Civil service recruitment complaint

gwynlas · 16 September 2019 at 5:39PM

Do not accept the job anticipating a transfer as it is unlikely to be that simple. You could ask to be a reserve for your own city or acceot the post including need to commute.

Mrs_Ryan · 17 September 2019 at 2:28AM

branston12 wrote: »

I would like to thank you all for your advice.

I think you are all right and my only option now is to accept the offer and try and get a transfer. My concern is that an AO salary isn't great and commuting would eat a large chunk of that leaving me a lot better off working minimum wage somewhere else whilst not losing 2 hours of my day.

But what hits hard is that I have waited so long to get to this stage and it feels very unfair for them to do this now but that's life I guess.

I’m a part time AO and the place where I work is a 4 hour round trip by public transport!

gettingready · 18 September 2019 at 9:15PM

Keep in mind that people on benefits are expected to accept a job offer within up to 90 minutes commute from home so 1 hour is not so bad.

Still - commuting to work 1 hour in London is pretty much normal and let's say affordable.

Commuting one hour somewhere where transport is not that frequent and possibly very expensive may not be so easy.

Do not count on the possible transfer as 1 hour commute will never be "good enough reason" for a transfer I am afraid.

Yes, I work in Civil Service... my commute (London) is 45 minutes door to door but some people in my office commute 2 hours (or more) each way as they come in from outside London.

[Deleted User] · 18 September 2019 at 9:39PM

I can't even get a job on the London outskirts from here. (not that I'm deeply passionate about it anymore)

Least they still want you, sold the dream of branch covering at an interview to include my home town on a permanent role, (all unexpectedly as I sat in the interview room) now low and behold just see the job re-advertised as fixed term.

aussie_in_wales · 18 September 2019 at 9:58PM

branston12 wrote: »

Hello

I have recently received a formal offer with the civil service for an AO position after spending 7 months in the recruitment process since interview. I recently passed the pre-employment checks and received a formal offer.

In the job advert, description and in all recent communication including email headers the job was advertised in my city but now since receiving the formal offer it has been changed to another city which is an hour away. After bringing this up with them they mention that the recruitment campaign was for the two cities and they have filled up all the vacancies in my chosen city. They can only put me in the reserve list for my chosen city and that 'they are unable to say how long this position may become available'.

I cannot see how they can get away with something like this and feel pretty hard done by. It explicitly mentioned in the advert that the job was in my location. After waiting this long for them to pull the rug under my feet in this way I was wondering if I had suitable grounds for a complaint.

Will they look kindly upon this? Should I accept the offer and then make a complaint or do I start now and see what happens. Is this a futile exercise?

Thank you

Unfortunately this normally means that you were one of the lower scoring candidates. You scored high enough to pass the interview but those who scored more highly received their first choice loaction.

You're not going to achieve much if anything by complaining.

MacMickster · 19 September 2019 at 9:04AM

This may depend upon which civil service department the job is with.

An acquaintance recently took early retirement from HMRC as they are going through a major process of change with most offices around the country closing and all remaining staff being concentrated in a small number of very large sites. I don't know if other departments are doing similar.

It is worth doing some research about the likely future for both the office in your home town where you are hoping to eventually transfer to, and also the office where you have been given a job. There is little point in accepting a long commute for low pay, hoping to build a career, if all offices within a couple of hours commute are scheduled to close within 2 or 3 years.

antonic · 20 September 2019 at 3:41AM

MacMickster wrote: »

This may depend upon which civil service department the job is with.

An acquaintance recently took early retirement from HMRC as they are going through a major process of change with most offices around the country closing and all remaining staff being concentrated in a small number of very large sites. I don't know if other departments are doing similar.

It is worth doing some research about the likely future for both the office in your home town where you are hoping to eventually transfer to, and also the office where you have been given a job. There is little point in accepting a long commute for low pay, hoping to build a career, if all offices within a couple of hours commute are scheduled to close within 2 or 3 years.

I will have a guess that its the same department I work in !
To the OP , if taking the job gives you more money (after expenses) that you are getting now , take the job and once you have completed your probation you can start looking around for other jobs.
As I was once told "its always easier to change jobs once you have one".
As for commuting, I commute an hour each way by foot/train and it isnt a problem for me .
Good luck !

Kim_kim · 20 September 2019 at 5:41AM

aussie_in_wales wrote: »

Unfortunately this normally means that you were one of the lower scoring candidates. You scored high enough to pass the interview but those who scored more highly received their first choice loaction.

You're not going to achieve much if anything by complaining.

This is what’s happened.

They appoint from the top down and the higher scoring candidates were placed first.

There is no cause for complaint, I’m unclear why the OP thinks there is.

They’ve got to him, offered him what’s available - either he takes it or they offer to the next appointable candidate.

steampowered · 20 September 2019 at 9:02PM

I don't think you have grounds for a complaint here.

You have no guarantee of getting a job just because you've applied.

They could have simply rejected you. Offering you a job in another city is an alternative that you are free to accept or reject, as you wish.

Marcon · 20 September 2019 at 11:33PM

Jsacker wrote: »

If they've advertised the job EXCLUSIVELY for one location and reneged on that then it does sound like they could have misled you here.... Might be worth reporting it to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and maybe even the main Union, PCS, to see if they fancy offering some advice (they aren't obliged to).

Doesn't sound like it. More as if OP didn't make the cut for the location advertised, but they have another location and are offering the chance to work there if OP wishes. That's not grounds for complaining about anything.

Civil service recruitment complaint

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