IT Helpdesk Role, CS vs Private Sector Pay and Perks

Private firm now.

Some historic things, like working times and leave allowances still remain for the old guard.

in the last public sector organisation I worked in, total leave allowance was 43 days per year:

30 days leave
2 Civil Service Privilege days (one was always Christmas Eve, the other nominally for the Queen’s Birthday, but normally added onto one of the May Bank Holidays to make it a 4 day weekend)
8 Bank Holidays
+ we were given the 3 days between Christmas and New Year (I think officially we worked something like 7.42 hours per day throughout the year, instead of 7.4, and that made up the 3 days, but in truth who would ever feel like they’re working that extra time every day?)
+ didn’t have to take time for Christmas lunch / afternoon, summer staff social (BBQ etc)

I’m sure there are private companies that give a base of 43 days, but I’d put money on it being the minority rather the norm

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I was just asked what are the perks and extra days off. So just because i spelt that out it’s ‘tiring’…

I would stake my house, my pension and my job on that.
It’s a dead cert.

Try being on the other side of that split. The grass isn’t greener :wink:

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Also dont forget. The civil service offer reservist and volunteering days in most branches and pay grades.
For some that is effectively an extra weeks holiday or more.

Ah, I was in an arms-length body and didn’t get volunteering days (and wasn’t on the central CS payscale)

Going back to the start of this conversation though, Service Desk role for £20k that outside the CS pays £35k (using Batfink’s link). Yes, they might get an extra week’s leave and a better pension but I’d guess that £15k would more than compensates for that.

And surely we shouldn’t be dragging CS terms down, just because some private sector companies are borderline explorative (or worse).

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I get 25 days. Plus bank holidays. Plus one day for Queens birthday (which falls on neither her birthday or her official birthday). So there on less then when I was in the private sector.
But I also get six days volunteering leave and one week for cadet camp. So slightly better, but that doesn’t make up for the pay difference with the private sector, and the hours are just the same. I do it because I get a better quality of work - I’m in the Supreme Court or CJEU most months and get to write legislation. But I know in the administrative roles they are being shafted generally without the additional job satisfaction

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as I work in the private sector I shall offer my two pennies on “benefits” above salary

25 days holiday - with 3-4 of those days always pinched* for Christmas (the days between Boxing day and NYE)

In addition I get all bank holidays off and entitled to 12 flexdays a year - namely one a month (work extra in month 1, you can take a flex day in month 2)

As stated elsewhere my contract also states “an additional week may be granted with managers approval for youth volunteer groups” although no manager ever agrees to it, instead pushing any request on the HR who simply say “no”.

i do also get work-social occasions where time need not be made up, such as a Christmas lunch and TOIL is accumulated when travelling.

*the site is locked down so tight it is a “forced” holiday which has always annoyed me, i am not choosing to have the time off - the site is closed, a managerial decision, not mine yet I lose “holiday” - i’d rather they say its 22 days holiday + Christmas

ah, I’ll add that the flexi allowance was more generous than that too - by default we could take 3 flexi days per month and carry up to 3 flexi days over to the next month (rather than any rules about total number of extra hours we could work per month). However, line managers could approve more than this - I did a fair amount of travelling in that role, I think my record for number of accumulated flexi hours that I carried over to the next month was about 70

From Government website ## Statutory annual leave entitlement:

Most workers who work a 5-day week must receive at least 28 days’ paid annual leave a year. This is the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday.

I get 30 days, and have for years, so only two days extra. Yes, I’ll give you Queens Birthday.

I wish I got same pay as an entrepreneur or business owner…

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Let me know which department and I’ll apply tomorrow :roll_eyes:

As a business owner, currently, I wish I got pay.

I’ve taken nothing from the company all year. Not running long enough to have a cash reserve (and not running long enough to receive help), strategy and target market shot to bits since March.

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That does include bank holidays though so in reality it’s typically 20 days that most offer

As a business owner I have to make sure my staff are paid before I am, even when a pandemic is on compacted by a (likely) major upheaval.

You have to take the sleepless nights with it!

Sorry @Giminion - was meant to use the above quote not yours…

Must be tired!!! :joy:

Can we agree that there are pros and cons to everyone’s places of work and move on? :joy:

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Our numbers have reduced over the years through redundancy, retirement and people leaving and trying to get replacements is nigh on responsible. We have had 4 spells of no recruitment, since '98 so you just get on with it. For me there’s no point in leaving unless it’s redundancy. Judging on the last time we got redundancy figures I would now get in the region of £55K.
I think the majority of IT support would climb over hot coals for a salary of £35K, the voice on the end of a phone is on £23K.
WRT the Air Cadets we’ve got 7/8 very well paid individuals not doing a lot who could roll up their sleeves and get stuck in or they take a pay cut of £10K-£15K each and pay for a new one.

Seems like a fair assessment.