I Was a public sector worker

tenchi-fan

I worked on contract to a public sector company once. It was a 3 month contract to help me gain accounting experience.

There was a lot of managers (a disproportionate number of female managers) but I honestly felt they weren't doing their job. Staff were turning up and shuffling paper. I met the financial manager once and found her to be extremely rude. The HR person was a temp and knew nothing of employment law (all she really did was arranged interviews for more temps). Everyone was on a contract and someone different left every week. Each time someone left everyone went out for an extended lunchbreak (approx 2 hours) to a nearby restaurant, and the tab was picked up by the taxpayer.

There was a dispute going on which the unions were involved in. There was a canteen on each floor with full self-catering facilities, including an oven and hob. People would often cook a fry in the morning. However, the ground floor staff had a smaller canteen, and they pressed the union for access to the 1st floor canteen. This created some logistical problems, namely because key fobs had to be activated for everyone, and there were confidential files on the first floor.

The people on the ground floor were being paid at least €45k each (the head office was the ground floor but they were based throughout the country). They were asked to submit their expense claims in excel format by email. They didn't know how to use a computer, so they were provided training in Dublin. Some people drove from cork and claimed civil servant rates per mile (€1.50?). They were paid for the day and provided an expensive lunch. Then they drove home. Then the following day they drove back and then home again. Day one was learning to use word. Day 2 excel.

Many of the mileage claims arrived printed out, and in some cases still handwritten! Most of those which came in by email had to be re-typed. They were adding and deleting lines and cells and messing up the pivot table... formula's were deleted, words were written in instead of figures, and in some cases they would click on say, A1 and press space until the cursor was roughly over the cell where the number was meant to go. 2 people were working on this full-time, and that excludes the trainers!

I was being paid €25,000 per annum, not a lot for an accounts assistant. However, my actual job involved rooting through purchases invoices. Any time a question was asked under the freedom of information act (e.g. how much was spent on consultant's fees) , the only way to find out the answer was to root through a few year's worth of purchase invoices folders because the accounting system did not categorise expenses!

I was sort of set for a handy few months, with a view to being made permanent. But my main reason for leaving was my manager... I shared an office with her. She would arrive in late in the best of form. She spent the morning giving out about other staff. Then she would have her breakdown in the evening and be close to tears. After I went home, she would send nasty emails to people like the auditors and other people she considered were not doing their job (she would cc me in on the emails.)

I didn't like her because, in addition to the jeckal and hyde persona(s) she kept making up rules! Like I wasn't allowed to bring coffee to my desk when I had folders out She would have driven me nuts.

I left after 2 weeks and started a new job.

Nidot

Sounds like there was no leadership of actual ability in the place.

This usually happens where roles are created but given no direct responsibility over those that report to them. i.e. a manager is put in charge of an accounts facility but has no power over how they want the staff to carry out the necessary work.

Things I have noticed about the public service and other former state companies (I know I'm generalising but please don't kill me for it):

1. Management are usually there based on length of time served rather than actual experience and skill set. This can result in management who have no ability for the job, i.e. lack the management skills of delegation, organisation and communication.

2. There is a distinct lack of practicality in departments. i.e. you described how it was so hard to find the relevant files due to no organisation. This should be corrected the first time it happened so that the files could be organised and cataloged in an orderly manner thereby making them accessible to the relevant staff.

Sleepy

tenchifan wrote: »

Any time a question was asked under the freedom of information act (e.g. how much was spent on consultant's fees) , the only way to find out the answer was to root through a few year's worth of purchase invoices folders because the accounting system did not categorise expenses!

Agresso by any chance? If so, configuring the system to categorise anything is very simple though you need to make sure those entering the details know to do so or use an mileage and expense recording system like Transfare.

everdead.ie

I find in the public services they often shuffle around employees to make efficiencies but then instead of allowing natural wastage to happen to get rid of excess managers and employees they hire a new person straight away.

From an outsider looking in the Unions seem to have an awful lot of power in the civil service.

tenchi-fan

Sleepy wrote: »

Agresso by any chance? If so, configuring the system to categorise anything is very simple though you need to make sure those entering the details know to do so or use an mileage and expense recording system like Transfare.

From what I gather.. when something was needed a manager signed off the requisition form and sent it to whoever dealt with purchases... in some other state body the goods were paid for and they would categorise it to our cost centre, input a vague description and the supplier name.

When I was there they were trying to implement a better system but they were too busy running around digging through files.

A multitude of consultants and accountants were paid hundreds of thousands to design systems for the state body I was in and no one even could figure out what exactly all the money was spent on.

Nolanger

Ever wonder why we're in recession

Bonzo1970

Yawn another Anti-public sector thread-how shocking! Really,there are similar examples in the Private sector. Are you trying to court popularity on a web site populated by anonymous posters? I think its a fair accusation. Talk about jumping on a bandwagon!:rolleyes:

Bonzo1970

Nolanger wrote: »

Ever wonder why we're in recession

Droning on and on about Public sector wont shorten the recession-even cutting pay wont.

Arnold Layne

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

Really,there are similar examples in the Private sector.

I work in the Private Sector and have never encountered what technifan has described, although I have heard similar stories from Public Sector workers (permanent).

Can you give me similar examples that you have seem/heard in the Private Sector?

Firetrap

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

Droning on and on about Public sector wont shorten the recession-even cutting pay wont.

Got to agree. Whilst reading stuff like that annoys the hell out of me and makes me resent where my taxes are going, it's not going to sort out the 12.7% unemployment rate out there. I wish more energies were expended on job creation and trying to get people off the dole and back working. To be sure, cutting public spending might stop the country falling deeper into debt but the only way this country is going to get back on its feet is when we've got less people on the dole and more people working and paying taxes. I'm not sure what purpose bitching about lazy b@stards cooking a fry in the morning is going to do. I bet if the government did decide to cull public sector numbers, it would be those very same people who would survive the chop because they're probably there so long it would cost a fortune to lay them off.

ContyHooks

I worked in a state department for 6 months a few years ago, typical day was like this for most of us.

1. Arrive about 20-30 mins late
2. Spend the first 30 mins making breakfast/coffee/etc
3. Check up online for the daily news
4. Do about an hours work
5. Go OUT for morning coffee (this typically took 30-45 mins)
6. Do about another 20 mins of work, that would take us to 12pm when everyone would start talking about lunch plans for 30 mins until 12.30pm
7. Come back at 2pm from lunch break (I know)
8. Do about an hours work
9. Go out AGAIN at around 3pm for a snack, a walk, icecream on a hot day, etc. (this would take around 30 mins)
10. About another 20 mins work
11. Spend the rest of the day until home-time browsing forums/online games/news sites/talking about tv/films on that particular night/etc.

Some people here probably know the department I'm talking about, but I'm not gonna name them because I still know people working there and absolutely nothing has changed. It was and still is incredibly inefficient.

Wishbone Ash

Nidot wrote: »

1. Management are usually there based on length of time served rather than actual experience and skill set

Unfortunately many positions are filled by "acting up" (i.e. most senior and suitable person who wants it) until the position is advertised for permanent filling. We have had people "acting up" for 13 years. It's not the fault of the staff on the ground though. They have no say when positions are advertised for permanent appointment.

ContyHooks

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

Yawn another Anti-public sector thread-how shocking! Really,there are similar examples in the Private sector. Are you trying to court popularity on a web site populated by anonymous posters? I think its a fair accusation. Talk about jumping on a bandwagon!:rolleyes:

It's all linked. Insanely high public sector wages = cost of doing business in Ireland too high = companies pull out = job losses.

Euro_Kraut

Nolanger wrote: »

Ever wonder why we're in recession

A credit fueled property bubble burst. The bubble was stoked by vested interested in the Government and Banking sector. All this combined with the general global slowdown has led to negative growth in Ireland.

Don't let the FF spin against the Public Sector allow you to forget that.

I work in the Public Sector as have not had the experiences of the OP. However I am sure such situations do exist. Some Public Sector managers are very very weak.

Firetrap

ContyHooks wrote: »

It's all linked. Insanely high public sector wages = cost of doing business in Ireland too high = companies pull out = job losses.

How about:
Insanely high house prices = need for insanely high wages in both sectors = cost of doing business in Ireland too high.

Commercial rents are still ridiculously high too.

pow wow

ContyHooks wrote: »

I worked in a state department for 6 months a few years ago, typical day was like this for most of us.

1. Arrive about 20-30 mins late
2. Spend the first 30 mins making breakfast/coffee/etc
3. Check up online for the daily news
4. Do about an hours work
5. Go OUT for morning coffee (this typically took 30-45 mins)
6. Do about another 20 mins of work, that would take us to 12pm when everyone would start talking about lunch plans for 30 mins until 12.30pm
7. Come back at 2pm from lunch break (I know)
8. Do about an hours work
9. Go out AGAIN at around 3pm for a snack, a walk, icecream on a hot day, etc. (this would take around 30 mins)
10. About another 20 mins work
11. Spend the rest of the day until home-time browsing forums/online games/news sites/talking about tv/films on that particular night/etc.

Some people here probably know the department I'm talking about, but I'm not gonna name them because I still know people working there and absolutely nothing has changed. It was and still is incredibly inefficient.

A similar experience to the ones I had spending summers in the public sector. Beyond that the one thing that struck me was that everyone felt so aggrieved somehow, constantly complaining about the job, the public sector in general, how they were getting a raw deal, how so and so got EO and it wasn't fair etc. etc. It seemed no-one showed any initiative for anything because of this sense of being hard done by.

Morlar

Arnold Layne wrote: »

I work in the Private Sector and have never encountered what technifan has described, although I have heard similar stories from Public Sector workers (permanent).

Same here - in all my years I have never witnessed in the private sector anything remotely approaching what I regularly witnessed while working on a project that had a public sector element.

The mindblowing wastage and incompetence and total lack of accountability of performance targets all of that would not last 15 minutes in the private sector until heads rolled and things got fixed.

Sleepy

tenchifan wrote: »

From what I gather.. when something was needed a manager signed off the requisition form and sent it to whoever dealt with purchases... in some other state body the goods were paid for and they would categorise it to our cost centre, input a vague description and the supplier name.

When I was there they were trying to implement a better system but they were too busy running around digging through files.

A multitude of consultants and accountants were paid hundreds of thousands to design systems for the state body I was in and no one even could figure out what exactly all the money was spent on.

This would be one of the huge advantages that could be gained by implementing a single financial system for all departments... Any enterprise level ERP system (SAP, Agresso, Oracle Financials etc.) should be able to handle this if implemented correctly. Of course, doing so would involve merging most financial functions into a large, central department and the redundancies involved in such a move would enrage the unions.

One thing to remember on the consultants and accountants: any of them working for a company (Accenture, Mentec, KPMG etc.) as opposed to being an individual contractor would not have been on huge salaries. It's one of the popular misconceptions in the public sector and an understandable one. When you just see that your organisation is paying a thousand a day plus vat (or more) to have an external consultant on-site, you assume that the person is earning a good chunk of this and largely forget that there's an entire organisation behind them (management, admin, finance etc.) which has to be financed out of these consultancy fees as well. I honestly believe that this is part of the reason that so many public sector workers think the private sector were absolutely creaming it during the boom.

As a consultant who spent a lot of time working in public sector sites over the last 6/7 years, I regularly came up against people who would have been earning significantly more than me thinking I was making 4/5k per week because their organisation was paying that kind of money to have me on-site.

Sleepy

ContyHooks wrote: »

I worked in a state department for 6 months a few years ago, typical day was like this for most of us.

1. Arrive about 20-30 mins late
2. Spend the first 30 mins making breakfast/coffee/etc
3. Check up online for the daily news
4. Do about an hours work
5. Go OUT for morning coffee (this typically took 30-45 mins)
6. Do about another 20 mins of work, that would take us to 12pm when everyone would start talking about lunch plans for 30 mins until 12.30pm
7. Come back at 2pm from lunch break (I know)
8. Do about an hours work
9. Go out AGAIN at around 3pm for a snack, a walk, icecream on a hot day, etc. (this would take around 30 mins)
10. About another 20 mins work
11. Spend the rest of the day until home-time browsing forums/online games/news sites/talking about tv/films on that particular night/etc.

Some people here probably know the department I'm talking about, but I'm not gonna name them because I still know people working there and absolutely nothing has changed. It was and still is incredibly inefficient.

I've seen that kind of work ethic alright but to be fair, I've also seen sysadmins who were prepared to stay in the office until 2/3am with me when servers went into melt down during an upgrade or some finance staff who's idea of a lunch break was grabbing a sandwich and cup of coffee while having a meeting. They seem to be the minority but it's not fair to paint all staff with the same brush.

stackerman

Arnold Layne wrote: »

I work in the Private Sector and have never encountered what technifan has described, although I have heard similar stories from Public Sector workers (permanent).

Can you give me similar examples that you have seem/heard in the Private Sector?

Still waiting Bonzo :rolleyes:

Curly_Wurly

I think having worked for even 3 months on a contract you got a fair insight into the way this place worked and what a joke. I have worked in many private companies that were both good and bad and also public service divisions and some are well run, others are an absolute disgrace. Right now I'm working as a public servant for the last few years doing a job I really enjoy but this enjoyment can be short lived and it is always down to the inadequate and incompetent management style that runs each public service division.

Most managers I've seen in the public sector are nearly always institutionalised as they've been there from day 1 and just "jumped on the boat" when management jobs were given out because they were there. I earn under €40k for my job even though I have a masters degree, I feel I earn every penny of my salary and I know I could put some of these idiots into my pocket. Before I took the job, I worked for a large multinational and earned a lot more than I get now, but I signed up for the comfort of knowing I would have a permanent pensionable job when a lot of other people said no thanks. But now, knowing what I know, I know I will not be there until i'm 65 because it's not worth the stress and frustration and getting mad at management when all they do is laugh and sit on their fat salaries.

If anybody could see the way money is mismanaged on a daily basis by senior executives and low level mgt, it would make you cry. The only way to resolve this is to get rid of top level management. There is also a major sickleave problem in the public service which needs to be resolved asap and I think this probably goes hand in hand with the bad managers and all of the bullying and morale deflating tactics that also go on there. And none of these people will ever leave unless the gov depts steps in and starts bringing in major reviews and perhaps salaries based on performance and staff morale because from what I see it's the little people doing the work.

Head The Wall

Awaits response from Public sector claiming these are all made up anecdotal stories :D

soden12

Seems to be very similar to that other branch of the Public Service - the Banks:

1. Go into work (driving your subsidised loan car) at 9am,
2. Chat with buddies, set up a few property companies until 9.59,
3. Open up at 10:00 - make sure the radio is on and that you share the wandering around dutiy,
4. Lunch at 12.30 - depending on branch - choose the busiest time,
5. Back from lunch at 14.00 potter around,
6. Close the doors at 16:00 and potter around inside - maybe check your rents.
7. Hard to believe it's 17.00 and hometime already.

magicEye

Curly_Wurly wrote: »

I think having worked for even 3 months on a contract you got a fair insight into the way this place worked and what a joke. I have worked in many private companies that were both good and bad and also public service divisions and some are well run, others are an absolute disgrace. Right now I'm working as a public servant for the last few years doing a job I really enjoy but this enjoyment can be short lived and it is always down to the inadequate and incompetent management style that runs each public service division.

Most managers I've seen in the public sector are nearly always institutionalised as they've been there from day 1 and just "jumped on the boat" when management jobs were given out because they were there. I earn under €40k for my job even though I have a masters degree, I feel I earn every penny of my salary and I know I could put some of these idiots into my pocket. Before I took the job, I worked for a large multinational and earned a lot more than I get now, but I signed up for the comfort of knowing I would have a permanent pensionable job when a lot of other people said no thanks. But now, knowing what I know, I know I will not be there until i'm 65 because it's not worth the stress and frustration and getting mad at management when all they do is laugh and sit on their fat salaries.

If anybody could see the way money is mismanaged on a daily basis by senior executives and low level mgt, it would make you cry. The only way to resolve this is to get rid of top level management. There is also a major sickleave problem in the public service which needs to be resolved asap and I think this probably goes hand in hand with the bad managers and all of the bullying and morale deflating tactics that also go on there. And none of these people will ever leave unless the gov depts steps in and starts bringing in major reviews and perhaps salaries based on performance and staff morale because from what I see it's the little people doing the work.

The way I see it, things are never going to change in the public sector. There are always 2-3 people constantly pulling sickies (especially on Mondays), yet they're in the union and nobody can touch them, also coming in late and going home early because nobody can say anything to them, messing up all the work and have no accountability whatsoever because they're never around when auditors are, and I could go on forever....


What hurts the most is that management is well aware of all the problems but they won't do anything, they will rotate people but will not get rid of the problematic ones.

Quandary

magicEye wrote: »

What hurts the most is that management is well aware of all the problems but they won't do anything, they will rotate people but will not get rid of the problematic ones.

Apparently its quite difficult to actually fire somebody - a HR buddy of mine (who works in a large private sector company) often says this.
I can only imagine with the union protection in the PS that its practically impossible to fire anyone. Ideally a huge purging of the slackers is required but it will never ever happen - like you said people just get moved around and become somebody elses problem. Its such a terrible shame that the lazy leaches can get away with all the ducking and diving - and its galling to think that we have to pay for them :mad:

quarryman

Reading this thread makes me angry.

Quandary

A friend of mine works as a clerk in the PS. He takes at least 1 sick day every single month without fail and has never been pulled up on it - he's been working in the PS for nearly 5 years :mad:

Ive asked him is it as cushy a job as everyone says and he reckons its the sweetest job he's ever had. He said its entirely up to the individual, you can work as hard as you like or you can sit back and coast all the way to retirement. According to him, the longer people stay there the lazier they get.

everdead.ie

Quandary wrote: »

Apparently its quite difficult to actually fire somebody - a HR buddy of mine (who works in a large private sector company) often says this.
I can only imagine with the union protection in the PS that its practically impossible to fire anyone. Ideally a huge purging of the slackers is required but it will never ever happen - like you said people just get moved around and become somebody elses problem. Its such a terrible shame that the lazy leaches can get away with all the ducking and diving - and its galling to think that we have to pay for them :mad:

My sister works at a school where they have a teacher for the last twenty years who has been put in as a resource teacher because she's not fit to teach although she's done nothing technically wrong so they can't fire her she now earns as much as the principal because she's been there so long. Now that infuriates me.

largepants

Quandary wrote: »

A friend of mine works as a clerk in the PS. He takes at least 1 sick day every single month without fail and has never been pulled up on it - he's been working in the PS for nearly 5 years :mad:

Ive asked him is it as cushy a job as everyone says and he reckons its the sweetest job he's ever had. He said its entirely up to the individual, you can work as hard as you like or you can sit back and coast all the way to retirement. According to him, the longer people stay there the lazier they get.

Oh really!!!! Its these sort of posts that really really bug me. Stop trying to make yourself popular by making up stories about your so called 'friend'. They do not and can not take 1 day sick every month for the last five years. If your so called friend did this they would not be paid for the days that they were sick. If a PS takes 6 days uncertified sick days a year they get a warning from their HR department that there sick leave is being monitored etc. So please don't go posting this rubbish when the world and his wife know it is not true.

Bonzo1970

I have made it a policy not to comment on these threads-they are simply jumping on a bandwagon. Its so simple-vaguely talk about a public sector experience. Sure how the heck do we know if its true or not?

But anyway-you asked for a private sector story. Well despite the bleeding obvious one that we have banks that have crippled the nation and a construction industry that has rode us blind here is another

I know two bankers who were promoted beyond ability levels. The bank promoted one individual based on his stellar credit card sales. Turned out they were sold to scoobies. Second gentleman created 5 million in bad debts. He was a natural salesman but couldnt manage business. Result a huge amount of bad accounts.

Bank is full of alcos-shoved into Departments away from branches.

Quandary

largepants wrote: »

Oh really!!!! Its these sort of posts that really really bug me. Stop trying to make yourself popular by making up stories about your so called 'friend'. They do not and can not take 1 day sick every month for the last five years. If your so called friend did this they would not be paid for the days that they were sick. If a PS takes 6 days uncertified sick days a year they get a warning from their HR department that there sick leave is being monitored etc. So please don't go posting this rubbish when the world and his wife know it is not true.

I couldnt give a hoot whether people believe it or not - and how in Gods name am i making myself popular by posting this????? Do you think people are going to thank posts like this????

I have nothing but praise & respect for the all hardworking people in the PS but there is unfortunately a rotten rotten underbelly poisoning the system.

Bonzo1970

everdead.ie wrote: »

My sister works at a school where they have a teacher for the last twenty years who has been put in as a resource teacher because she's not fit to teach although she's done nothing technically wrong so they can't fire her she now earns as much as the principal because she's been there so long. Now that infuriates me.

She could only earn as much as the Principal if the Principal was quite young. Secondly-vague accusations -"Not fit to teach?" Expand on this? Is she a good resource teacher? You cant answer any of these questions can you??:rolleyes:

Bonzo1970

keving wrote: »

Still waiting Bonzo :rolleyes:

Believe it or not I have a job and Dont hang around the net all day! I have replied-impatient aren't you!!:p

Bonzo1970

Curly_Wurly wrote: »

I think having worked for even 3 months on a contract you got a fair insight into the way this place worked and what a joke. I have worked in many private companies that were both good and bad and also public service divisions and some are well run, others are an absolute disgrace. Right now I'm working as a public servant for the last few years doing a job I really enjoy but this enjoyment can be short lived and it is always down to the inadequate and incompetent management style that runs each public service division.

Most managers I've seen in the public sector are nearly always institutionalised as they've been there from day 1 and just "jumped on the boat" when management jobs were given out because they were there. I earn under €40k for my job even though I have a masters degree, I feel I earn every penny of my salary and I know I could put some of these idiots into my pocket. Before I took the job, I worked for a large multinational and earned a lot more than I get now, but I signed up for the comfort of knowing I would have a permanent pensionable job when a lot of other people said no thanks. But now, knowing what I know, I know I will not be there until i'm 65 because it's not worth the stress and frustration and getting mad at management when all they do is laugh and sit on their fat salaries.

If anybody could see the way money is mismanaged on a daily basis by senior executives and low level mgt, it would make you cry. The only way to resolve this is to get rid of top level management. There is also a major sickleave problem in the public service which needs to be resolved asap and I think this probably goes hand in hand with the bad managers and all of the bullying and morale deflating tactics that also go on there. And none of these people will ever leave unless the gov depts steps in and starts bringing in major reviews and perhaps salaries based on performance and staff morale because from what I see it's the little people doing the work.

Do you not think some of this anger you have stems from your feeling that you should be in management and not them? In fairness Its quite typical for people to think management are idiots. Not saying everything you say is exaggerated or with an angle but I do think you feel undervalued. Bullying is certainly not confined to Public sector and whatever about the past all appointments last few years have been on merit.

But I find it hilarious to be lectured on Public sector when you can take all the waste in the Public sector and stack it up against the waste of debt created in households all over Ireland by the banks. Which stack my friend do you think would be bigger?:(

Bonzo1970

Quandary wrote: »

I couldnt give a hoot whether people believe it or not - and how in Gods name am i making myself popular by posting this????? Do you think people are going to thank posts like this????

I have nothing but praise & respect for the all hardworking people in the PS but there is unfortunately a rotten rotten underbelly poisoning the system.

For those of us of a certain age and who recall "ROOTS":

"Yes Master Quandry I a good public servant .Please Masser Qunadry dont sell me!. No sir ,you wont see Bonzo wasting massers time no sireee" Rotten underbelly-hyperbole?

DublinWriter

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

"Yes Master Quandry I a good public servant .Please Masser Qunadry dont sell me!. No sir ,you wont see Bonzo wasting massers time no sireee" Rotten underbelly-hyperbole?

Don't tell me you don't want to be a House-EO?

Quandary

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

For those of us of a certain age and who recall "ROOTS":

"Yes Master Quandry I a good public servant .Please Masser Qunadry dont sell me!. No sir ,you wont see Bonzo wasting massers time no sireee" Rotten underbelly-hyperbole?

Not really sure what your angle is here but....... thanks

Ill just take it to mean you disagree with my opinion, which of course your perfectly entitled to do.

Like i mentioned earlier - my problem along with most peoples i would imagine is with the dead weight in the PS. The fat needs to be trimmed.

Quandary

largepants wrote: »

Oh really!!!! Its these sort of posts that really really bug me. Stop trying to make yourself popular by making up stories about your so called 'friend'. They do not and can not take 1 day sick every month for the last five years. If your so called friend did this they would not be paid for the days that they were sick. If a PS takes 6 days uncertified sick days a year they get a warning from their HR department that there sick leave is being monitored etc. So please don't go posting this rubbish when the world and his wife know it is not true.

The Auditor Generals report begs to differ - http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sick-leave-in-public-service-is-twice-the-rate-of-private-sector-1922474.html

largepants

Quandary wrote: »

The Auditor Generals report begs to differ - http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sick-leave-in-public-service-is-twice-the-rate-of-private-sector-1922474.html

This report does not mention whether this leave is certified or uncertified. I'm sure if refers to both. I'm a PS working with approx 400 others in my office. Granted there are a few people on long term sick leave I know of no others whose average sicks days per year comes anywhere near 11. If 10 people worked in an office and one of them was on long term sick leave for one year, would that mean the average sick days for that office is 36 days? Figures can be distorted to suit the situation.

Your 'friend' most likely took uncertified leave because if he takes one certified day a month he would most likely be referred to the CMO.

Basically this does not back up your 'friends' story.

Quandary

largepants wrote: »

This report does not mention whether this leave is certified or uncertified. I'm sure if refers to both. I'm a PS working with approx 400 others in my office. Granted there are a few people on long term sick leave I know of no others whose average sicks days per year comes anywhere near 11. If 10 people worked in an office and one of them was on long term sick leave for one year, would that mean the average sick days for that office is 36 days? Figures can be distorted to suit the situation.

Your 'friend' most likely took uncertified leave because if he takes one certified day a month he would most likely be referred to the CMO.

Basically this does not back up your 'friends' story.

But surely this must show its entirely possible that my mate has gotten away with a sick day every month? He has nothing to gain by exaggerating to me - and i didnt at any point say he was getting paid for them all, i hope to God he's not.

Look, this is just an example of one person i know personally who in any private company would have been fired long ago.

Sleepy

Are you paid for long-term sick leave?

largepants

Sleepy wrote: »

Are you paid for long-term sick leave?

Yes. You are on full pay up to 183 days. After that you go onto half pay.

stackerman

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

Believe it or not I have a job and Dont hang around the net all day! I have replied-impatient aren't you!!:p

Yep

the_syco

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

But I find it hilarious to be lectured on Public sector when you can take all the waste in the Public sector and stack it up against the waste of debt created in households all over Ireland by the banks. Which stack my friend do you think would be bigger?:(

The banks jobs is to make money. The governments job to regulate the banks.

Head The Wall

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

But I find it hilarious to be lectured on Public sector when you can take all the waste in the Public sector and stack it up against the waste of debt created in households all over Ireland by the banks. Which stack my friend do you think would be bigger?:(

I think you'll find the debt created in Households in Ireland was created by the people in those households not by the banks.

If I buy more drugs than I should of a dealer and I OD whose fault is it. Mine or the guy that sold it to me

Again it's down to personal responsibility, a bank can tell me what I can borrow and then it's my choice to decide what I can afford to pay back

oakwood

I know a fella who was on a summer contract during college in the county council, along with a few others in the year. He continued "working" for a month into the college year only going in during free classes or whatever and no one noticed... This fella wouldn't get out of bed before ten o'clock the whole summer and used to spend half the day on lunchbreak. They used to get paid the equivalent of a 30000 salary. A great laugh to all involved how much of a joke the place was.

Guell72

Arnold Layne wrote: »

I work in the Private Sector and have never encountered what technifan has described, although I have heard similar stories from Public Sector workers (permanent).

Can you give me similar examples that you have seem/heard in the Private Sector?

I have. And much worse too. I have been contracted to the public sector several times over the years and i can say both the good and the bad was about even across both private and public.

Ally Dick

I have numerous male friends working in the public service. To a man, they unanimously say that it is married women who don't do a tap of work in the public service. The more children they have, the less they work. They ring in sick all the time. Also when they're not sick, they're pregnant

Pablo Sanchez

Ally Dick wrote: »

I have numerous male friends working in the public service. To a man, they unanimously say that it is married women who don't do a tap of work in the public service. The more children they have, the less they work. They ring in sick all the time. Also when they're not sick, they're pregnant

To be fair that also rings true of the private sector.....but i can only imagine how much worse it is in the public 'service'

everdead.ie

Bonzo1970 wrote: »

She could only earn as much as the Principal if the Principal was quite young. Secondly-vague accusations -"Not fit to teach?" Expand on this? Is she a good resource teacher? You cant answer any of these questions can you??:rolleyes:

Asked my sister to expand on this and she actually worked as a principal years ago before being shunted into this position. "Not fit to teach" means she is not fit to teach she has no ability to control her students whom she reguarly sends crying to the principals office, I'm not generalising here i'm speaking about a particular individual here(as in the school & other staff its self is very highly regarded and thought of). Her ability to work as a resource teacher is zero literally and i say that because i was once a student who needed a resource teacher.

Head The Wall

everdead.ie wrote: »

Asked my sister to expand on this and she actually worked as a principal years ago before being shunted into this position. "Not fit to teach" means she is not fit to teach she has no ability to control her students whom she reguarly sends crying to the principals office, I'm not generalising here i'm speaking about a particular individual here(as in the school & other staff its self is very highly regarded and thought of). Her ability to work as a resource teacher is zero literally and i say that because i was once a student who needed a resource teacher.

Thats a case for sacking if ever I heard one, but we know that won't happen. Lets just keep wasting our taxmoney and get no return for it and at the same time waste how many more thousands training in another teacher and then pay their dole