City of York Council Employee Reviews

When dealing with the public the variety is huge and every call is a challenge, sometimes an impossible one. Back up from colleagues is important and this could be very patchy ranging from excellent to awful. It was important to be able to disengage and de-stress sometimes! Pay was mediocre with little or no chance of improvement.

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Engaging and ambitious

Comms officer (Former Employee) - York - 21 June 2023

Excellent employer, investing in their staff and ambitious in reaching out to the community. Management is caring and empathetic, workload can be high but support is always available

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Insights into City of York Council

Based on 19 survey responses

What people like

Feeling of personal appreciation
Clear sense of purpose
Inclusive work environment

Great place to work

Licensing Enforcement Officer (Current Employee) - York - 13 November 2022

Great place to work, good pension scheme and excellent work life balance.Management are supportive and encourage you to progress. Lots of opportunity to move up if you wish.

Pros

Good pension and salary

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Depends on department

Administrator (Former Employee) - York - 27 September 2022

Whether you have a good time working here fully depends on your department and your team. Some are fantastic, but others are simply an old boys club. Pay isn’t great but it’s not the worst, again depending on your job role. Some jobs are far too overpaid for the lack of work they do, where as other roles are seen as lesser than and are underpaid but they actually work much harder. Flexi time is great, but it is easy to gain whilst working from home. Managers seem to build up flexi very fast… Good holiday. Most teams are big enough to have a few off at the same time which is good. You can be treated unfairly and they will do what they want when they want you to leave. Happily push you out without a second thought. My experience was not a good one however I have fairly painted a full picture of the company for this review.

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Dreadful pay

Gas Service Engineer (Current Employee) - York - 27 July 2022

As a fully qualified heating engineer my salary in at least 8k below other like housing associations and up to 15k below the top ones. This is a factor as to why half the workforce has left in the past few months with others to follow. You are graded the same as unskilled office dispatchers who have greater work benefits and lower than a school caretaker.The day is servicing and repairing boilers and carrying out boiler manufacturer warranty repair work.

Pros

Job security

Cons

The worst paid gas engineers in the UK

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Lovely place to work

RESOURCING OFFICER (FIXED TERM) (Former Employee) - Remote - 13 April 2022

I worked with the council on a temporary contract and really enjoyed my time there and wish it didn’t have to end but due to budget restrictions my contract could not be extended. The team were great and supportive and despite working fully remote we worked extremely well as a team. Frustrating that my department weren’t given a larger budget that really reflects the necessary headcount in such a key area as I worked in!

Pros

Working from home, flexible work hours

Cons

Temporary contract

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Opportunities

Business Support Assistant (Current Employee) - York - 13 March 2022

There's lots of opportunities and work hours are flexible making work/life balance easier (you can take flexi days if you accrue hours). Everyone in business support says the money isn't good enough, but it is average pay for business support and due to opportunities coming up all the time (and the managers being kind enough to consider "transferrable skills" in place of experience) there is the possibility of advancing in pay grades if you desire. Some people prefer staying in one role/system for ten years but I am someone who enjoys variety and I have definitely been offered this. Whenever I have asked for different experiences I've been met with approval to work within different teams and help in other areas. Business Support management definitely don't put blocks in the way of career progression and they actively encourage you to do what you want to do. They also don't discourage you from doing this elsewhere/in a different company. I have felt supported in my own needs as opposed to the needs of the company.Business Support isn't glamorous anywhere you work, but approachable management certainly makes it less of an undertaking.However, job security isn't guaranteed. A lot changes in the council due to budget cuts and I have felt vulnerable at times.

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Lovely place to work

Care Assistant for the Elderly -nights (Former Employee) - York - 2 May 2021

Unfortunately my beloved home closed it was by far the best place I’ve worked, the staff,management and residents were fab I was moved to another home then that too closed down

Pros

Residents and staff

Cons

Home closures

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Good place to work lots of support

LICENSE CONSULTANT - MICROSOFT (Former Employee) - York, North Yorkshire - 15 September 2020

I worked here as a temp to come in and help with their software administration across the whole IT setup. It was a good place to work and the time I had there was enjoyable.

Pros

Flexible working

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Badly run to many back stabers and yes men

general operative (Former Employee) - York - 12 April 2020

Second worst job I have worked in , no proper duty of care , upper management passing down work that is not enough men to finish the work , spending money where it not really needed never listen to the men on the front line putting together men who cannot get on not looking after the mental health of it's men and women properly

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Jobs at City of York Council

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Not what was advertised

Handyman/Labourer (Current Employee) - York - 18 March 2020

underpaid and overworked, often risking my health and driving license to get all the days jobs done at a reasonable time, no set working hours and expected to do overtime

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Wonderful company

Activities Co-ordinator (Former Employee) - York, North Yorkshire - 11 January 2020

Worked here after volunteering for 5 years and been a Carer myself. This is the best job I have ever had the only reason I left was funding cuts and having a mortgage to pay however, this is a charity and is expected. Management are professional, support and friendly. The clients you worked for made the job even better. Such a friendly environment would definitely recommend.

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Ex employee

Lgv Driver (Former Employee) - York - 27 November 2019

Work completion is all that mattered, even if wagons stood down due to regular staff shortage, expected to cover more work than your own. Needs a restructure. 1 manager and then 5 supervisors followed by crews. Never really seen anyone after 7.30 departure so why so many supervisors I don't know was only 16 rounds in total

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Positive place to work

Mental Health worker (Current Employee) - York, North Yorkshire - 17 November 2019

The most satisfying part of my job is when I get outcomes for people who have struggled for years within the system. City of York Council have always been supportive of my requests via my work, they are an extremely proactive team to work amongst.

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In need of more employee valuation and leadership

Personal Assistant/carer/support worker (Former Employee) - York - 6 September 2019

I worked here for 10 years and absolutely loved the majority of the hands on part of my role which was exactly why I entered the profession after 18 years in manufacturing The pay rate was great initially but has levelled out amongst the private sector now due to cuts . However constant dependence of relief workers and poor quality training and career prospects along with shall we say leadership and managerial instability created a very low moral amongst contracted staff . Sickness absence rates are high as seen in recent press articles and much of this in my humble opinion is a knock on effect of understaffing and increased workloading. Unfortunately I had to stick it out until my private finances made it possible for me to get out . Best decision I ever made . Loved the job and my colleagues but not the system .

Pros

Reasonable pay and good holiday entitlement

Cons

Rota swaps, uncertain future, poor leadership(in my area )and lack of prospects

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Excellent clients and team

Children's Residential Support Worker (Former Employee) - York, North Yorkshire - 7 August 2019

The disability team at York City Council is wonderful. The staff are highly professional and come from a diverse set of backgrounds. From nurses to social workers, from teachers to youth workers the eclectic mix creates such a positive safe, educational and enjoyable environment for the children and families.

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Bullying from the top down

Administrator (Former Employee) - York, North Yorkshire - 11 February 2019

Bulling goes on and if they don’t get what they want or you don’t agree you are restructured out of a job. More work and less money to save money The louder type of person you are the better you get on

Pros

Able to work from home

Cons

Lot of bullying

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not a bad place to work

refuse loader (Current Employee) - York - 7 August 2018

it’s not a bad place to work but I’m thinking of relocating to be near my family as i’ve lived in york for nearly all my life and now i think that it’s time for a change

Pros

lots of fresh air

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Good place to work

Opertive (Former Employee) - York, North Yorkshire - 26 July 2018

It is a good place to work was happy in my roll for years it helped me alot. over the last couple of years things changed and staff morale was low. Unfortunately i had to leave due to childcare that the council couldnt approve it took months for a answer and was a managers decision even tho other staff members do so. The pension,hoildays and sick pay are geat benifits. But they expect more work out of you with no thanks or rewards and the office staff get a wage rise for this and big brother is watching you on your travels. I learnt alot working there and gained some great experience and found that the grass is geener on the other side.

Pros

Pension

Cons

More jobs for no extra pay

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Productive

Manual operative (Current Employee) - Hazel court - 30 April 2018

Good company to work for just not enough hours I have worked there for four and a half years wanting to change my hours good early starts and finishes but not enough pay

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Local Council Customer Service role

Customer Services Representative (Former Employee) - York City Centre, North Yorkshire - 26 April 2018

A good employer overall, the role was stressful and very fast paced (literally non stop at times), but employees were well supported and the staff mainly friendly. Not all departments integrated or cooperated with one another as well as they should have done which made work harder for us as first point of contact.