Civil service- advice on options & progression

LegacyUser

Hi, hope this is okay to post here- have to be careful I remain anon I suppose! I'm a recent start as a CO in the Civil Service and finding it hard going to settle in. The reason I'm putting this in problems is that I'm also having some issues with depression at the minute and this is making the adjustment somewhat worse. I'm not sure I want to be in this department and ideally I'd like to take up part-time third level education in September. However, I'll still be in my probationary period at that point.

I am wondering if anyone has any advice on how accommodating the CS can be in allowing this. Can people on probation get workshare easily? Can transfers to other departments or units be made while in probation period? Also, how receptive are they to helping someone with mental health issues during probation- is it something likely to impact on my chances of success at passing probation?

I know there is an option to wait until I have 2 years put in then apply for a career break but I would rather not wait that length of time and figure it might be easier to fund education while working? The people I am working with are nice and very friendly but the whole organisation is new to me, so any advice anyone from the Civil/Public service might have is welcome!

Thanks.

InReality

in general they are good, can vary by department though. id hold off on courses until you have a handle on the depression side of things. I'd talk to the employee assistance officer as a first step .

orlyice

Hey,

I am a co also suffering from depression. My story is different because although I had minor bouts of depression over the last few years, I have had my first period of severe depression this year and have been off work for the first time for depression. Am in talks with management about returning to work and I have to say they are very accommodating and helpful. They will do whatever to help me. Also, as inreality says, employee assistance officer is a good place to start. Mine was fantastic, I found the work I was doing exasperated my depression (the most repetitive work possible, in a dark room with no windows and was refused any requests to change role). They are working on a solution at the moment for me.

In relation to transfers etc. I think you have to be out of probation but not 100% sure. Transfers can sometimes be hard to get, if you are not already a member of the cpsu I would recommend joining, they have a section where you can advertise transfer requests in their magazine.

If you are thinking of college, check out institute public administration ipa.ie they do courses that are tailor made for public sector, some departments will pay your fees or part of it. I did a course there and couldn't rate them highly enough. I got 33% back in fees from my dept. , but make sure if your department is paying that you aren't tied into staying in that department for a few years after it.

Divisadero

Another vote for the Employee AssIstance Officer. I don't know if they are all good but I know that at least some of them are just fantastic. I would suggest you contact them in the first instance before dealing with the management team at work as the Assistance Officer will advise you on the best way forward. They may even speak on your behalf if it comes to that. But the solution may be straightforward so set up an appointment and talk it through.

Re courses they are usually good about paying for relevant courses. But you might want to wait until you are more settled before making any major decisions. For example an IPA course may not be a great choice if you're not sure you are going to remain in the public service in the long term. It's still early days...

Best of luck.