Introduction
The information below provides a summary of the main terms and conditions of appointment by the Department for Transport (DfT) for:
- existing DfT employees
- those who are new to the Civil Service
- employees who transfer in to DfT from another government department (OGD).
Annex A sets out the modernised terms and conditions effect on DfT recruitment. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are aware of the terms and conditions you will adopt should you be successful in your application.
| Hours of Work | What are the full time working hours in DfT? A full-time role in DfT consists of a 37-hour week, excluding meal breaks. The working hours for a part time role will be stated in your contract of employment. | |
| Shift Working | Will my role require shift working? Some DfT roles may require shift working to support business needs. Shift working patterns can include early slots, evening working, night shifts, weekends and public holidays. It is your responsibility to be aware of the shift pattern which relates to your post before accepting the offer. Any particular requirements will be provided in the job advert and in the contract of employment. | |
| Public/Bank holidays and Privilege leave | What’s my public/bank holiday entitlement? You will be entitled to 8 days public holidays and 1 day of privilege leave during the calendar year. This is pro-rated for part time employees. | |
| Probation | Will I have to serve a probation period? If you are an established Civil Servant, who has successfully completed a period of probation there is no requirement to complete a further period on joining DfT. | All new entrants to the Civil Service/DfT will serve a period of probation during which your performance, conduct and attendance will be monitored and reviewed. If you are an OGD employee on probation who transfers in to DfT you would be expected to successfully complete your remaining probation period under DfT’s arrangements if appointed to the role. |
| Salary | What is the starting salary on joining DfT? If you are a DfT employee applying on level transfer, you will move across on your existing salary if the location (London or National) remains the same. If you are promoted you will receive a 10% increase on your existing salary or move on to the minimum starting point of the pay range, whichever is highest, if the location (London or National) remains the same. Your salary will be reviewed annually in line with Civil Service Pay Guidance as set by the Cabinet Office. | New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to start at the minimum of the salary range (London or National) as advertised. All calculations for pay will be based on your contractual working hours i.e., 37 hours. If applying on level transfer from an OGD, you will move across on your existing salary. If you are an OGD employee joining us on promotion you will receive a 10% increase on your existing salary or move on to the minimum starting point of the pay range, whichever is highest, if the location (London or National) remains the same. If, on transfer, pay lies above the new pay range maximum, HR will determine, in exceptional circumstances, whether the higher pay can continue on a mark-time basis. Your salary will be reviewed annually in line with Civil Service Pay Guidance as set by the Cabinet Office. |
| Abatement of Salary | Abatement of salary may apply if you are in receipt of a public service pension. In addition, Civil Servants who have been granted early retirement (under the terms of Compulsory Early Retirement, Compulsory Early Severance, Flexible Early Retirement, Flexible Early Severance or Voluntary Exit) will be required to repay all or part of their lump sum compensation payments, if their re-employment commences during the period represented by the compensation payment. For further information on abatement please contact: MyCSP, PO Box 2017, Liverpool, L69 2BU, Telephone:0300 123 6666. To call from overseas: +44 1903 835902. To email: [email protected]. | |
| Annual Leave | How much annual leave will I be entitled to? Existing DfT employees – If you are a current Civil Servant within DfT, and you move on level transfer within the department you will retain your annual leave entitlement. If you are a current civil servant within DfT and you are promoted within the department you will have a maximum leave entitlement of 30 days. | New entrants to the Civil Service If you are new to the Civil Service, initially you will receive 25 days leave, which will increase by one day for every year of service up to a maximum of 30 days after 5 years’ service. Existing Civil Servants in OGDs If you are a current Civil Servant within another Government department and you move into the Department for Transport (on level transfer or promotion) you will receive 25 days annual leave plus one day for each year of service up to a maximum of 30 days after 5 years’ service. Ex Civil Servants If you were employed in the Civil Service and left up to 5 years before being re-appointed, you can have your previous service reflected in your annual entitlement, up to a maximum of 30 days. Please speak with the Vacancy Holder (contact details are available in the advert) if you wish to have more information about this. |
| Legal right to request flexible working | Can I request flexible working arrangements? As of 6 April 2024, employees have the right to apply for flexible working arrangements in the form of a contractual variation from their first day of employment. Requests may be made to vary the place, hours and times worked. The needs of the business will need to be considered and will always take precedence. Types of contractual flexible working include flexible working; staggered hours; part-time working (part-week and part-year working) and job sharing; compressed hours; contractual homeworking or a combination of the flexible working practices listed above. If you already have a flexible working arrangement you are not automatically guaranteed the identical arrangement in a new role. Should you wish to discuss your options for flexible working in advance of making an application or accepting a role please contact the vacancy holder directly. | |
| Internal candidate applications | I am already a Civil Servant. Is there anything I need to know about applying for roles if I have ongoing formal action outstanding in relation to conduct, performance or attendance? If you have an ongoing formal action relating to conduct or attendance, the Department will not accept your application. You will be asked to confirm any formal action after you have completed the majority of your job application. If yes, then you should be aware that your application will be automatically declined by DfT. | |
| Declaration of outside interests | What are the rules around outside interests? Civil servants must not misuse their official position or information acquired in the course of their official duties to further their private interests or those of others. The Department will consider outside interests and action to be taken to reduce potential conflicts of interests in line with relevant policy and process. You will also be subject to certain restrictions on local and national political activities depending on your grade and the nature of your work. This includes standing as a candidate in Parliamentary or Local Authority elections or canvassing on behalf of candidates and expressing views on matters of political controversy in public speeches or publication. All new entrants must declare any outside interests as part of the recruitment process. Existing Civil Servants: You must consider whether there is a need to declare an outside interest when you move to a new role or when your circumstances change. The process for consideration and approval of any outside interests will vary depending on your grade. | |
| Civil Service Code | What is the Civil Service Code? As a Civil Servant you are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and will be expected to carry out your role with a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. The Civil Service Code sets out the core values of behaviours expected of you and other Civil Servants. These core values support good Government and ensure the achievement of the highest possible standards in all that the Civil Service does. This in turn helps the Civil Service to gain and retain the respect of Ministers, Parliament, the public and customers. | |
| Confidentiality | You will be subject to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act and required to exercise care in the use of official information acquired in the course of official duties and not to disclose information which is held in confidence. | |
ANNEX A: MODERNISED TERMS AND CONDITIONS EFFECT ON DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT RECRUITMENT
These Terms and Conditions are in place in the Department, but they will not be applicable to all roles e.g., there is no guarantee that any given role will have overtime available but if it is offered, the terms below will apply to you.
| Deputising | Across the Department, when you temporarily undertake a position at a higher grade, without officially receiving a promotion, this is known as Deputising. It is intended to cover relatively short periods and is limited to 1-6 months, unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as maternity cover or cover for long term sick absence. |
| On-call | The same policy and rates for being on-call will be applied in all business units across the Department. These payments will be made as and when staff are on-call. There is either a stand-by allowance, or an annual on-call allowance. |
| Overtime | For all grades below the SCS, across the Department, overtime between Monday to Sunday is paid at the plain time hourly rate and will not be pensionable. |
| Travel Time | Expenses or time off in lieu will not be paid for travel between home and your usual place of work (this includes travelling to work for overtime). Travel time will not be paid at overtime rates. Payments for time travelled in addition to the standard working day, between home and work locations other than your usual place of work are limited to 0.5 of the plain time hourly rate. The first 45 minutes of travel time will not be paid for travel between home and work locations other than your usual place of work. If you are part of a Flexi Time system, you are normally expected to claim flexi time rather than payments for travel time. |
| Out of Hours Payments | Across the Department, if you are not on contractual shift arrangements but work outside of normal contracted hours between 7pm and 7 am, you will receive a payment equal to 25% of your plain-time hourly rate for that period. This is in addition to you plain time salary. |
| Mark Time | Mark time is limited to a maximum of two years, after which it will be removed. This is where an employee moves to a new role on level transfer, but their existing salary is higher that the equivalent role they have moved to at the same grade. Mark time allows the employee to keep their existing higher salary (for a maximum of 2 years) until in theory the new role’s salary catches up with annual pay increases. |
| Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday Working | Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays are normal working days for pay purposes; there are no Premium payments for working on these. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in the MEC contract should be taken as meaning that Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays are normal working days and that Civil Servants in DfT can be compelled to work a Saturday or Sunday or any of the Public Holidays. If your contract requires you to work on Saturday or Sunday or any of the Public Holidays, then you will still be required to work on those days. Saturday and Sunday working may be included as part of a shift arrangement for which a Shift Disturbance Allowance may be paid. |
| In Year Non-Consolidated Performance Related Pay | There is a single scheme (Local Recognition Awards – LRAs) across the Department with an emphasis on fair evaluation and monitoring of awards. |
Download the DfT Terms and Conditions as a Microsoft Word document.