Pros
- As a relatively small government department, you feel much closer to the political action than in larger departments such as MoD or DWP, and you can see where you fit into the grand scheme of things. - There's a real push to engage everyone at every grade and ensure that every individual has access to the training and development opportunities they want. - Minimum salary bands have just been revised in line with the rest of Whitehall from 1 December 2014. - Flexible working is encouraged (flexi time, working at home, compressed hours, part time and job sharing all considered). - The IT is actually quite good and offers a lot of flexibility too, like bringing your own iPad for emails and documents (saves a lot of paper!). - The new office is quite nice too, with a decent canteen offering, gym and break out space for informal meetings. - Depending on grade, it feels as if you have a lot more autonomy in going about your job compared to other larger departments.
Cons
- Hot desking is now a permanent feature of the office, and creatures of habit that dislike working from home may not not enjoy moving desks every day! - Poor performance is perhaps not managed in an effective way, at times it feels like there is some deadwood being carried by others. - It takes a while to fill vacancies - often not advertised until the incumbent actually leaves, which leaves the work falling to others to pick up and no effective handover to the new starter.