Environment Agency Reviews

Pay is very poor and you are reliant on allowances and overtime to top up your pay, which could be taken away at any time. Senior management have represented employees very poorly through the years and allowed pay to be suppressed. They have not fought hard enough for better pay. As a result staff are leaving in their droves and current employees are expected to take on extra work. Once you reach G6 there is nowhere to go as there aren't many posts above G6 and when a G7 post comes up it's very hard to get and they are usually awarded based on relationships rather than competence and experience.

The organisation is a sham and is a total waste of taxpayers' money. Whilst most of the boots on the ground are great to work with a combination of COVID, appalling salary, appalling management, appalling conditions and the ongoing exit of experienced staff has resulted in little point spending money on travel to go into the office. The environment is the last of their priorities. The organisation simply exists to provide useless managers and directors with jobs. If you have any Environmental, Geography or Earth Science qualifications or you simply just care about the environment I would suggest you take your knowledge and passion elsewhere. Because this organisation will drain you of your passion and enthusiasm and refuse to give due rewards for your hard work, good will and expertise; you only get on the promotion path if your face fits, which results in the continuation of appalling managers as they only wish to pull up like-minded people. The organisation is awash with managers that support each other in doing what they like and in doing so cause untold mental health problems amongst the lower paid staff. Policy and procedures amount to nothing and with the support of equally bad HR they run amok. They use psychology to get what they want and to squeeze as much out of the staff as they can, again based on promises that rarely materialise; enthusiastic staff are given work that's higher than their grade on the guise of career progression, which too often doesn't materialise. So not only will you be underpaid for the grade you are actually on you are also likely to find yourself doing the higher-grade work with no reward. This has allowed management to grow out of all proportion and consume the lion's share of the budget on the backs of those that actually do the environmental work. They use statistics to ensure a desired outcome because they are more interested in empire building, getting awards and being SEEN to be doing what's right rather than actually doing what is right. If you are not that unhappy in your present position, other than lack of promotion and wanting more of a challenge, then don't be taken in by what they promise at interview, or you may regret it. But of course, this depends on character. If you are happy to climb the greasy pole by means other than working hard, looking out for colleagues, looking after the environment and doing what is right then this is the place for you.