in all fairness, AP is the sweetspot between responsibility and remuneration, go up a level and you can have ministers calling you at weekends and A/Secs constantly in your ear. hardly worth it for the extra few grand youd get after tax and pension levy
Like any job,it depends on who’s above you …a shit PO and you’ll be going under the bus on a regular basis …especially if you’re in a post serving the political system…truth be told there’s so many folk completely out of their depth in senior management that a busy A/Sec will bypass PO to AP to get job done…that means weekend calls , getting dumped in to meetings in front of ministers etc… I think best job in civil service is HEO with allowance and bit of travel … off the radar, your own workload,your at AP wage …some great gigs in revenue and customs …
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youre correct in that who you report to can have a massive effect on how the job goes, conversely, how many people report to you can also be a factor and youd likely have more as a HEO in most units and that means shitloads of PMDS, sick leave and all that goes with that.
on the allowances etc, i think the service is skating very close to the wind in not giving allowances and travelling time to grades higher than HEO and I’d expect a WRC case in th next 5 years, especially after the after hours emails case.
forgot to say as well glas, if youre an AHCPS member you can get financial advice both on AVCs and investing
Ah. I am indeed. That’s good to know and I’ll follow up on that alright. Cheers Art.
Spoken like someone with first hand experience. Are you running the country too mate? It’s good to know the running of the country is in safe hands based on the TFK CS representation. Apart from Art’s misogyny of course, but hopefully we can keep him in a role where he can’t do too much damage.
Sorry pal , didn’t mean to hit a nerve …
No nerve pal, sounded like you had experience of it and so wondered if you were in the CS running the country like me and Art.
I’d guess the lack of allowances and travelling time above a certain level was originally negotiated with unions ? APs were once on the clock too so some agreement must have been reached to get them off it ?also id guess it would be hard find a suitable comparator, not many private sector companies pay a lad extra for travel time…
after hours goes back to having a clued in boss…the Acts provides the framework to work within…onus is on boss to know hours you work and step in where needed. But again good luck finding said boss !
I deliver Arts mail …you’d be surprised the fan mail he gets …
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Twas the Haddington road agreement where APs and above lost flexitime, I think.
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Therefore generally speaking it would be hard to bring a case for something your union originally balloted you on …
the intial thinking was the 20k gap between AP and HEO at start of respective scale but which disappears at top of scale, especially if the HEO is in a role with allowance and travel such as a sec to minister. they could easily be getting an extra 40k tax free. flexi is on the way back for senior grades but im happy enough without it as ive a role with an exceptional amount of flexibility/latitude and which would be an allowanced role for a lower grade.
id also do a lot of travel both local and international and my boss is decent enough to be flexible with days in lieu on onerous travel times
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I wouldn’t go near a secretary to a minister job with a 40 foot pole.
there’s hungry cunts out there that realise that 2/3 years of absolute shite more or less guarantees promotion afterwards
3 q on this out of curiosity
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By secretary do you mean gopher and general dogsbody? What would you be doing?
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How much does it pay
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How tied to your minister are you? If they got the road what happens? Are you tied to the role rather than the individual?
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Dogsbody and gatekeeper
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Senior minister can get a HEO which starts at 46k. Juniors get an EO starting at 27 IIRC. Allowance is 15 to 20k tax free plus overtime and possibly travel and subsistence, also tax free
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After your term 2/3 you go back to general circulation at your grade. You’ll normally get promoted fairly quickly afterwards though
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To add to this.
You mainly look after the ministers diary and are the first point of contact for anyone trying to contact them (gatekeeper), coordinate with everyone on their briefing, and accompany them everywhere.
The grades of the person doing the job can be higher than what art said. As you’re working with a minister there is additional non-stop overtime and travel, which means lots of expenses for lots of extra work.
You are supposed to be tied to the role but a new minister may arrive in and want someone different.
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So if the PMDS doesn’t have any AHCPS and my HEO is AWOL should I go to my PO or direct to the EIEIO?
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