As trials continue of a major new tech system to reduce payroll errors and replace lengthy manual processes with frictionless digital tools, more Whitehall agencies have joined the pilot exercise
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has joined a pilot scheme trialling a new multimillion-pound digital system to simplify the process of civil servants moving between departments.
Work on a new “digital employee transfer service” began last year, when PublicTechnology exclusively revealed that the Cabinet Office had signed a four-year, £6.3m deal with Fujitsu to build a system that would “enable all civil servants to move from one department to another – at pace and without friction”.
When it is completed, the service will be rolled out to all civil service organisations, including arm’s-length bodies and non-departmental public bodies, according to contract documents published in March 2023.
A pilot programme began last summer, run by Government Business Services in the Cabinet Office, involving a small number of government departments and agencies.
At the start of this month, the FCDO became the fifth major government department to join the pilot. The Cabinet Office, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been involved since the pilot started last year, with the Ministry of Defence joining later along with a number of arm’s-length bodies.
Other organisations that are now part of the pilot include four Defra agencies – the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, the Rural Payments Agency and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate – as well as the Government Commercial Function, the Health and Safety Executive and the UK Hydrographic Office.
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Participating organisations were selected based on whether they can provide the pilot with a sufficient variety of real-life transfer scenarios, the Cabinet Office indicated.
The digital service is currently open to civil servants who are transferring permanently or on a loan of six months or more between any two of the organisations taking part in the pilot scheme.
Participating departments have so far reported benefits, including a reduction in time to fill roles, increased user satisfaction and a reduction in errors in the transfer process, according to the Cabinet Office.
At the moment, most of the processes required to facilitate a civil servant’s transfer from one department to another are manual. Onboarding procedures must often be replicated each time a civil servant changes roles, if the new post is in a different part of government.
The digital service will transfer officials’ HR record and pension details, as well as, where applicable, their National Security Clearances and any reasonable adjustments they have in place.
In addition to cutting down on the administrative burden associated with these processes, the digital service also aims to reduce instances of errors in payments of salaries or other benefits.
