Civil Service - Post Lockdown - Blended Working?

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119258682#Comment_119258682

That can't really work, at least not a fulltime basis. Departments are (mostly) still finalising their WFH policies, but whatever their policy ends up being, the job is going to be based in a specified location (usually but not always the Department's head office - failing that a regional office). And no Department looks like introducing a 5-days WFH policy, so you'd still be stuck commuting to the head office two or three days a week, in all likelihood. HR/local management won't be making exceptions for new staff over staff who are already working there.

Ollie321

I completely understand that but even with a guarantee of 3 days WFH per week would be manageable for some staff, I suppose my point really being that there is no control of where someone is placed and the arrangements that are in place etc

Young_gunner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119258682#Comment_119258682

Absolutely - roles that can be done remotely is the perfect opportunity to revitalise areas outside Dublin and take the heat out of the Dublin traffic chaos.

JoeSexton

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119257674#Comment_119257674

To be honest, I don't know. The vacancies we have are all at EO level. We have had mixed success taking on people at that level from ICT panels. A lot of them tend to be recent college graduates who stay for a year or two and then leave for much more money in the private sector. I don't blame them for this at all but it can be frustrating to spend a good deal of time getting these people up to speed only for them to leave just as they are starting to make real contributions. On the whole I would rather take on someone internal to the organisation who has expressed an interest in working in ICT but it's not my decision to make.

mtb_sends

@JoeSexton Yeah I get what you mean. It's a pity there is no negotiation around the salary(if your not coming directly from an equivalent civil service/public sector role) at that level for ICT, I'm sure that would help discourage people from jumping ship so soon. ~€31K for ICT especially is a bit ridiculous in the current market. Most grads are probably starting on closer to 40K

cuttingtimber22

Government should introduce BIK on public sector car parking asap. Transition by applying to those with salaries above 100k.

Logic - management are typically those with parking spaces.

skidmarkoner

Would you say there is alot of roles in IT across the civil service? I'm currently a CO doing policy/finance work but I am now considering a springboard conversion into ICT.

I figure the roles are going to transition to IT kind of jobs as our systems get better. I plan on staying in the service but trying to figure out a path to pave is difficult.

mtb_sends

@skidmarkoner I'm the same as you, I would love to work in ICT in the civil service and already have a background in ICT. My issues are I don't see any ICT jobs advertised in the civil service in recent times and also I would love to stay out of Dublin which poses a problem.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119260924#Comment_119260924

Why? We're trying to encourage people to stay in the public service, not give them more reasons to leave.

Also, parking in our office buildings is done by first come, first served, not by grade.

HartsHat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119260924#Comment_119260924

It should abolish them all except for 1 for the Minister and 1 for the SG. No excuse for driving in to town.

HartsHat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261047#Comment_119261047

Which makes even less sense. Civil servants who think they own car parking spaces in town because they've been on a waiting list for 20 years. No way to run an organisation.

There are plenty of trains, buses, and bikes in to town. If people want to drive they should pay for it themselves.

crinkley

It knocks a significant amount off my commute to the office plus it’s cheaper than getting the train, paying for parking at the station and then getting across town. If I had to pay I would for the above reasons but until then I’m glad it’s offered. More for the convenience of not driving around finding a spot

Dodge

They do pay for the driving themselves. Lots of departments and offices don’t offer any parking. Some do, but it’s really not a big deal

The argument is usually put forward by people who don’t want anyone driving in the city centre (which is fine) but that’s not an issue solely for the public service.

HartsHat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261084#Comment_119261084

Its cheaper because you're getting the space as a free BIK.

It is encouraging and incentivising the most carbon intensive/polluting commute to work.

HartsHat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261091#Comment_119261091

Its where the Public Service should be leading if we want to hit our climate goals as a State.

crinkley

No it’s cheaper because of the cost of transport. The gap has obviously narrowed but my time is the most valuable element and saving 90 mins commuting by driving is going to be hard to beat

HartsHat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261561#Comment_119261561

That's fine, but you should simply have to pay for your own parking instead of having it paid for by the State.

crinkley

Well that’s up to opw who have decided to rent an office building with a car park better that it’s utilised than not at all

Dodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261570#Comment_119261570

its a balancing act. You have to attract/keep staff and if you know people are going to drive, then you have to factor it in

No one can serious believe that the public service removing free parking would do anything other than increase profits for parking companies

And again, it’s limited space in limited buildings. Not a big deal

and not really an issue for this thread

cuttingtimber22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261047#Comment_119261047

BIK would only apply to higher ups - if they had to get the bus to work they may think twice about dragging people in. Presumably COs not on 100k?

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119260983#Comment_119260983

Yup. Almost every public service organisation has an ICT Unit. Some will be more or less just a helpdesk plus looking after whatever infrastructure is present (whether that's on-premises or cloud); others have that plus dedicated units for software/database maintenance and development.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261032#Comment_119261032

Really?! I get almost daily alerts from Publicjobs for ICT positions (partly because their interface is incredibly shite and I can't set up a filter for "only send alerts where the payscale is what I'm already on, or higher")! These would be everything from entry-level helpdesk staff in an ETB to programming, software development, digital media, DBA, and even "Head of Cybersecurity for Ireland Inc" at PO level (they do tend to undershoot where they're aiming salaries at!) There's generally at least one "big" competition a year for dedicated ICT staff at CO/EO, HEO and AP level. I'm seeing nearly 20 ICT posts advertised on publicjobs.ie right now (it claims over 30 but again, publicjobs are **** - some of them are lecturer or instructor jobs, some aren't ICT at all - and that includes non-Dublin jobs).

I started off as general civil service, did one of the competitions to move into programming, and have spent the last couple of decades in ICT, so it's definitely worth pursuing if you have an interest in the area.

mtb_sends

@TaurenDruid Apologies I should have been clearer. I don't see roles that suit me location wise or more often than not I don't meet the experience requirements for unfortunately.

chooey

We've all been told that we can apply for a maximum of two days WFH per week which is v frustrating seeing as in my section we've worked from home constantly since covid and there is no reason for us to go into the office. I wouldn't mind even 2 days in office/3 days WFH but very disappointed that it's the opposite. We've been told no negotiation or discretion from local management either.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119262457#Comment_119262457

The eligibility requirements can be a pain, all right. But some of the certifications they require are only 5 day courses, e.g., the likes of PRINCE2 and ITIL. May be worthwhile talking to your manager and seeing if there's any chance work would fund them (OneLearning offers its own Project Management course but it's not an independent certification - you can make that argument that PRINCE2 is useful in any project area, not just IT). Location wise, yeah, there's not much you can do, at least until later in the year when more places will have a clear WFH policy which means you might be able to get away with 2 days in the office.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261067#Comment_119261067

What 20 year waiting list are you talking about ?!?

There may be plenty of buses trains etc, but there isn't always a direct route from A to B by public transport from someone's home to their workplace. If I was reliant on public transport, it would take me at least 3 hours door to door to my last office location. Not everyone can cycle either.

So no, thank you. I'll be keeping my car on the road, and from now on, I'll only be working from an office one day a week anyway, so my commuting being cut by 75% by way of WFH the other days will help reduce the affects on the climate.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119261658#Comment_119261658

My PO and A/Sec both cycle.

cuttingtimber22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119264592#Comment_119264592

But am I correct that pre Covid they were fairly open about WFH?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119264598#Comment_119264598

Mine were, yes.

I was already WFH one day a week before Covid happened, (I've posted about that before) and had just agreed to increase that to two days a week when the pandemic began.

Alkers

It's only the assigned spaces that people are talking about applying BIK to.

The PS could just adopt non-allocated parking like the majority of the private sector and it wouldn't be applicable in any case.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119264644#Comment_119264644

And some departments using booking apps - book your space a week in advance, if there are more requests than spaces, the algorithm decides.