Civil Service, Local Authority, Public Service Compared

Trevorfromtheshoppingcentre

Hey Boards. I’ve been applying for public/civil service jobs the past few months and been lurking here for a while. Just have some questions I’ve been wondering as I’m on a few panels.

What are the comparative pros/cons of civil service/local authority/public services (HSE/semi-private hospitals).

Do you keep your yearly service rate if you move between these departments. Is working in a local authority a bit of a dead end career wise for administrative/clerical roles compared to civil service/healthcare administration.

Would appreciate any help, just finishing college as a mature student and eager to begin developing my career. Thanks.

Mr lebowski

I went from a Local Authority to the Civil Service. I also worked for the HSE previously too.One big thing is 5 days less holidays in the civil service than the public service and you may not be able to avail of Flexi time also which in reality means 18 days less holidays. That's one thing to watch out for. Also the local authority may have less working from home as I know it's only 1 day working from home at present as opposed to 3 in my department in the civil service.

I've worked in the public and 4 departments in to the civil service.

Every department and indeed section is different.

My current department is in a number of locations and they are like chalk and cheese.