employment in public sector

[Meridian]

how generous are payrises? 1K, 2K, 3K + ??

I know it differs as per the position but how could you find out? Also is it once or twice a year?

thanks

Best joke of the day. Pay rises in the public sector are controlled by the government of the day. Since governments are usually trying to control inflation they usually peg those rises below the real, and often the official, rate of inflation. The only exception is the last pay round before a general electiom, when they tend to be a little more generous (this applies to both main parties I might point out).


Expect 2% a year if you do well.



M

 

[Bear]

Dont forget if you join a union you can go on strike every other week aswell to complain about the poor pay you knew you were getting into when you took the job.

 

[Pookie Bear]

Expect 2% a year if you do well.

Last year I got 5.25%,the year before that it was 4.25% and then this year it's 1.9% (even with better performance) - capped by the government. Gotta love 'em.

 

[HeX]

On the plus side you get more holidays, less work, less stress (may be) and job security.

Yup in NHS you get far more 'benefits' compared to the private sector.

Yes the money is worse, but you do get far more holidays, and usually you can work Flexi-Time, also it is usually a lot more lax on clothing standards (i.e. you don't have to wear a tie/suit etc etc.), plus you get all the NHS discount stuff, like cheap software, cheap busfairs, money off at certain shops etc etc. And the Pension scheme is top knotch.

As for payrises there are different Job Bands, each band has a fixed number of Pay Points, every year you automatically move up a pay point which is usually ~£500-600.

You also get ~2-4% 'Cost of Living' increase, which is decided upon by the government, which you are meant to get every April, but that never happens, its usually about November when it comes through and then you get a £100-200 or so back dated pay.

If it is a Procurement Team job its prolly a Band 3?

 

[xirokx]

excellent thank you so much for your responses..

I am a little confused as to how to proceed as there are a mixture of views / opinions based on promotion when the pay rises seem pretty much set...

Hmmmmm what to do

 

[panthro]

Hi, I have worked in procurement and have done MCIPS qualifications alongside PASA (NHS) purchasing people.
The benefits might be good, but the pay is terrible. I am earning nearly double what some of my counterparts in the NHS are on, and my pay rises are now yearly, and performance related, so there isnt really a cap or limit on how much I get (within reasonable boundaries). It can be up to 20% PA.
Its good experience though, having knowledge of how the public sector operates, but the private sector has a lot to offer too.
I would say you should give it a go, but make sure you keeps your options open to the private sector. Its important not to get sucked into a specific role of field of procurement, as it will limit your options later on in your career.

 

[Jonny]

Without going in to it, I currently work in the public sector and whilst I can see what you are saying with regards to a lot of the jobs being very stress free etc I can guarantee that it doesn't apply to all of the jobs, mine being one of them!
As someone else has mentioned the atmosphere seems to be 'save save save' hence a constant lack of staff etc etc

 

[xirokx]

I want to avoid being stuck in a dead end role, or one that is badly paid..

All my previous experience is in private sector where they pay was handsome but quite often due to size of company lack of opportunities to progress within departments as the procurement team was very small i.e. 2 - 3 people...

The job on offer is a few thousand less then my existing salary and after speaking to the recruitment agency who assure me job progress is something they support and with each job their is a different salary I for some reason am sceptical about believing them..

I don't want to end up in a role I enjoy but begin to hate due to lack of finanical reward..

I have attended a few private sector interviews (we are talking fortune 500) companies who offer job progress and a career path based on your potential and initiative, I am waiting to hear back from them...Also the salary is a few thousand more then what I am receiving currently..

So all in all I want to make the right move for my career, my inner voice is telling me not to believe the recruitment consultants, I love the idea of working in PS but quite frankily I know the low salary would really put me off and eat away at me as I know what I am worth / capable of requesting, therefore I am at a crossroads...BTW the PS position is Band 4

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thanks for all replies..

 

[HeX]

Band 4 will prolly be ~16K-22K, you might be able to negotiate your salary if offered the job taking that you are currently on more money than the starting paypoint.

Just depends on what you can bring to the job.

The NHS is fairly good job wise with being able to move around, once you are in you can pretty much move laterally/upwards into most departments, I started in the NHS about 4 years ago and i've had 3 different jobs (moving upwards) since then, and i'm currently looking for the next job up.

However, if you are being offered Private sector jobs that are more money than you are on and offer structured career progression i'd say go with them, you'll be on more money in a shorter length of time.

I've stuck with the NHS mainly for the flexi-time and lots of holidays as I have 2 kids and don't want to be stuck in a private sector job that I have to travel ages for and start and leave at a fixed time as i'd never get to see my young kids.

 

[xirokx]

thanks..

I have over 5 years experience in my field..

Can I ask in the last 4 years how much did your money go up by and what your on atm?

 

[uknowist]

I work in public sector now, im only an admin assistant, but pays not too crap for what i actually do, but people always complain about it. Im on flexi hours 30 days off a year with the choice of gaining flexi days off if i want too. Duvet days as they call them, where if u cant be bothered to come to work providing the book isnt full u can ring and ask for the day off with your leave. Bad points about working in there is promotions is pretty much a no go unless you have experience in a variety of different aspects certain computer programs, management skills etc. The work even if you get promotion is mind numbingly boring and reptitive. If you become a manager private sector jobs dont see you as having much managment skills as its different in the public sector(or so im told) and dont get me started in the politics of the place lol, mini empires as someone else said is spot on.

Obviously all this may depend on what type of public sector job you are going for.

 

[Meridian]

Last year I got 5.25%,the year before that it was 4.25% and then this year it's 1.9% (even with better performance) - capped by the government. Gotta love 'em.

Some win, some lose. The average for the last three years is below 3.5% per year AFAIK, but a few groups did better.


M

 

[Surfer]

On the plus side you get more holidays, less work, less stress (may be) and job security.

true on all counts

fair bit of nepotism though. Just make sure you're buds with all the top dogs is all.

lots of training opportunities as long as its even remotely tied to what you do.

every year you automatically move up a pay point

not necessarily its not automatic when you get to a gateway...KSF stuff comes into play then..

 

[kip02]

not necessarily its not automatic when you get to a gateway...KSF stuff comes into play then..

True, but it varies between different parts of the public sector.

I have worked in the public sector for all of my full time jobs. When i was working in local government it was guaranteed that April or whenever that you would go up an increment, but in the NHS you seem to have to prove why they should move you up and provide evidence to support this.

Whilst i think my pay is good for the job and most in the NHS, it would be nice to be rewarded for hard work by bonus and company day outs etc. but that will never happen in any public sector job due to the way it is funded.

 

[jam pie]

thanks for your responses, well received...

I hear what you guys have to say re: promotion is based on the length of time served unlike the private sector where you have to kiss arse...

Taking the above into consideration, could you kindly advise as to how generous the pay rises are? are pay rises once a year? or twice a year?

based on what you guys are saying I feel I should stay away as I had no idea PS promotes on length of time as opposed to skill....

thanks guys, would appreciate your thoughts re: pay structure..

cheers

You have pay scales that you start at the bottom of and work to the top of and stay there unless you get promoted. You move up a notch of the pay scale every April. Not only that you also get the cost of living increase with this, which usually gets back dated to you in September.
I find that the pay is above the average. I am a student placement and I know that I am getting a lot more than my friends who are on placement in the private sector.

It is myth that Public Sector promote on length of time as opposed to skill. If you show initiative and a hardworking attitude you will reap the benefits.

 

[[TR]SweetSpotOz]

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