Worked at the EA for over ten years. Progression is possible and there are lots of opportunities to work across teams as well as additional training. Culture is fast-paced but supportive.

Pros

Progression opportunities

Cons

Once higher up there can be a lot of travelling

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Great job poor career

Team Leader (Current Employee) - Sheffield, South Yorkshire - 19 July 2022

The agency is a nice place to work with some really great people. Over the last 6 years employed there I have seen no real change however, decisions are made by committee and getting things changed for the better is extreamly difficult.Senior management live are disconnected from reality, no focus on business and by virtue customer. Large focus on soft skills and what is seen as the latest fad in government.Salaries were good 6 years ago now my salary is 25% below the industry average however, this is partly made up by the good pension however.Progression is very difficult unless your face fits, I have found it to be the case where friends and people who pander are promoted quickly while others wallow waiting for business focused changed and the opportunity it may bring.It’s easy to hide as the agency has become larger and has many people doing the same tasks, very inefficient. Overall a nice place for a job but if you want a career there are other places out there far better

Pros

Flexi working and a great pension

Cons

Poor salary, unfair recruitment, focus on ‘soft skills’ rather that business

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Insights into Environment Agency

Based on 19 survey responses

What people like

Clear sense of purpose
Inclusive work environment
Time and location flexibility

Areas for improvement

Support from manager
Fair pay for job
Sense of belonging

Poor structure, cliques, some great managers but rare

Permitting Officer (Former Employee) - Solihull, West Midlands - 12 May 2022

Say they welcome neurodiversity but in practice they do not know how to deal with it. It feels like lip service/surface level .Old structures and processes that are not fit for purpose and reticicent to change them even if there are better more efficent ways of doing it. Some great managers who are incredibly supportive but it is hit or miss. New starters can feel isolated. And if a process causes you distress they largely don't want to hear it. Which is fine to do if they didn't preach about how you should bring your full self to work etc.Many of the people are good people, but they are overworked in some cases and unsupported in others. I would not recommend. The EA for those with adhd/autism or anyone who neurodivergence is.more than mild.

Pros

Varied work, some great line managers

Cons

Inconsistent working practices. Skin deep diversity support. Poorly trained managers.

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Caring employer. Comfortable environment

Laboratory Technician (Former Employee) - Exeter, Devon - 10 May 2022

My time with the EA although short lived, was inspirational, enlightening and fulfilling. Management team were very approachable with an ongoing open door policy. It really was a pleasure to work with such a dynamic team.

Pros

Easy going relaxed workplace.

Cons

Temporary position, short lived.

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Well supported by managers.

Water Resources Permitting Officer (Current Employee) - Ipswich - 26 April 2022

A good employer who seems to genuinely care about it's employees. Work life balance is very good and opportunities for part time working after the initial probation period of 6 months.

Pros

Part time working Good support

Cons

Low pay.

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Awful place to work

HR Specialist (Former Employee) - East Anglia - 17 April 2022

Don’t work here. It is soul destroying to see how employees are allowed to behave terribly and get away with it. This is a massive dinosaur of an organisation that wastes public money.

Pros

None

Cons

Bad management, poor behaviours

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Enjoyable workplace

Administrator (Current Employee) - Chesterfield - 11 April 2022

I have only been with the EA for a year or so and have so far enjoyed my time here. Whilst there are challenges to overcome I know I have the backing and support of my team to help get through it.

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Policy driven and policy that often makes no logical sense

Lead team member (Former Employee) - Ipswich, Suffolk - 7 April 2022

One of the worst environments I have ever worked in. Lazy operatives whom know how to manipulate the system towards their own needs. The Agency talks a good job but well betide you if you get injured. None of your outside certificates are relevant and you have to wait an age for training to meet their supposed requirements.The hardest part of the job is being in a team that hates each other and dislikes new comers. Often you cannot do the job because of policy that is only in place to cover them and not you.The management aren't properly supported.The people I worked with were unhappy most of the time.The most enjoyable part of the job is when you can actually do it, and of course travelling to places you would probably never see in normal life. The great outdoors

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Great place to work

Planning Assistant (Former Employee) - London, Greater London - 24 March 2022

Great place to work. Team was incredibly nice and helpful during my placement. They would go out of the way to help you. Work was rewarding and varied.

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Good place to work, good pay

Regulatory Officer level 4 (Former Employee) - Sheffield - 9 March 2022

Worked there over 20 years. Like the day to day flexibility over hours, type of work to do.Targets in my team were weekly, quarterly and annual rather. Managed by achieving outcomes over those timescales.Lots of opportunities for development, training.Beware applying for jobs in Customer Contact Services. There own separate world with a very different culture to the rest of the organisation. An example would be micro management through I.T. that includes a stopwatch on toilet breaks, quarterly reviews of time recording that includes a toilet performance review.

Pros

Flexi time

Cons

Pressure to agree to do an incident role, e.g responding to flood related calls

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Supportive workplace

Team Leader (Current Employee) - Cumbria - 4 March 2022

Great work life balance supportive management friendly teams long term place to work challenging at times job security lots of opportunities good culture

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Great company to work for. Very supportive environment.

Personal Assistant (Current Employee) - South West - 20 February 2022

Took a while to be hired and IT took an age to come through but don't worry because it's well known. Once you are set up, you will find everyone very supportive and helpful. There is a lot to learn but a great company to work for, with access to excellent learning and progression within the company.

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Well meaning but held back from greatness

Dogsbody (Current Employee) - Plymouth, Devon - 15 February 2022

As with all big organisation, the EA struggles to fulfill it's goals, worthwhile goals they may be. This struggle trickles down to the individual workers who try to improve the environment but struggle to do so in a timely manner

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Good job security, good work life balance, can be difficult to progress

Project Manager (Former Employee) - Warrington, Cheshire - 2 February 2022

I enjoyed working for the EA and was there for 8 years, Opportunity to do a variety of roles and overall supportive work place. Management overall good, can be lots of red tape with processes

Pros

Work life balance, job security

Cons

Difficult to progress

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Great place for outdoor work activities

Lead Team member 2c (Former Employee) - York, North Yorkshire - 17 August 2021

Such a huge shame the management structure still bully and belittle operatives… it’s a damming culture that’s been inherited from a poor structure that fails on all levels.

Pros

Working outdoors in places not everybody sees

Cons

Out of hours standby rotas and unfortunately nepotism

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A good, ethical, people-centred organisation

Admin Officer, Technical Officer, Project Support Officer (Former Employee) - Warrington, Cheshire - 30 March 2021

My time at the EA gave me so much scope for development, and some of my managers there were incredibly supportive and amazing. The workplace culture and ethos is about supporting and trusting staff- and learning from rather than punishing mistakes. In many ways it was a very progressive organisation. Their investment in training for staff, and the exemplary standards I found in some teams and departments were incredible. Work/life balance is taken incredibly seriously. I also had the opportunity to get involved in Incident Management- voluntary duty roles, where I was able to branch out into cell lead for logistics, and from there I was supported and empowered to become a local tactical lead. I adored my time there - it was such a supportive, incredible team of specialists behind me, and I was empowered and trusted/supported in the decisions I took. The EA was without a doubt the best employer I've ever worked for.

Pros

On-site gym, subsidised canteen, amazing opportunities

Cons

Sometimes recruitment would require you to have already done the job in question, Some managers wouldn't accept job experience gained outside the EA.

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Excellent

PA to Deputy Director of Data and Systems (Former Employee) - Data and systems - 28 October 2020

Excellent work environment.Great people Great opportunity for developmentOpen office and friendly staff.Excellent easy to get to locationOverall wonderful

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Poor management

Officer (Current Employee) - London, Greater London - 6 September 2020

Unsure if all areas are like this but in my area management is weak, unorganised and unfocused. It’s hard to know what is a priority and there is a lack of direction and guidance. The systems used are archaic and unsuitable for the job we do, and management are resistant to change. They talk a lot about being business like but don’t work like a business at all. That said, you will never find a place more willing to train you, more flexible with working hours and family friendly! The office culture is friendly.

Pros

Work/ life balance

Cons

Poor managemet

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There is coruption from top to bottom in this organization but senior people and lower grades involved will pull the old school or the degree level ca

Navigation Officer/Lock Keeper (Former Employee) - Allington Lock - 25 June 2020

Management liken themselves to heroes, in fact they even put them selves on courses for 'the few' how concieted and direspectful can you be? There are rules for the inner circle of corruption and stagnation or dismissal for anyone who doesnt toe the line or become a yes man. Dont take my word for it ask others, or better still go to a few sites and ask questions, you will be told what they want you to hear, not the truth or reality. Blantant disregard for government agreed procedures, blatant disregard for agreed procurement protocols, lying to Supportive associations and the list goes on. Managers put in place via rigged job applications, team leaders with no experience in charge of often deadly situations and politically sensitive issues combine to make this organization unfit for purpose. I was originally 100% loyal to the EA and 100% against the proposed give away to the C&river trust, I now hope it goes ahead simply to weed out the spineless corrupt individuals

Pros

Beautiful place to live

Cons

Liars, cheats, bullying

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crucial to the environment and for public awareness

Emergency Call Handler (Former Employee) - Sheffield, South Yorkshire - 15 June 2020

The job I had was in the emergency incident call room where reports of environment issues, flooding, illegal waste disposal, signs of water pollution etc were all taken in, locations found on maps, logged and categorized. There was a lot to learn and the team around were always helpful plus there are floor managers to speak to if unsure. Calls can range from any thing of someone burning tires to a nuclear power plant routine call to make sure all systems are working which nearly made me go into meltdown myself! You pick up a lot of information from other call handlers that isn't covered in the training and sometimes it feels like you are in the deep end but there is always someone to help and a computer system that you can continually check information on. It's a 24/7 pattern so if working nights isn't for you don't even think about it as it's crucial to the job. Besides taking in calls there is also alarm monitoring which means that if a river or fishery water level is rising or dropping alarms will sound and you need to log that and in the case of fisheries contact them immediately to avoid a horrendous fish kill incident. .. besides that the day is pretty chill..The management team are fantastic, completely supportive and inclusive and absolutely NO amount of bullying or offensive treatment of others is acceptable. It beats any type of call centre job if you can handle the nights. Parking is an issue as is public transportation times.

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flexible work hours

Environmental Assistant (Former Employee) - Kidderminster, Worcestershire - 6 June 2020

Very productive, enjoyed working there learned a lot, very kind colleagues and very good working culture. been worked through agency and the only min point is that they do not take external candidates directly despite having experience.

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