GCHQ exists in a climate of constant - and often rapid - change. That's why we encourage staff to review their learning needs regularly with their manager to ensure they keep their skills up to date and develop any new skills necessary in the job.
Learning and Development
Planning your career
Leave
Flexible Working Hours
Leisure
Welfare
Caring Responsibilities
School holidays are Childsplay
Your pension
When you join GCHQ, you take your place at the front-line of history. You'll handle roles of major responsibility, roles which guard the nation's security and benefit your fellow citizens. Here's how we ensure you benefit too:
GCHQ exists in a climate of constant - and often rapid - change. That's
why we encourage staff to review their learning needs regularly with their
manager to ensure they keep their skills up to date and develop any new
skills necessary in the job.
Our Continuous Personal Development scheme provides the framework you need for determining the most effective learning and development activities for you. All staff agree a Personal Development Plan which will include current as well as longer term learning objectives.
Development methods on offer include open and distance learning, training courses, secondments, on-the-job training. We also consider sponsoring any training undertaken in your own time - including day release - if it's relevant to your work.
One key part of your development is the Core Competency Framework. We'll assess your strengths and use this knowledge to determine how to identify where improvement might be needed to best enhance your overall performance.
All our training is co-ordinated by our Learning and Development Unit. Their role is to help identify your training requirements and developing 'packages' to meet your needs. These may include Open Learning options such as videos or interactive computer modules as well as internal or external courses. To keep you up to date the unit regularly publishes details of available training. Course bookings can be made via the GCHQ Intranet.
One of the most attractive aspects of working for GCHQ is the sheer
variety of work and career opportunities. Most people generally move to a
new job within the organisation - often in a completely different area -
every 3 to 4 years. You will also get all the support and advice you need
to take charge of your own career. There is a weekly jobs bulletin, and
staff can apply for jobs for which they're qualified in other parts of
GCHQ.
When you join GCHQ you'll get an allowance of 22 days leave a year, plus
10.5 days for public and privilege holidays. After a year this rises to 25
days, with further increases dependant on seniority and length of service.
If you work part-time, you'll receive a pro-rata allowance. GCHQ holiday
allowances give you real flexibility - you can carry over half your annual
allowance or 'borrow' half your allowance from the next year.
Our flexi-time scheme allows you to work hours to suit your personal
circumstances, in most jobs. If you work part-time, there's plenty of
scope to negotiate changes to your working pattern with your manager, so
long as the work gets done. Within the flexi-time scheme you can take up
to 2 days 'flexi leave' per 4-week period - you make up the time
beforehand or later and can carry over a 'flexi-credit' or 'debit' to the
next flexi-period.
As well as an outstanding local environment, Cheltenham has a local branch
of the Civil Service Sports Association nearby.
For a small subscription you can take part in a wide range of sporting and other social activities - and use the recently-built clubhouse. This has a sports bar with 3 skittle alleys, a comfortable lounge bar, a function room which will hold up to 120, a meeting room and a general room with its own kitchen. The clubhouse runs a wide variety of social activities for members and guests throughout the year - including dances, social functions, quiz nights and theme parties.
The surrounding grounds have 2 rugby pitches, 2 football pitches, cricket square and outdoor nets, hockey pitch, hard tennis courts and squash courts.
Sports groups include: Football, Rugby, Cricket, Hockey, Netball, Tennis, Rounders, Bowls, Darts, Squash, Table Tennis, Running, Golf, Angling, War Gaming, Archery, Skittles and Motoring/Caravanning.
Other thriving groups include: a Theatre Group, an Amateur Radio Club, Chess, Christian Fellowship, Bridge and Co and the unpolluted air and ambiance that's been drawing the famous.
A regular newsletter keeps members up to date with information about new facilities and activities and competition or match results.
The Welfare Service in GCHQ is independent and confidential. It provides
counselling, information, advice and support for people experiencing
difficulties which may interfere with their personal life or job
performance. It's available to serving and retired members of staff and
their families on request.
Welfare Officers offer help with a wide range of personal difficulties, including bereavement, family worries, problems at work, health matters, financial difficulties and problem drinking. They also work with managers who need help and advice in order to deal with the impact of personal problems on their staff.
We want members of staff with children or other caring responsibilities
to be able to contribute as fully as possible to our work. As far as
resources permit, we'll take real measures to achieve this. So if you
incur additional care costs because you have to attend work outside your
normal hours, these may be reimbursed. Your manager also has discretion to
approve paid or unpaid leave in certain circumstances.
School holidays can be stressful, especially if you need to find ways of
looking after children while you're at work. So the GCHQ holiday
playscheme "Childsplay" offers care for children aged 4-14
during school holidays (excluding Public Holidays). Childsplay is
registered by Gloucestershire Social Services to provide daycare under the
1989 Children Act.
When you join GCHQ, you automatically become a member of the Principal
Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). This scheme is contracted out of the
State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) because it provides benefits
at least as good. As a result, you'll pay lower National Insurance
contributions. Of course, when you join, you can choose to opt out if your
existing pension scheme is preferable to you.
As a scheme member, you'll contribute one and a half percent of your pay, mainly towards the cost of providing benefits for your widow or widower. But because contributions qualify for full tax relief, the effect on your net pay will be less than this. If you retire at, or after state retirement age, you qualify for both a pension and tax-free lump sum on top of your basic state pension.