Work for DWP or large high street bank?

nicechap

When you've made a decision, maybe you could update your other thread on similar subject.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6125557/how-do-people-decide-their-job/p1

[Deleted User]

Toss a coin if really unsure.  Personally I might call it on how soon each could get you started but that's me.

TELLIT01

JReacher1 said:

Better job security and benefits at dwp. Probably better chance of advancement and money at the bank. 

Job security with DWP is a fallacy.  Civil Service jobs are no more secure these days than in any other area of the public or private sector.  Likewise benefits.  Many areas no longer even have flexible working. Annual leave entitlement is also the statutory minimum until after several years service. Unless you wan't to move, many of the promotion opportunities are into dead man's shoes.

Mrs_Ryan

I work for HMRC and I’ve found them to be the best employer I’ve had. They’ve been incredibly supportive of my many complex needs due to disability and my caring needs for my husband. They’ve also given  me much time off at the drop of a hat since I started as my dad was terminally ill, and when he passed away in February I was given very generous time off. My salary is excellent compared to my last job and they’ve always been really flexible with me around allowing me study leave etc as well (I’m studying with the OU) There seems to be a lot of moving around in my department and they often seem to be touting promotion. My manager thinks I would make a good candidate for promotion but I’m okay where I am. I guess that different departments of the Civil Service have different experiences, that said I don’t think I could work for DWP.

Emmia

I've been a Civil Servant for 12 years. Job security and flexibility is great (once you've been there 9-12 months and are "confirmed") pension isnt bad (although not as good as it used to be). The only thing,  is that pay rises tend to be below inflation... that is what the words "public sector pay restraint" mean in reality. 

Once you're in the civil service and "confirmed" it is usually fairly easy to transfer to another department or job that you'd enjoy more, as jobs are advertised for existing civil servants first, before going to external recruitment... and there are so many fascinating and interesting jobs available.

I wanted to be a Civil Servant (and I love it) but I also know lots of people who joined the civil service 15, 20, 30, 40 years ago as a "stop gap" whilst they worked out what they wanted to do... 

My understanding of DWP is that frontline is often where people start, but most move to "back office" fairly quickly - and love it. DWP also pays well (not all government departments pay the same for the same grade of work). I've never personally worked in a front line position like the one you've been offered, but I've had a number of jobs where calls are put through from switchboard and people think it is ok to verbally abuse and threaten me - that said, those jobs are also the ones where I've been able to help people understand "the system" so they can access the services they really need, and that is something that I'm very proud of. 

TELLIT01

I worked for DWP, but not in a customer facing role.  When I started there I would agree that many of the 'old hands' loved the job.  Over my time there the workload increased to a level where it was literally impossible to the job properly i.e. do all the checking and information gathering, and process the required number of claims.  I was working processing new claims and when this was raised with our section manager we were told that the only aspect of the job which was checked was the number of claims processed.  It was stressed to us that errors in processing were not our problem and would have to be sorted out by the 'Changes' team.  I can't imagine anything more demotivating that being told not to take any pride in your work.  Once that came in a number of established staff found life very difficult with a number going off with stress related problems.  If that's the sort of environment you want to work in then it may be the job for you.

Regarding pay rate - when I was there the pay was lower than for comparable grades in both HMRC and Land Registry.  In fact we lost staff to both for that reason.

amandacat

I have worked for the DWP and a high street bank so can give you my opinion on both.
DWP- I worked on a customer helpline, was a bit like a call centre. Endless abuse from customers. Good holiday and sickness benefits. System of promotions was a little corrupt when I worked there eg manager decided who they wanted rather than open adverts. I worked there for 4 years and career prospects were appalling full stop. I didn’t like the management style, felt very old school eg. I am the boss you do what I say. 
Bank- I did 2 years in a customer facing role so was not back office. I opened bank accounts, arranged loans etc. There were good prospects for promotion in the bank but everything in the bank was ‘sell,sell,sell’ it led to a culture of pushing customers to buy products they didn’t need. I left due to this culture. You may not experience this if you are back office but my experience was all staff were customer facing in some way. I preferred the bank in the main as everyone worked together and you could progress but it was the sales practices that led to me leaving. 

Andy_L

TELLIT01 said:

Regarding pay rate - when I was there the pay was lower than for comparable grades in both HMRC and Land Registry.  In fact we lost staff to both for that reason.

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/civil-service-pay
They seem to be the worst for the junior grades. Unfortunately the median number isn't that informative as differing departments have different distributions of grades.

emmany

Thanks for the feedback. I'm grateful people were kind enough to share their experiences. 

amandacat said:

I have worked for the DWP and a high street bank so can give you my opinion on both.
DWP- I worked on a customer helpline, was a bit like a call centre. Endless abuse from customers. Good holiday and sickness benefits. System of promotions was a little corrupt when I worked there eg manager decided who they wanted rather than open adverts. I worked there for 4 years and career prospects were appalling full stop. I didn’t like the management style, felt very old school eg. I am the boss you do what I say. 
Bank- I did 2 years in a customer facing role so was not back office. I opened bank accounts, arranged loans etc. There were good prospects for promotion in the bank but everything in the bank was ‘sell,sell,sell’ it led to a culture of pushing customers to buy products they didn’t need. I left due to this culture. You may not experience this if you are back office but my experience was all staff were customer facing in some way. I preferred the bank in the main as everyone worked together and you could progress but it was the sales practices that led to me leaving. 

Your answer resonated with me. As you've pointed out quite rightly, we are all customer service people to some extent, but in corporate, you are also always salespeople! Selling an image and building trust is extremely satisfying to me. Sometimes you can bend the rules and that gets you noticed, whereas in government positions I expect that's a big no no (the government is always going to be in business).

It is not a surprise to me that government jobs are somewhat corrupt and "old school" I think both systems tend to hire their friends & family being honest. That is how it goes. But that must have been frustrating to you, if you are a hard worker and see promotions go to the suck ups. I'm not surprised though.

TELLIT01

Emmany, in my experience, having worked in both the public and private sector, putting forward suggestions for change / improvements to systems are encouraged in the private sector, but more likely to have you viewed as a problem for rocking the boat in the public sector.  There is absolutely no flexibility in the way the job is done in the public sector areas I worked in.  Even if a job could be done in half the time by changing working practice, not cutting corners, it's unlikely ever to happen.