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Civil Service Redundancies

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Comments

  • NASA_2
    NASA_2 Posts: 5,571 Forumite
    x12yhp wrote: »
    It is about time that the civil service got with the times and ensured that its staff were doing what they were supposed to and, if not, got rid of them.
    Very true indeed.

    I passed over a query to a colleague of mine today as there was a bit of work that needed to be done on it today. I was met by the excuse that she didnt know how to do this particular bit of work. This person is 15 to 20 years my senior and has been in the department a considerable period more than me.

    I was intensely !!!! off at this person. If she really didnt know how to do the requested action then she needs sacked. If she does and lied to me then she deserves sacked. Either way I left it with her and I think it got done by someone in the end.

    I resent having to work with people like that. Makes my job so much harder than it needs to be and she gets paid more for being at the same grade doing less at a lower standard of accuracy.
  • purt
    purt Posts: 4,710 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    NASA wrote: »
    Very true indeed.

    I passed over a query to a colleague of mine today as there was a bit of work that needed to be done on it today. I was met by the excuse that she didnt know how to do this particular bit of work. This person is 15 to 20 years my senior and has been in the department a considerable period more than me.

    I was intensely !!!! off at this person. If she really didnt know how to do the requested action then she needs sacked. If she does and lied to me then she deserves sacked. Either way I left it with her and I think it got done by someone in the end.

    I resent having to work with people like that. Makes my job so much harder than it needs to be and she gets paid more for being at the same grade doing less at a lower standard of accuracy.

    A familiar story.

    Would be wonderful if they did some sort of regrading exercise whereby everyone had to sit a test or something to determine their grade. There'd be a few people demoted I'd say.
  • x12yhp
    x12yhp Posts: 801 Forumite
    purt wrote: »
    A familiar story.

    Would be wonderful if they did some sort of regrading exercise whereby everyone had to sit a test or something to determine their grade. There'd be a few people demoted I'd say.

    That said, this is a very tough thing to do. This was done in QUB over the last couple of years and it turned into a game. People were claiming to be doing this that and the other to justify higher grading. They then failed to get upgraded but had of course reclassified their job to include these other roles so they then felt hard done by. Then there were others doing tough jobs without time to go above and beyond and they can find themselves dropped down because they appear to be so much less productive than the others who are claiming to be doing every job under the sun....

    Basically... an utter mess.

    Time to outsource the public sector into private hands? A whole new set of problems but it would soon week out the slackers!!
    Always overestimating...
  • one2escape
    one2escape Posts: 137 Forumite
    The biggest problem facing the NICS is the equal pay. This is what is making the situation worse as it is pushing the wage bill up. There is a further one coming soon which may see AA/ AOs merging and Eo2s / EO1s merging. From what I have been told it "should" happen but there is no funding for it. Also NIPSA reported it in there reports that they dropping there concerns over the merging of the EO2 and EO1s as things as far as I know have been sorted behind the scenes bar having the funding for it.

    Regarding the redundacies, there is nothing to worry about till next financial year. By all accounts money is there until then depending there is a pay freeze. :eek: After that it is all up in the air.
  • one2escape
    one2escape Posts: 137 Forumite
    x12yhp wrote: »
    That said, this is a very tough thing to do. This was done in QUB over the last couple of years and it turned into a game. People were claiming to be doing this that and the other to justify higher grading. They then failed to get upgraded but had of course reclassified their job to include these other roles so they then felt hard done by. Then there were others doing tough jobs without time to go above and beyond and they can find themselves dropped down because they appear to be so much less productive than the others who are claiming to be doing every job under the sun....

    Basically... an utter mess.

    Time to outsource the public sector into private hands? A whole new set of problems but it would soon week out the slackers!!

    Yes and that won't cost as much then? You need to look at the figures before you say that.
  • NASA_2
    NASA_2 Posts: 5,571 Forumite
    Is outsourcing really a solution?

    HRConnect, while not as abysmal as NIPSA reps like to make out, is very expensive. They were supposed to revolutionise payroll but any time I have had to contact them I have found them lacking the expertise that the old departmental personnel branch had. That said, I e-mailed them a week or so ago and, although it took almost a week, they actually gave me the exact information I needed to do what I needed to do.
  • I worked for HRConnect until I was made redundant to the reduction on recruiting earlier this year. I've had to deal with Civil Servants in the various agencies and the difference in giving out the right information between them is incredible!! Dealing with staff who are experienced and non-judgemental is a pleasure but I've also had to deal with staff who have given out the wrong information, been abrupt and at one point been greeted with total derision when I queried something!! This department deals with people of an older age and have may not had to claim in their lives and if I were not a stronger person I would have been put off. In HRConnect we were subject to SLAs and if these were not met, then we had some explaining to do! I don't think out-sourcing is the answer but things should definetely tighten up and training needs identified. Unfortunately, I fear there will be an exodus of experienced staff who know how to treat customers properly!!.
  • x12yhp
    x12yhp Posts: 801 Forumite
    one2escape wrote: »
    Yes and that won't cost as much then? You need to look at the figures before you say that.

    My statement was with some level of jest, it was the underlying 'ethos' I was comparing. I did, in fact, qualify my statement with:
    A whole new set of problems but it would soon weed out the slackers!!

    If you have the figures, please post a link because I would be very interested to see how they came to this conclusion!

    If you had read between the lines you would have see that my implication was that the private sector is all about making money. The slacking mentality would not thus be able to survive. I appreciate there is the problem that we now have another link in the chain (which needs a cut) but I refer you back to my qualification. Furthermore there is theoretical merit because you are bolstering the private sector (albeit receiving public money). The hope would be that there would be competition thus driving down the costs. Beyond that, the increase in the private sector would mean more drive to bring in additional business, further aiding the private sector.

    So please take a bit of time before posting a snappy response. These discussions are food for thought and often should not be interpreted in the strictest sense.
    Always overestimating...
  • NASA_2
    NASA_2 Posts: 5,571 Forumite
    x12yhp wrote: »
    My statement was with some level of jest, it was the underlying 'ethos' I was comparing. I did, in fact, qualify my statement with:



    If you have the figures, please post a link because I would be very interested to see how they came to this conclusion!

    If you had read between the lines you would have see that my implication was that the private sector is all about making money. The slacking mentality would not thus be able to survive. I appreciate there is the problem that we now have another link in the chain (which needs a cut) but I refer you back to my qualification. Furthermore there is theoretical merit because you are bolstering the private sector (albeit receiving public money). The hope would be that there would be competition thus driving down the costs. Beyond that, the increase in the private sector would mean more drive to bring in additional business, further aiding the private sector.

    So please take a bit of time before posting a snappy response. These discussions are food for thought and often should not be interpreted in the strictest sense.
    I deal with the private sector plenty and they are either slack, or !!!!, I dont think the sector matters. There might be more public than private in northern Ireland but the people are the same.
  • x12yhp
    x12yhp Posts: 801 Forumite
    NASA wrote: »
    I deal with the private sector plenty and they are either slack, or !!!!, I dont think the sector matters. There might be more public than private in northern Ireland but the people are the same.

    They are only slack until there is a problem or the work fails to get done. At this point you encounter the pertinent difference between public and private; in the private sector, heads roll.
    Always overestimating...
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