MSF) has replaced the Retired Officer scheme, covering a wide variety of roles, including welfare, housing, logistics, finance, personnel management and training. There are MSF posts throughout the MoD at locations all over the United Kingdom and overseas, working to support the military.
Applicants need a broad knowledge of military life and procedures. This understanding does not need to have been obtained from full-time military service: they may have worked with the Services as a civilian, worked in the defence industry, or be in one of the reserve organisations. Equally the MSF can offer a second career for a retiring Service person. All posts carry a normal retirement age of 65.

Salaries

Because salaries and gradings have now been delegated to individual departments and agencies, there is no laid-down scale although there are some figures that can be identified:

- 28 per cent of Civil Servants earn less than £15,000

- another 48 per cent earn between £15,000 and £25,000

- yet another 16 per cent earn between £25,000 and £35,000

- 8 per cent earn more than £35,000 with only 2 per cent earning £50,000 or more.

Some illustrative starting salaries are:

- administrative assistants: £15,000 to £16,000

- junior managers: £19,500 to £20,500

- middle managers: £ 29,500 to £31,000.

There are a number of allowances that will increase the figures given above.