County Council, Civil Service or HSE

PCAT86

If you were offered 3 roles, all entry level Clerical Officer type positions, one with your local Co. Council, one with the HSE at a nearby hospital and one with the Civil Service, which would you be inclined to accept and why? Do you have any particular negative/positive experiences in either stream?

dat6

Ultimately, your experience in any public service job depends on you, the post/area, org itself and your manager.

Local authorities tend to keep to themselves and of all 3 options, are very political. Annual leave and pay may work out slightly better.

Civil service is more organised, centralised and opportunities are more open. HR stick to rules more consistently, pay may not be as competitive as other areas. Despite its pitfalls, updates are still better communicated between some other parts of the public service. It isn’t uncommon for civil servants in other departments to work together as colleagues, so in this respect you may get a wider perspective. I’m biased though.

I worked multiple public bodies, I found the CS to be the best.

Mr lebowski

I worked in all 3 actually and the huge benefit to the public service over the civil service is the number of holidays but in the civil service you can work up a day and a half Flexi time as opposed to a day. I enjoyed working in the HSE the most but it really all depends on what department you get. It's very hard to compare.

if you're going to stay a CO, then local authority.

if you want to progress over time and can be flexible about location, hands down CS

Promotion can be slow in local authorities, but a nicer work enviroment than CS, for me anyway.

CS much better promotion prospects, more formal, I have no experience of working in HSE

dat6

Also, flexitime exists in all three. It just depends on the role you are assigned.

BattleCorp

I've never worked with the Council or Civil Service so I can't talk about those.

HSE probably has more options career wise although it can be a chaotic place to work. It's by far the largest and most complex of the three organisations you listed and it has a multitude of departments. There is a large turnover of staff so this presents career opportunities.

Another advantage is that there are many jobs in the HSE that are only open to HSE, Tusla or Section 38 organisations so if you are in the HSE, these become available for you to apply for. If you aren't in the HSE or one of the other organisations, you can't apply for them.

If you were finding it difficult to progress your career in a hospital, you could move from the hospital setting into the community setting, into one of the CHOs for example and that would open up a whole lot more opportunities for career progression.

I think most HSE admin jobs have a 35 hour working week and 30 days annual leave.

Caoimhe2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058261878/county-council-civil-service-or-hse

Hi just wondering what you have decided as I am in the same situation between hse and civil service

Pamelabeasley

I’ve worked in HSE, hospital and community setting and within the civil service - annual leave is much higher in the HSE but besides that we couldn’t reccommend it - can be huge pressure depending on the work area, poor communication and management and HR was particularly bad for pay issues etc. the civil service is much more professional in regards to Management, HR and there is a lot of opportunity for promotion as well as the chance for blended working (which wasn’t available in the HSE where I worked) but the leave is worse. It can be post dependant though

Caoimhe2

Any idea how many hours civil servants work in a week?

BattleCorp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119724250#Comment_119724250

Mostly a 35 hour working week by the looks of this.

Normal attendance period:

The normal attendance period for civil servants will be from 9.12am to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday, and 9.12am to 5.15pm on Friday with 1 hour and 15 minutes for lunch break.

As a result of this change the majority of civil servants will now be working 35 hours net per week. For those not on 35 hours net per week, adjustments will need to be made to the above attendance period by local management.

Annual leave will not be impacted by the restoration of hours.

Where a civil servant availed of the option under the terms previous of public service agreements to remain on pre-HRA working hours (34.75 hours), they may elect to remain on those hours or move to the 35 hour net working week with an appropriate pay adjustment in both cases.

There is no adjustment to the overtime divisor which is 43.25 as per Circular 08/20211. 

https://assets.gov.ie/225817/5b4d4cbc-fe18-4bcc-9ad9-f068d8c92607.pdf

JesseJane

HSE at the moment is an absolute mess. Unfortunately it's where I am. I'm looking for other options myself.

Wonder 506

Working in the HSE is an absolute nightmare at the moment. It's the first time in 7 years where I am so unhappy there in the past year and I am actually wanting out for my mental health. It is so pressurised, so chaotic and zero chance of blended working especially where I work. The extra annual leave simply not worth it because of no staff to cover you while off, the work load you come back to is nearly not worth taking time off.

JesseJane

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121581137#Comment_121581137

I feel the same, I'm in the HSE but my number is coming up on the Council CO panel shortly. I dont know if I should just go for it or stick around in my current position on the hope of eventually getting moved or go up a grade.

Marty1983

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121704401#Comment_121704401

Hi Jesse, make the decision about the next 5 years not just your current situation.

I have been in Local gov for a long time and i can tell you opportunities do arise - although, we dont get too many interdepartmental competitions like the civil service.

Weight up travel, potential for working from home also, some LA's differ on that policy.

JesseJane

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121705506#Comment_121705506

Are you working in the council? I'm worried working in the HSE as it seems to be getting worse all over and I just don't know what my chances are of climbing the ladder. Is it difficult to climb in the Council? You can work like a trojan horse in the HSE and get nowhere. I am trying to think longterm but things are just so uncertain.

JesseJane

My panel number is due imminently for the council. I really feel that there will be more opportunities in the Council than the HSE. I don't want to start all over again but I'm trying to think longterm and the HSE is in such a mess presently.

PotatoMaster

Out of curiosity I see my local coco is hiring staff officers, what are they the equivalent of in the civil service does anyone know? EO? HEO?

Marty1983

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121728460#Comment_121728460

SO is between a EO and HEO.

It would make like a lot easier if the civil and public could merge admin grades!

Pamelabeasley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121728460#Comment_121728460

EO is equivalent to assistant staff officer (both would be a grade IV within the LA grade structure)

Staff officer is grade V (this grade was abolished in the civil service)

HEO would be equivalent to Grade VI within LA grade structure

intotheunkown

Jumping on here to see if anyone can answer… if you are already employed by the hse and move to co council do you carry over your increments or do you go back to pay scale 1?

EchoIndia

I've seen no indication here of what sort of motivation people have in terms of their organisation's purpose and type of work. The HSE and local authorities are primarily operational organisations, executing policy and delivering services, whereas in broad terms the civil service is more focused on the development of policy, supporting and working with the Government and accounting to the Oireachtas through the various parliamentary processes. There is huge variety across the civil service and opportunities for promotion and interdepartmental mobility, the former entirely merit-based nowadays. The HSE in particular seems still to be rooted in the health board and Section 38/39 structures, despite being in existence for twenty years; whether it will ever fully gel as a coherent national organisation, I don't know.

Meanman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122203223#Comment_122203223

Yes-your previous service should be accepted by the Co.Co. provided you are moving from a clerical grade in HSE. It is an analogous grade (i.e. similiar work). You should also ensure you carry your service in from HSE as this will be relevant for superannuation purposes upon retirement.

Everlong1

No brainer this….Civil Service. Promotion opportunities, training courses, mobility scheme which means you can apply to transfer between Departments or between different Units in a Department.

dells35

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121727760#Comment_121727760

Hi,we're you waiting long for your panel number to come up? Roughly what number were you around? I got in my 30's but don't know if my number will come up within a year?