I work in the civil service and very worried about Andy Burnham plans

Runawayfromtheworld

he wants to move jobs out of london and also reorganise departments, it seems like a lot of jobs will be lost in the civil service.

elsien

He’s not even prime minister yet. I think you may be getting a tad ahead of yourself.

Manifesto and actual actions are not always the same thing.

Back in March you were worried about AI and job losses. If you do want to do something constructive other than simply worrying, then make sure skill yourself so if it does come to redundancies, you stand a good chance of being kept on.

strawb_shortcake

Moving jobs out of London and reorganising departments is nothing new.

In my area it sounds as though the VES scheme wasn't very successful, so expect at least another round at some point, but I'd say non voluntary exits are some way off

HouseMartin567

In my area of the civil service there has been a drive to reduce headcount but there haven’t been redundancies. Measures have been a VES (targeted at certain job types) and a recruitment freeze, meaning that any natural wastage (i.e. resignations and retirements) is not replaced.

I can’t see there being a mass move out of London. Yes, there may be some jobs that move, but large departments shifting in entirety seems highly unlikely in the near future. Think of the redundancy packages if people didn’t want to go!

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6674377/i-work-in-the-civil-service-and-very-worried-about-andy-burnham-plans

The push to move CS out of London has been going for a while, along with a rolling programme of voluntary exit schemes.

We have a "jobs out of London" by default for new hires, jobs in the regions can't be advertised for London.... Only existing London posts can be filled in London. I could move to Leeds from London, and keep my job, but when I move the job would be advertised as as anywhere but London...

Savvy_Sue

I'd recommend the OP watching a few episodes of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, still available on BBC iPlayer. That should reduce panic.

El_Rey

The Civil Service (and the public sector in general) are always used by politicians to grab attention and curry flavour with whatever demographic they're wanting to impress. What they say and what they actually do are very different things.

Nothing ever happens quickly in the public sector, so I really wouldn't give his comments too much thought and certainly wouldn't be worrying about significant changes coming.

What's your current role?

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82052488#Comment_82052488

I wish I found this amusing in the context of this thread.

Yes Minister/Prime Minister is a fairly extreme caricature of the CS 40 years ago or more.

Jude57

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6674377/i-work-in-the-civil-service-and-very-worried-about-andy-burnham-plans

Civil Service jobs have always been spread across the country. My oldest friend left school at 16 on a Friday and on Monday started work at what was then colloquially known as 'the Ministry'. It was the then Department for Health and Social Security, based at Longbenton just outside Newcastle Upon Tyne and occupying a vast site. They had an annual intake of the best school leavers in the region. It employed over 10,000 people at its peak and there were special buses that picked staff up from the surrounding areas. When the Metro system was built in the early 80s, the Ministry was so important to the area that a station was specifically built to serve the site. Over time, functions merged and were deleted and staff moved to other, commutable sites in Durham, Darlington and Newcastle city centre for example. The first buildings at the site to be demolished were the original, pre-fab single story huts and my friend told me that she and others who had worked in them cheered as the horrible things were flattened, remembering them freezing in winter, sweltering in summer, leaky and draughty all year round! One of the best things about the Civil Service is that it's possible to move around the different Departments and even around the country. My friend changed Departments every few years, either via mergers of function of voluntarily for a change. She ended her career in a very senior post in Sheffield where she moved at the age of 55.

Anyone who has worked in the public sector knows that the only constant you can rely on is that things will change. I agree with those who are saying that manifesto promises aren't guarantees. If Burnham does become Prime Minister he's got less than a full Parliamentary term to make changes and, frankly, he has no chance of getting massive changes through in that timescale unless he rides roughshod over the public sector Unions. Given their clout in the Labour party, that's not going to happen.

born_again

I would have thought being relocated out of London would be a big bonus.

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82052970#Comment_82052970

Why? I was born and have lived all my life in the south east - my family lives in or near London, all my friends do too. Moving to Manchester/Leeds/Darlington etc. means basically uprooting my life, leaving my networks etc. It's not a bonus for me personally. YMMV.

I don't have a problem if government wants to open offices elsewhere, or if my colleagues wish to relocate and take the package to do so. But I do have an issue with forced relocation...