coach

executive officer

administrative officer

case manager

executive support officer

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

During my interview, after having answered the interview panels questions, in relation to the 4 Civil Service Competencies, I had a few questions of my own such as:

1. How long the training will last?

The answer was 4 weeks but the group was only given 2-week training and the standard expected was beyond reasonable and ridiculous. One of the members of Staff was quickly reading from the slides when delivering the Training for over an hour. The Module required us (The Group) to have access to our own Smartcards, but due to the highly disorganised Department, we were given a Smartcard when all of the Training was complete and were required to deliver our role ‘to the very highest standard competently and adequately’.

Also, when she was delivering the Induction, especially in relation to the Fire Alarm and &amp; Bomb Alarm procedures to be followed when such a situation arose. She was constantly looking at me when mentioning the Bomb Alarm procedure like as if I have a tendency to commit such an act and disregarding the 8 employees who were present in the same room, who need to be informed of the same procedure if such a situation arose. Her approach should've been to inform all members of staff and not single me out like that. However, then she has the audacity to state that she has undertaken the 'unconscious bias' and recommends others to do the same. 

One of the members of Staff, who was delivering the Training, did provide a great job given the circumstances she was placed in, clearly said that she hasn’t been told as to what our role requires, as she was given a short notice and couldn’t deliver the Training completely, due to the group not being given access to the necessary resources, such as a Smartcard.

Another member of Staff, who was delivering the Training, did provide an outstanding job, however, he didn’t tell us how to update the relevant system completely. It was for this reason that the Line Manager could not see the cases, which we had done. Therefore, over 100 cases had to be re-assigned and updated again correctly, so each team member was assigned 20 cases to ensure that they are updated correctly.

A third member of Staff, who was delivering the training, provided an outstanding job. He clearly said to the Team Leaders that the standard of work expected from the new starters is beyond reasonable, due to them having no prior benefits experience and expecting them to carry out their own role of Data Gatherers and simultaneously ask for evidence from customers, is the role of a Processor and not a Data Gatherer. Therefore, our sentiment was shared by him which was comforting.

2. Whether there is a Prayer Room?

I was told that that the Panel understands that ‘People of my faith and Community Perform prayers. Therefore, it’s not something I should have to worry about’. 

Also, one of the members of Staff said that there are ‘like-minded individuals like yourself and prayer mats are available’. 

However, this was far from the truth as there was no ‘Prayer room’ or ‘Prayer mats’ and I hardly met such ‘like-minded individuals.' I've never met such a blatant liar in my life.

Cons:

-No access was given to the relevant resources, such as Smartcards or access to the relevant systems at the start of the role, yet we were required 'to carry out our role competently and adequately'. 

-Even though Bank statements were provided to the Panel, during the interview stage, we all still had Payroll issues for approximately 4 weeks.

-Constantly being observed by Team Leaders, especially when I used to go to perform my daily prayers.

-Legitimate concerns regarding bullying and harassment are brushed under the carpet.

-Members of Staff are very selective regarding whom they enforce relevant Policies, relating to  Bullying, Harassment &amp; Inappropriate Mobile Phone Usage. 

Two team members had their mobile phones out at their desks. The former was making a Snapchat/Instagram video of me, whilst I was dealing with confidential information. The latter was showing me pictures of disabled members of the Royal Family, to substantiate his point regarding epilepsy arising out of close cousin marriages. 

A team-leading member of staff clearly saw him with his phone being taken out at his desk. However, she came over but didn't say anything to him. 

This is a clear example of Senior Members of Staff deviating from enforcing the relevant policies, which are in place to protect customer information. Management was informed but did nothing, and as usual, brushed it under the carpet.

Both Team Members have been former Civil Servants: the former was an employee at DWP Child Maintenance and the latter was an employee at the Department for Environment, Food &amp; Rural Affairs. Both are clearly not exemplary Civil Servants.

-At the start of the role, the focus was on quality and not quantity, however, that changed and the focus was on quantity and quality was being ignored. I  dealt with such cases which were completely wrong including the customer's address.

-All EO Team Leaders are from a predominant ethnicity and are female, the same applies to HEO's because everyone at that level is female, whereas the only 'Equality &amp; Diversity' is at the AO Level, which is mainly ethnic minorities on Fixed Term Contracts. A prime example of certain roles reserved for certain types and kinds of people, therefore, structural racism.

-Treated as a number rather than a person.

-No Breaks are given when working overtime on weekends, therefore, causing strain to one's eyes and resulting in headaches.

-Private discussions, which are confidential, are disclosed to other members of staff via Skype.

-Busybody and Gossipy culture

-Conversations are always being eavesdropped by Team Leaders and Team Members

-Required to bootlick Team Leaders and Senior Employees to be acknowledged, rather than let one's work ethic and effective time management skills speak for itself.

-A Team Member was recording me secretly without my consent and placing me onto his Social Media and subjecting me to mockery and ridicule. Management was informed but decided to brush it under the carpet.

- Another Team Member was caught speaking behind my back and when confronted she lied. Thereafter, I told her to take an oath in her mother tongue, she lied under oath, stuttered and went red.  Needless to say, Management was informed but decided to brush it under the carpet.

However, when I handed my resignation, she was instructed by a managerial member of staff to carry out a cynical performance, to give me the impression that 'her behaviour has changed' therefore 'the matter is being taken seriously'.

-A third Team Member was always observing me throughout the whole time. I even caught him through my peripheral vision and looked at him to let him know that I can see you constantly staring at me. He quickly looked away and fixed his eyes to his screen to give me the impression that he is working, which was far from the reality. Management was informed but decided to brush it under the carpet.

-I was constantly given dirty looks and stares by the above Team Members, due to them being unable to get information out of me regarding my private life. Also, they viewed me as a rival rather than a team member, my work ethic and many hours of flex credit was causing them 3 a great deal of concern.

-Senior Management instructed the above 3 to carry out a cynical performance of ‘changed behaviour’ when I gave my resignation, so I’m given the impression that my legitimate concerns regarding ‘Bullying and Harassment’ are being taken seriously when they have been disregarded for a month.

My role within the jobcentre was very varied and I used many different computer systems. 
Main duties include:
• Fortnightly Work Search Reviews – These are face to face interviews in which I checked with customers that they had been actively seeking work by accessing their UJ account (Universal Jobs Matching accounts) this is part of the mandatory conditionality for all Job Seekers Allowance claimants. I often helped them with a job search and any issues they may have had eg – uploading CV’s, Job Applications, Attaching files to Emails, etc.  I then “signed” the customer on a new digital system we had recently acquired. Initially customers had to be enrolled onto the electronic SCS (Signature Capture Service) which is also connected to the payment system. This involved them providing at least six signatures on a digital tablet which was connected to my computer. This then created a biometric profile for the customer which had to be matched each time they signed before a payment could be released. This helped in the prevention of fraud and ensured payment was made on time.
• Cohort Lists – Our main targets within the jobcentre were the monthly cohorts. This consists of 4 lists which I populated and maintained -  the 13 / 26 / 39 / 52 week cohort lists. These are based on the claim date of each customer and the date they needed to off flow (cease claiming) to reach each target. I received Not Off-flowed lists provided for the cluster / district. These were vast lists of customers from which I had to filter out for our office and the relevant dates required for each list. I compiled a spreadsheet and added the relevant Work Coach for each customer. I filtered and printed out each sheet for each Work Coach and added each customer to a caseload which I had created on our Labour Market System enabling it to be monitored easily. The Work Coaches could then identify which of their customers would be reaching their cohort off-flow date and arrange for them to be seen more regularly to help with them finding a job.
• Claim Closures –  I closed the Failed To Attend /Failed To Sign claims that had passed the 5 working day time band. I also closed any claims that have been signed off by the customers (Found work, Moving to another benefit, Going abroad, etc. All closed claims were work flowed to their advisor to remove from their caseload. I workflowed myself to remove from the relevant Cohort lists. I then completed a daily stat of cohorts that have off flowed.
• Financial Assistant Role for New Claims - When a customer makes a new claim online their statement is entered on our CMS. I had to “preview” these statements and print them off ready for their first appointment. A substantial amount of these statements do not have all the required information on them and many questions on the form are unanswered. I telephoned the customer and updated the statement with the missing information and made sure the customer was aware to bring all relevant documents to collaborate the claim, eg bank statements, tenancy agreement, partners wage slips, etc.
• NCS (National Careers Service) Diaries – Customers are made mandatory appointments with the NCS based in our office to compile CV’s, Cover Letters, Set up email Accounts (also part of the conditionality for Job Seekers Allowance) Each week I compiled a list of claimants that had / had not attended mandatory appointments and emailed to the Skills Conditionality team so they could make sure any Decision Making Action is taken. 
• HOTT (Hand Over Templates)
I logged into the HOTT email system every day when I was not assigned to the Work Search Reviews. These come from the various contact centres round the country who customers have telephoned regarding missing appointments, sickness, payments, work related queries, etc.) and made sure any allocated to me were dealt with promptly – I either rang the customer and sorted out the query by accessing different systems or passed to their advisor to call back within the target time of 3 hours.
• Coaching Colleagues
 I recently coached colleagues on the cohort lists, claim closures, and the NCS (National Career Service) diaries.  I compiled a step by step guide for them to follow which they have all found very useful.

DWP is not the place to work if you’ve ever had any decision-making responsibility in former employment - unless you’re looking to dumb-down.  The Work Coach EO role is largely repetitive and process-driven where you come to feel like a robot, and there are few opportunities for real advancement.  For the most part, the customers are the highlight of the job, but the highly restricted appointment time in which you have to see them is inhibitive to any meaningful work coaching, and the infrastructure largely isn’t there to support them.  Even the public computers have limited functionality, because the software has never been updated.  This sums up the state of the DWP, their estates, policies and practices really.  

Many of the staff have never worked anywhere else in their entire working lives. Newcomers feel quickly undermined by management styles and process, where independent initiative or forward thinking feels discouraged.  The on-boarding process, induction and training is the worst I’ve ever had, leaving new recruits ill-prepared for a role they are rushed in to.  

All internal decision-making is black and white , even when common sense should prevail or costs are incurred.  There’s absolutely no grey between and definitely no blue-sky either.  Not least because staff are NEVER allowed to open the ground floor blinds, should someone just happen to stand on a step ladder with a long lens and spy on customer personal data through the window!  Just one example of ludicrous local ‘policy’ encountered. 

Transferable skills and experience feel devalued and meaningless.  Staff are required to complete a L4 Operational Delivery qualification - even if they’re qualified to a higher level, have years of experience, no desire for advancement or simply don’t want to. 

There’s an undercurrent of bullying/harassment by management and staff tattling with several individuals citing the same recurrent complaints.  That being said, staff are generally friendly and professional, and there are regularly workplace wellbeing events going on, such as dress-down days etc. which brighten an otherwise demoralising day.  Little by way of staff socialising outside the office though, and there are cliques like you’d get anywhere. 

Whilst the salary and benefits are generally good with long service, the job is over-rated and you have to ask yourself whether the benefits are really worth the monotony of the work, and the feeling that your brain and intellect is slowing ebbing away.

A typical day at work involves telephony based work as well as casework especially in Disability services where I have been working for almost a year. Work life balance is good as the company offers flexible working hours. We are contractually obliged to work 1 late shift a week finishing at 5.30pm and one 5pm finish. Monday is an all day telephony day so no matter your cases or what’s in your ques you’re bound to the phone unless sick or another reason. Work life balance is good as you can finish whatever time you want after you complete 4.5 hours. So I could work from 9am till 1.30 and go home for the day. Or on a late shift you could start at 1 and finish at 5.30 as long as you have the flexi do so. Training was a bit basic and boring at times and allot of it was focused around the case managers jobs rather than our own. And if I’m honest I’ve done more learning on the job that I did in the 12 weeks training. Probabtion is 6 months long and upon completion you get a certificate that’s about it to be honest. 

The hardest part of the job is telephony because it may seem like 4.5 everyday isn’t a lot but sometimes it can drag, you can be faced with challenging calls such as telling someone there claim has been disallowed. 


Management is a bit shambolic no one knows answers and always gets passed around to someone else. Sometimes days for a response to a simple query. I’ve noticed a few family members working in the organization who have favorited for TDA’s and temp promotions opportunities. Also HEO and SEO’s who like to throw there authority around.

Dwp is a very diverse employer and there are people from all backgrounds, skin colors, ethnicity’s, gender, nationalities and religions.

The most enjoyably part of the job is knowing you are providing a vital service to britains most vulnerable customers and having the satisfaction of providing them with information, support and decisions which will benefit them for the foreseeable future. 

Working in disability services I have learned a lot I have learned how to work as part of a national team, how to communicate effectively as a pair, team and across organizations such as home office and HMRC. I have also learned that the benefit system is so advantageous to people but it is taken advantage of and exploited in such ways that are so obvious however nothing can be proven or done.

Overall a good employer but don’t be buddy buddy with management. It gets you nowhere. Don’t be a snitch on your peers let them work out there mistakes before reporting it to management as word gets around the offices very quickly and roumors are common where I work

A typical day? 
Logging into your laptop and checking the  claimant messages (''can't make it in today'' etc) or do admin tasks/paperwork you didn't have time for yesterday- and likely still won't!
A day crammed full of outbound telephone calls /F2F appointments  finding jobs for people - an ever-increasing volume of those struggling with mental health issues in our pressurised society.

What you believe you learned about management?
That SEO level management, and way above, understand little about and care NOTHING about the underpaid ants far below them that they spit on from their Ivory Towers, yet BS the entire work force in the most condescending and unrealistic manner possible about "What they're proud of" (not our hard work, but the Stats they drive us for), with ZERO real emotion or 'pride'.

Also, that they will secretly filter their favourites into cushy DWP roles that they NEVER even put before ALL employees (Trade Union won't care!), despite their big talk about INCLUSIVITY and fairness. The only TRANSPARENCY is their clear hatred and absolute disrespect for the army of hardworking and heavily put-upon Work Coaches whom they are stretching paper-thin until something gives.

The hardest part of the job
Getting jobless people to look for work, right? Partly. Stomaching the above fake colleague 'care' whilst the real workers, sweating blood and drowning in YET MORE damned rules and regulations to make the job even more difficult, frustrating and stressful.
There is almost zero advancement for most coaches, though we need more, other than moving sideways into sometimes-advertised roles (not just for managers!!) or just getting out of the Civil Service. Not that they care if people leave, despite desperately needing MORE EO level staff to work in their specialisms (18-24 age group, or 25-49 and 50+) - not the plethora of self employment appointments that some people are oddly NOT chosen to be trained doing.

The most enjoyable part of the job and the culture?
The Colleagues themselves - always look out for one another and help/advise.
Booking off Flexi days or annual leave- Time off or job searching!
Going home and switching off  from the cycle of pretend-care, when the entire  job is clearly a career-shining claimant processing centre to generate ticked Political boxes and ever Government-pleasing statistics.



I am ashamed to work for such a shambolic organisation that treats its customers with scandalous disrespect.  Perhaps it might be illuminating for the public to know that the Department treats its staff just as badly.  In the same way that there is no support for customers suffering ill-health, staff who have four one-day absences in a rolling year are automatically disciplined, irrespective of whether their illnesses are genuine.  The unremitting pressure to achieve unattainable productivity targets has resulted in unprecedented levels of burn-out and disaffection, while working conditions are progressively deteriorating.  It genuinely feels as if management are trying to break us, despite the fact that, theoretically at least, we share the same objective of trying to help people into work.  I routinely see customers being treated with contempt and the Department ignores its customer charter as a matter of course.  At an official level, management claim to care about both their staff and their customers, but the reality is scarily different.  A recent survey revealed that more than 50% of DWP staff felt that their mental health had been adversely affected by their employer.  There seems to be a level of support for staff once they experience a breakdown, but little emphasis on preventative measures, such as the completion of psychological risk assessments.  Although the Department claims to be positive about disabled people, this assertion does not stand up to scrutiny, irrespective of which side of the counter you happen to find yourself.  There are some very good people in the Department, both at administrative and managerial grades, but the toxicity of the prevailing culture prevents them from influencing local decisions, which are autocratically made with negligible consultation.  It is not uncommon to see colleagues in tears during lunch-breaks and the feeling of powerlessness we feel compels me to urge anyone reading this review to think very carefully before considering a career in this dysfunctional organisation.

Given the length of service within the civil service I have adopted many different roles, All if which full training is given 

Counter staffs, which entails working face to face with customers,The most challenging would be when dealing with be rather aggressive customers. Mainly due to frustrations regarding missing payments and such. Having good interpersonal, managerial and communication skills are necessary in this line of work, of which I can confidently advise I have.

I also worked as an adjudication officer. The target in this position was to accurately assess applications made, and making a decision as to whether the customer was eligible to receive assistance from the government. One would also have to keep all customers circumstances up to date throughout the duration of the claim. In this position one would have to have skills in accuracy as mistakes could be to the detriment of a customer

Following this I spent many years within the medical side of the department. My main duties were to help and assist customers with disabilities or illness, or even those recently recovered from an illness to gain confidence in seeking employment even if for a few hours per week. This position I found satisfying as it’s nice to help individuals with disabilities or illness to understand that having a condition doesn’t mean that one is unemployable, and in some cases work can be rather therapeutic. 

Another part of the medical department was to refer customers for their medical assessments, once the doctor’s report is received, the outcome would be electronically recorded, customer notified and the advised on what happens next. 

I often volunteered to assist our storage team in times of staff shortages. Again to do this one would need to have good accuracy skills due to the handling personal data, confidential and sensitive information.
Working for the DWP is a fantastic way to develop new and different skills. opportunities to develop on skills are often available.

•	My previous job at the department for work and pensions and at Her Majesty Revenue and Customs was an excellent learning opportunity and I have developed skills and experience in numerous ways, this has given me the opportunity to engage in decisions that affect the site with various stakeholders and the department as a whole. My responsibilities included making decisions on Work Capability assessments, explaining to the customer verbally and orally and if they do not agree with the decision preparing appeals for tribunal hearings. 
•	In seeking new opportunities to do things differently, I have conducted studies related to quality improvements in the work that we do, this involved conducting telephone surveys with DWP customer’s to evaluate the level of service they received and improving on areas identified by conducting training on the skills gap so as to develop new options. I have devised and implemented workflow processes for prioritising activities related to case files, which streamlined operations and enhanced productivity. I am a confident communicator and able to work well in a team environment as well as on my own initiative. I am pro-active and have the ability to think fast and make critical decisions. I have excellent organisational skills and I know how to manage my time wisely, which makes it possible to handle several projects at once. I understand the importance of confidentiality and I take steps to ensure privacy at all times. With a solid foundation in speech writing, consensus building, and stakeholder relations, my additional strengths in communication and time management position me ready to thrive in this challenging role. My greatest strength is my ability to work effectively with many different people; my strong communication skills have made me an effective team player and I know that my communication and interpersonal skills would make me an ideal fit for this position.

A typical day included interviewing on average eight people a day for National Insurance Numbers. Most of the interviewees could not speak English so this required me to call for a translator.

I learnt how to interview in a professional and intellectual manner. The interviews I held often required you to adapt your communication in relation to what the interviewee responds with. 

Management weren't always the best at dealing with situations, one example of this would be my first pay. I had to go through HR to receive emergency pay because my management didn't seem to know how to set up a new employee properly. 

My co-workers were fantastic, they always offered support and we helped each other whenever one of us were conducting a complicated interview. We also passed on appropriate intel that would help in future interviews. 

Hardest part of my job was trying to conduct an interview when we couldn't get through to the interpreters and my client couldn't speak much English. If a customer couldn't speak English at all, I would have tried to explain to them through sign language that they would have to re-book or another customer who spoke the same language would translate that phrase for me. However if a customer could speak a little English, sometimes I would try and complete the interview anyway. All I had to do was adapt my words to the most basic of English and speak very slowly. This method often worked which helped in the overall team target of interview completions. 

Most enjoyable part of the job was meeting people from all over the world. My co-workers are also what made the job enjoyable with their sense of humour and characteristic personalities.

I was on flexi hours so I had the choice of when I started in the morning and when I could leave to go home. I generally started at around 9am, logged myself into the shared UCD on my phone to enable me to take calls from customers. I then worked from the team inbox. I actioned user amendment forms and raised IT & telephony incidents, this meant I worked with software such as My Office, Opstrat and Legacy maintenance. Within My Office I created shared folders and shared mailboxes. I gave customers access to these. I also created Opstrat and legacy maintenance accounts so that customers working within the different departments and building such as Jobcentre Plus buildings could set up benefit claims. I gave special access to some Opstrat services to allow customers to issue the public their benefit payments. I also visited customers at their desks to assist with any IT issues they had such as needing a new keyboard etc. I learnt how to use various different software and was given the opportunity to travel to Newcastle to the company that dealt with the IT incidents I raised. I got an insight of how they solved IT and telephony issues within a call centre environment. The management was extremely professional yet understanding of her personal issues/needs their staff incurred. My co workers were always helping me when I first started this position and also supported me with the apprenticeship - training (NVQ) side of things. I cannot say that there was anything particularly hard about this position and I enjoyed every moment of being there.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Coach 29 salaries reported	£31,739 per year
Executive officer 14 salaries reported	£32,847 per year
Administrative officer 9 salaries reported	£24,327 per year
Case manager 4 salaries reported	£29,975 per year
Executive support officer 20 salaries reported	£29,016 per year

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