NICS aptitude test - what to wear?

Indo77

thriftyminx13 wrote: »

I got my offer today. I don't see how I can take it. I feel gutted. They offer you bottom of the pay scale but yet put you miles from where you live so you end up worse off financially if you take it and if you have to travel anywhere for work to meetings or the airport because your new work is so far away from your home you'll not even being to claim for mileage.

I can't even contest it.

I no longer work in the civil service but years I got a position based in Fermanagh and could not accept it because I was moving to Belfast. I sent HR a (very) polite letter asking them could I be relocated to somewhere closer to my surroundings thinking nothing would ever come of it. This was an AO post though not a Staff Officer.

thriftyminx13

Indo77 wrote: »

I no longer work in the civil service but years I got a position based in Fermanagh and could not accept it because I was moving to Belfast. I sent HR a (very) polite letter asking them could I be relocated to somewhere closer to my surroundings thinking nothing would ever come of it. This was an AO post though not a Staff Officer.

Did they try to accomodate you and move you?

yeah i know people do commute for more than an hour but i'll not be near any main transport links so I will have to drive.

Looking at fuel, student loan etc I won't be better off I'll actually be worse because I claim mileage if I go on any courses and out to meetings at the minute. But the journey time will be so long that this would negate any claims.

NAR

thriftyminx13 wrote: »

I got my offer today. I don't see how I can take it. I feel gutted. They offer you bottom of the pay scale but yet put you miles from where you live so you end up worse off financially if you take it and if you have to travel anywhere for work to meetings or the airport because your new work is so far away from your home you'll not even being to claim for mileage.
I can't even contest it.

1. You get mileage if you go to your office first.
2. You know you are going to a grade which is mainly greater belfast based - do you expect a post to be created in your locality expecially for you?
3. How many people in SO grade have been waiting for transfers to your locality for years - why should you get a post there before them?

thriftyminx13

NAR wrote: »

1. You get mileage if you go to your office first.
2. You know you are going to a grade which is mainly greater belfast based - do you expect a post to be created in your locality expecially for you?
3. How many people in SO grade have been waiting for transfers to your locality for years - why should you get a post there before them?

No I don't expect any special treatment I've been a civil servant for long enough. I can still be gutted that it'll be a long round trip and not somewhere closer. I didn't want my locality specifically just somewhere where i could reach by public transport.

I'm sorry I seem to have hit a nerve it wasn't my intention and I apologise I was just speaking my mind. I'm in a quandry and was just looking for a sound board.

Golden_Anemone

Hi Thriftyminx13. Sorry you've been offered somewhere so far away from home. My journey time is an hour each way - more if I don't leave at the crack of dawn so I appreciate what you'll be facing and how daunting it may seem. You do get used to it however.

I know that in previous years existing Civil Servants did receive pay on promotion terms when they got the Graduate SO posts. I hope that is still the case.

They also qualified for excess fares for the first 3 years - I was on a career break so missed out on these. Have you asked whether you will qualify for these? Someone I know travels daily from the NW and he isn't convenient to public transport - he drives some days abut other days leaves his car in Dungiven and takes the bus from there. His excess fares are a lot more than it costs him to travel so he feels it's worth it. I do appreciate though that it involves time as well as money.

Could you do a combination of driving and public transport? There are also any number of car pool arrangements. Can you see if you know anyone who is travelling and whether you could join in one of these meaning you only need to drive every 4th or 5th week?

Do talk to HR Connect on Monday to see whether you will qualify for Excess Fares or indeed whether there is any flexibility in where you're placed. Fingers crossed for you. :grouphug:

36square

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

His excess fares are a lot more than it costs him to travel so he feels it's worth it. I do appreciate though that it involves time as well as money.

This is an outrageous perk.
Do you people appreciate that this board is used by some of us whose wages, salaries and pensions aren't paid by taxpayers? Such unfortunate people do exist in NI although you may never have met any.
Would it require too much initiative for you to create your own chatroom somehere else?

NAR

thriftyminx13 wrote: »

I'm sorry I seem to have hit a nerve it wasn't my intention and I apologise I was just speaking my mind. I'm in a quandry and was just looking for a sound board.

No nerve hit, I was just pointing out the realities of the situation. If you intend to get on in the service sometimes you just have to make sacrifices. Didn't mean to sound harsh.

Golden_Anemone

36square wrote: »

This is an outrageous perk.
Do you people appreciate that this board is used by some of us whose wages, salaries and pensions aren't paid by taxpayers? Such unfortunate people do exist in NI although you may never have met any.
Would it require too much initiative for you to create your own chatroom somehere else?

I suggest you get down off that high horse before you fall off it! I'd be tempted to give you a push if I knew where you are. If you trawl through this board looking for offence you will no doubt find it.

This thread is about jobs in the NICS - Thriftyminx13 asked a question, I answered it. As you don't work in the NICS may I respectfully suggest that you kindly butt out and involve yourself in threads that are more relevant to your circumstances.

Civil Servants have traditionally been paid less than their equivalents in the private sector and the justification given has always been that the "package" includes much more than salary.

Go take a poke at people who are breaking the rules (may I suggest the politicians if you haven't been paying attention) instead of the people who are following the terms and conditions of their employment.

Lauri254

36square wrote: »

This is an outrageous perk.
Do you people appreciate that this board is used by some of us whose wages, salaries and pensions aren't paid by taxpayers? Such unfortunate people do exist in NI although you may never have met any.
Would it require too much initiative for you to create your own chatroom somehere else?

Why on earth would the people posting on this thread in response to a question relating to NICS make their own chatroom?
The thread title clearly states it is about NICS so why are you reading it if it's gonna cause you annoyance?
Perhaps you should have used your brain and not posted in a thread when you had nothing helpful to contribute.

People like you make my blood boil with your atititude towards civil servants who lets face it, are people who are merely doing their job, day in day out, just like yourself and many many others, and for those who are in the lower grades in NICS are paid less for the same type of work that is done at the same level in the private sector. I know this from experience as I have worked in both sectors, and I get paid less in NICS than i did in my private sector job.
To add, in the private sector job I worked, I was also able to work flexi hours and it had a very good pension.

Oh and just to point out we pay tax and national insurance too, so when you refer to taxpayers that includes us.

ni_student

Hi, just wondering if anyone could tell me how to find out when the next aptitude tests are going to be?