DWP Success letter--now what?

gillian0808

Hi, I have been extremely lucky in that I have had a letter from DWP for a AO position stating that after successful checks I will be offered a post.

Has anyone gone through the next step of being offered role,hours and place?
Are you given any options at all?

The on-line form I completed stated part time would be available to suit business needs and this is what I require to fit in with my family.

I also noticed that some people have been given quite short notice start dates too. Is this normal procedure? I am very fortunate that I am already employed so what about giving notice to my current employer?

It all seems very sketchy and a bit worrying if I'm honest.

many thanks if your able to help.
Gillian

charlotte20196

gillian0808 wrote: »

Hi, I have been extremely lucky in that I have had a letter from DWP for a AO position stating that after successful checks I will be offered a post.

Has anyone gone through the next step of being offered role,hours and place?
Are you given any options at all?

The on-line form I completed stated part time would be available to suit business needs and this is what I require to fit in with my family.

I also noticed that some people have been given quite short notice start dates too. Is this normal procedure? I am very fortunate that I am already employed so what about giving notice to my current employer?

It all seems very sketchy and a bit worrying if I'm honest.

many thanks if your able to help.
Gillian

Gillian, You are going to work for the DWP, who are fully aware of the standard terms & conditions of employment. The standard terms are 4 weeks notice.

I would tend to think they would ask "when would you be able to start", e.g you say 15th June, you then give notice to your current employer.

As regard to place of work, you perhaps had to choose preferred locations, which you had to tick. They should offer you one of these.

Don't worry it'll work out, good luck!

G. Telford

agnetha

gillian0808 wrote: »

Hi, I have been extremely lucky in that I have had a letter from DWP for a AO position stating that after successful checks I will be offered a post.

Has anyone gone through the next step of being offered role,hours and place?

The next step before getting a start date is:

middle age, old age, death, end of civilisation as we know it, burn out and death of the sun, and finally sometime after all that you may get a start date letter :rolleyes:

Seriously, good luck but don't hold your breath - I'm in exactly the same position and got the same letter and three months on I'm still waiting. It all seems to hang on how long the CRB check takes.

c0113tt3

agnetha wrote: »

The next step before getting a start date is:

middle age, old age, death, end of civilisation as we know it, burn out and death of the sun, and finally sometime after all that you may get a start date letter :rolleyes:

lol

wait till you actually start !! its far worse !!

after several years of under staffing / staff reduction, unrealistic targets / work pressure, and now the recession. Oh and not forgetting the closure of mass offices and larger boundary changes / work intake, treat this waiting time as a holiday

This is exactly the reason why there are such delays and mistakes from government depts, when people either apply for benefits / information / sorting out problems etc.. Not the fault of the staff, but the government itself.

Everyone has this impression that working for dwp / government departments is a great deal, agreed yes it used to be some 8 years plus ago and backwards, but certainly not now. Even pcs union, cant cope with the amount of complaints / grievances anymore, and even the civil service appeal board has masses of complaints from staff.

Its not a good place to work anymore, be thankful for the wait

If you can take immense stress and pressure from workload (i.e. a job that took 30 mins crunched down to 20 then crunched to 10 mins achieving the same quality of work and service), agro from customers and managers almost daily, ambi dextrous and can multi task multi tasking ,i.e. multi tasking alone is not enough, then you will do very well indeed .

This is no exageration.

Admitted private industry is also under stress too, but thats only recently due to recession, it hasnt had year on year crunching for the last 8 years or so and then the recession.

barneythedog

c0113tt3 wrote: »

lol

wait till you actually start !! its far worse !!

after several years of under staffing / staff reduction, unrealistic targets / work pressure, and now the recession. Oh and not forgetting the closure of mass offices and larger boundary changes / work intake, treat this waiting time as a holiday

This is exactly the reason why there are such delays and mistakes from government depts, when people either apply for benefits / information / sorting out problems etc.. Not the fault of the staff, but the government itself.

Everyone has this impression that working for dwp / government departments is a great deal, agreed yes it used to be some 8 years plus ago and backwards, but certainly not now. Even pcs union, cant cope with the amount of complaints / grievances anymore, and even the civil service appeal board has masses of complaints from staff.

Its not a good place to work anymore, be thankful for the wait

If you can take immense stress and pressure from workload (i.e. a job that took 30 mins crunched down to 20 then crunched to 10 mins achieving the same quality of work and service), agro from customers and managers almost daily, ambi dextrous and can multi task multi tasking ,i.e. multi tasking alone is not enough, then you will do very well indeed .

This is no exageration.

Admitted private industry is also under stress too, but thats only recently due to recession, it hasnt had year on year crunching for the last 8 years or so and then the recession.

Interesting comments - Have just recd my start date Monday 18th May!!

barneythedog

charlotte20196 wrote: »

Gillian, You are going to work for the DWP, who are fully aware of the standard terms & conditions of employment. The standard terms are 4 weeks notice.

I would tend to think they would ask "when would you be able to start", e.g you say 15th June, you then give notice to your current employer.

As regard to place of work, you perhaps had to choose preferred locations, which you had to tick. They should offer you one of these.

Don't worry it'll work out, good luck!

G. Telford

Hi there everyone, its quite possible that whern your contacted by the job holder/ business unit ( delete as appropriate ) they may not have all your information to hand!. For example i have been signing on at the same JCP for the last three months, Ive also applied for a position there as an AO. During the last four weeks i have spoken to several people at the branch about this role etc and on Friday of last week was contacted by the branch offerring me my start date and asking if when I would be able to start and would i have to submit my notice to my current employer!

However, I have alos been advised if you have chosen multi locations to work from they will always try and place you at the office/branch closest to you!

I now have my start date Monday 18th May at my preferred office!!

gillian0808

Thanks all for your help.

When I applied I was never given any options to select as to where/when & why I wanted to work in a certain area.
I would prefer job centre (i think?) and part time hours.
But the advert and interview process gave no indication of anything more.

I am also quite disturbed to hear that the last poster was asked to start without giving thought to working a notice period! Surely this should not be encouraged and what would it say about my integrity if I did it?

I am having serious second thoughts about the whole thing and feel very disappointed.