Civil service job offer - pay negotiation?

Ajtc

Hi,

I recently received a formal offer of employment subject to security clearance, with the pay on application varying from £15-21k. The first I heard about my actual salary was when I received the formal offer, and it was for 17k. This is considerably lower than I would have hoped for (19+ was my aim). Particularly as the only role requirements were ‘at least 5 GCSEs’, and I have an undergraduate and masters degree, both top grade, and both in relevant areas of work.

Can I negotiate this pay? Is it worth me trying is will that risk my chance at the job now the offer has been made?

Thanks in advance

Silvertabby

You may have the qualifications, but do you have the experience?

Ajtc

I realise experience plays a big role in it, but it’s specifically advertised as an entry-level role where actual experience isn’t required. I understand that it would make the difference for the top salary, but I think 17k is a particularly lowball offer and I’d like to see it go to at least 18.5k

TELLIT01

You can ask, but I think the likelihood of success is somewhere between nil and b*gger all :-) As it is an entry level role any experience you have isn't likely to have much leverage.

Silvertabby

Then I think you'll find that you've been offered £17 because of your qualifications - anyone with the minimum 5 GCSEs would have gone straight in on £15K.

You should progress up the incremental scale to the full £21K in due course.

Manxman_in_exile

Silvertabby wrote: »

You may have the qualifications, but do you have the experience?

If the educational requirement is five GCSEs, they may consider you to be "overqualified" and likely to disappear to a better job.


In the CS they may have some leeway to offer you a better salary, but they are already offering more than the minimum and this may reflect your relevant degrees. As Silvertabby suggests, experience is likely to be more relevant than qualifications - especially as I suspect the CS has a much larger number of applicants than most employers.


(ETA: If it's an entry level job you are lucky not to go in on the minimum of the scale. Hoping for a mid-point is unrealistic).


When I started working in the NHS I was definitely overqualified for my earlier posts, but I stayed there and ended up with a satisfactory (and reasonably well paid career).

NeilCr

I used to do a lot of recruitment for a Civil Service type organisation and agree with the comments already made.

Unless we had a shortage in an entry level grade we were very unlikely to negotiate. We might go up a point or two - as has been said it looks like they’ve already done this with you. We did often negotiate heavily for specialist posts.

Manxman is right. In my experience graduates at the clerical level quickly started looking around for other jobs. And, in all honesty, they generally weren’t any better than those with the basic qualifications. Indeed we often found that the 5 O Level folks had gained work experience while the graduates were at university and started with a better sense of what work was all about

zaax

Thats just the starting pay, once your in with a master you will able to get on the Fast Stream https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-fast-stream

IAmWales

Silvertabby wrote: »

Then I think you'll find that you've been offered £17 because of your qualifications - anyone with the minimum 5 GCSEs would have gone straight in on £15K.

You should progress up the incremental scale to the full £21K in due course.

Qualifications don't come into it at AO grade, they'll be doing the same work as anyone else at that grade and will be paid accordingly.

OP you can ask the question but expect the answer to be no. The only way you're likely to get higher would be if you get a London weighting, but that would be stated as part of the offer, not added afterwards. Think of this job as a foot in the door and start working towards higher grades. Most graduates go in at EO or not HEO so it shouldn't take long for you to progress.

Andy_L

Currently most (all?) CS departments have done away with annual pay increments so it's likely that what you accept is what you will have until you get promotion.
You have nothing to lose by asking for more

IAmWales

zaax wrote: »

Thats just the starting pay, once your in with a master you will able to get on the Fast Stream https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-fast-stream

Being an internal candidate does not increase your chances of getting on the FS, but it's certainly something to keep in mind for next year.

Aj, did you not apply for FS this year?