Benefits

Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package.

Defra contributes at a rate between 20% and 24.5%, dependent upon salary. Pension contributions you make are deducted from your salary before tax is taken

Defra offers 25 days’ annual leave (rising, over 5 years, to 30 days) for full time new entrants to the Civil Service. Employees receive 8 public holidays a year.

Defra is committed to providing a great place to work and is open to smarter ways of working that let you choose how, when and where you want to work in line with business needs. This includes the ability to work from home, work compressed hours and choose from a range of locations suited to when and where you need to be.

Our offices have fitness centres, staff canteens and many more facilities. You can discuss where you will be based and the amount of travel you will need to do at the interview with the vacancy holder.

You will be supported with a broad range of learning and development opportunities with world class providers. All new employees joining (and returning to) Defra will have an induction to the department, our work and policies.

Mentoring is way of developing your career and boosting your confidence that benefits both mentor and mentee. All our employees have the opportunity to work with a mentor or coach, if they wish to.

Defra employees are entitled to 3 days’ special leave with pay, each year, for volunteering. We encourage our employees to take this up: it can be a great way to share skills with worthy charitable causes, while developing new insights and stronger links with the civil society sector.

Defra offers interest-free loans towards the cost of a bike and the Cycle to Work scheme. Defra ‘lends’ you a bike for your commute as a tax-free benefit. At the end of the loan period, you have the option to buy the bike, saving 30% of the original cost.

Reservists

We fully support reservists and offer 15 days’ special leave with pay for training

We offer interest-free season ticket loans to all Defra employees with more than three months’ service, for purchasing train and bus season tickets, as well as station car parking.

Defra is registered with the Give as You Earn scheme, which enables you to make regular deductions directly from your salary, in support of a chosen charity. This is simple and tax efficient.