Temporary Clerical Officer 2021 in the Civil and Public Service (Please read OP)

General Information / FAQs


Why won’t the application form won’t open for me?

You will need to download and save the form to your computer first, it should open for you then.

Can I pick more than one preferred location?

Unfortunately, not for TCO campaigns. You can only pick one location.

Are these jobs Permanent or Temporary? If I get a job could I be made permanent?

This campaign is for Temporary Clerical Officers and the duration of contracts are usually for between 8-26 weeks. For permanent clerical officer roles, you need to apply for the Clerical Officer campaign which is ran separately.

What is meant by availability?

There are two availability option:

• All Year - If you are available to take up a position at any time
• April to September (aka Summer Only) - If you are only available during the summer months.

A candidates who indicates that they are available from "April to September" or "All Year" should be available for the entirety of that period. If you are unavailable to take up a position when contacted by PAS you may be removed from the panel.

I applied for a previous temporary clerical officer campaign and I didn’t get appointed, can I apply again?

Yes, it’s a new competition and you will have to complete all stages again. Your scores from previous campaigns do not carry over so you do have the opportunities to improve your performance at each stage

I applied for a previous temporary clerical officer campaign and I did get appointed, can I apply again? – New this year

Yes, Candidates who have successfully completed a TCO contract/s within the 3 years prior to 9th November 2020 may not be required to undergo a Stage 2 - Interview. Such candidates will, if advanced to Stage 2, instead be required to provide satisfactory references, for the period of the TCO contract/s in question, confirming suitable performance in the role. These references will be verified with the relevant Department. Other additional references may also be required for other recent employment. Please note that details of all prior TCO contracts, including those within the last 3 years, must be provided on the Standard Application Form.

What is involve in the recruitment process?

1. An standard (online) and detailed (word doc) application form (Deadline: 3pm on November 9th.)
2. Stage 1: An Online Assessment Questionnaire received by the 13th November (Deadline: 1pm on November 17th)
3. Stage 2: A Competency Based Interview via Zoom - Batch 1 to be called in December 2020, with further batches to be called throughout 2021.
4. Clearance Stage: If you come under consideration, this stage involves checking eligibility, health and character, references and may include Garda Vetting.

If I pass Interview am I guaranteed a job?

No, Candidates that are successful in completing all stages including interview are placed on a panel of suitably qualified persons. The number of TCO positions will vary depending on the needs of the department in a particular location. The positions are filled by order of merit as they arise.

What is an order of merit?

Candidates are placed in an order of merit (OOM) based on their scores achieved at each stage and it is used to determine the order in which candidates progress to the next stage of the competition. The candidate highest in the order of merit after the interview stage are assigned to the next available role until all positions are filled.

What is the salary of a Temporary Clerical Officer?

Starting salary is €471.20 per week in line with Clerical Officer (PPC) payscale. All TCO’s start on point one of the scales, however incremental credit may be available for previous service in the public and civil services.

Clerical officer (PPC)
24,586 (471.20) – 26,195 (502.02) – 26,604 (509.85) – 27,401 (525.13) – 28,577 (547.67) – 29,751 (570.17) – 30,925 (592.67) – 31,781 (609.05) – 32,747 (627.60) – 33,873 (649.16) – 34,665 (664.35) – 35,779 (685.68) – 36,885 (706.90) – 38,612 (739.99) – LSI 1 39,970 (766.01) – LSI 2 40,592 (777.93)

(Under Construction)


Public Jobs / Intreo Video for TCO 2021 (available until Nov 9th)

https://vimeo.com/473384474/a24ee0f21a?fbclid=IwAR0PsRxgEJWpwyTbIm3JtSWzjxJcDXsd23OlNCuSbyU7ZjM_dZ4d4draCDE

DarkJ wrote: »

Is anybody having trouble with the 'detailed application form'? It's downloaded and saved to my machine but it's locked. Won't allow me to type in any information.

I didn't have any issues with the application form, did you get any banner along the top asking to allow editing?

I get that sometime with a new word document, I have to allow editing.

Fbjm wrote: »

I applied for this just today, I really want a permanent role but I am very eager to get into the public service, the pay scale transparency and the job security are so appealing for me. Would it be advisable to leave my current private sector role if I'm offered a temporary CO role if I'm looking at eventually moving into the public sector full-time?

If you have a permanent job, it wouldn't be worth giving up for a temporary contract. But its really up to you to decide what is best in your personal circumstances.

A TCO contract could be for 8-26 weeks, and although it is possible get extended up to 18 month, its not probable that would happen as some department simple don't allow extensions.

If the decision is made to extend a TCO contract, it would most like be about 4 week out from the end date and based on the business need at the time rather than the quality of the candidate.

You might be extremely lucky and get offered an 26 week contract, get extended up to 18 months and, If you apply/progress through the CO campaign, get offer of permanent job before you finish as a TCO. **Alternative, you might get offered a 13 week contract and nice "sorry to see you go" card at the end.