NI Civil service to Monaghan county Council move

oneilln

Hi,

I have been offered a new position as an engineer in County Council. I am moving from NI Civil Service. I'd like to know if I can use any of my existing Service (20+ years) to start at a higher pay point. I think I heard of a historic agreement between the two governments many years ago. Are there other things I should be considering as pros and cons etc.

I would really need to be starting mid way on steps to justify the move.

All help very appreciated

Lauras5839

I don't have an exact answer for you as my experience is in the Civil Service rather than public but I would suggest you get onto the local HR unit there to enquire about this asap as they will be familiar with their rules. As it's an important point in whether this job will be worth accepting or not talk to them asap.

oneilln

Thank you. I'll give them a call Monday. Was just wondering whether it best Monaghan HR or even speak to my own. But you're probably correct, best checking with Monaghan County Council. Suppose I was hoping someone in here had made a similar type move. Where you able to transfer your existing experience to your role in Civil Service?

Thanks again.

Lauras5839

So my experience is from the HR side and I've handled a few incremental credit applications. For Civil Servants it's circular 21/2004 that governs it and it's only COs, EOs and equivalent grades that can get it.

But there are other things such as pay on promotion rules that might apply here, I just don't know enough about it to speak with confidence and as I say Public Service will likely have their own rules as well and I'm sure they'll be able to let you know what the story is so don't lose hope and if you go for it best of luck with the new job :)

oneilln

Thanks so much and I'll keep the thread informed with anything I find. Might help others in the future 😁

oneilln

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122789729#Comment_122789729

Hi by way of an update a hopefully to help others in similar situations. MCC local HR are saying I will have to start at entry point as I am from Nortern Ireland CS and not from south. I tried to explain that I believed NI citizens have same rights as public sector in south. I thought it was some agreement between the two governments during good Friday Agreement times. They didn't seem to be familiar and I can't really challenge as I only have hearsay of others in this situation leaving post in north to take up better paid jobs in south. I certainly know of planners who have made this move. Sorry for waffling but just thought this would work out for me.

oneilln

Another update on this.

Have been contacted by council HR (who have been extremely helpful). Apparently this is something councils have been looking at and a circular is being drafted.

They have unofficially told me that I can come across on my current wage or nearest step.

Only thing is I live 1 hour away and atm I am able to work from home mostly. This would therefore mean it'll cost me money and time, short term.

What would you do. Are there other advantages i shoukd be looking out for and considering.

ParkRunner

what position do you work at in the NI civil service out of interest? You probably made your call by now anyway so I hope things worked out.

oneilln

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122960812#Comment_122960812

I'm an SPTO (DP). Still haven't totally decided as have heard of people transferring across and getting to almost top of scale from start. This would obviously be much better. Need to inform them of my decision this week

Lauras5839

I'm sorry for not spotting your previous update sooner, congrats on the offer and I'm glad you won't be going in at step one or anything like that.

An hour is a long commute and if you'll totally be losing WFH that's certainly a big consideration too but what to do will really depend on what fits in with your life, family, and general tolerance limits you know. I commute to Dublin two days a week for my job which on those days is easily 6 to 7 hours of commute depending on traffic etc in Dublin. I can tolerate it but for others that wouldn't work at all.

Either way I hope whatever you do going forward works out for you and best of luck :)

blue_blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122959405#Comment_122959405

You should probably ask for clarification re:WFH. I read this article recently and I wasn't aware of these restrictions facing NI residents working for ROI-organisations. Seem to be a brexit thing.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2024/11/28/one-border-two-systems-endless-complications/

Archived link:

https://archive.ph/E9AEN

The LEEF report also highlighted the difference between private-sector cross-Border workers and those working for government, or public service organisations. Cross-border commuters working for public bodies are taxed by their employer and have no concerns about extra Revenue or HMRC bills because of Article 18 of the Anglo-Irish double tax treaty.

“However, what doesn’t appear to be widely known is that, as soon as these workers start working remotely from their home jurisdiction, the complications about tax filing and dual payroll applies to them, too,” says Tierney. This affects local authority workers, and teachers as well as higher-ranking civil servants.