Working for Planning Inspectorate
Introduction
In the Planning Inspectorate, we know that our people are key to delivering our critical mission to maintain a fair planning system, support significant infrastructure development and help communities shape where they live.
The Planning Inspectorate is a great place to work, offering a unique employee experience that includes:
- Delivering some of the government鈥檚 highest priority work.
- Making sure that development is carefully considered, the right homes are constructed in the right places, and green spaces are protected.
- Influencing the preservation and future development of our built and natural environment for generations to come.
We want to ensure that every single person that works for us feels appreciated, supported and fairly rewarded. The details below sets out many of the excellent and competitive benefits we offer.听
Social Impact
Our built environment, natural environment and how our communities in England and Wales develop over time has been informed by the decisions made in the Planning Sector for over 100 years. Your work will shape our future.
Through our environmental plan we aim to leave the environment in a better condition for future generations.听
We believe fair planning makes great places, so听the work that you do will have an impact on the society in which you live.
Making use of our paid volunteering arrangements, our colleagues often take part in community-focused volunteering; ensuring a positive social impact is made through a range of channels.听 Recent events have included sorting donations at a food bank, a beach clean-up, and a community centre refresh.听听听
Our partnership with the Charities Aid Foundation gives you the opportunity to support the charities you鈥檙e passionate about in a cost-effective way. You can choose to have your charity donations taken from your pay before income tax is deducted, allowing your donation to go further while costing you less.
Employee Experience
Quotes from some of our employees:
The people are friendly and supportive. I enjoy the flexibility of being able to work from home but also working in a really nice office working collaboratively.
Project Officer 2025
Good culture, clear mission, work that feels like it鈥檚 beneficial to the country
Glassdoor 2025
The job is both challenging, rewarding, and never dull, with a great variety of interesting casework and places to visit.
Planning Inspector 2025
It鈥檚 a very rewarding job that offers the flexibility I need to fit work around family life.
Planning Inspector 2025
An engaging and supportive place with opportunities to develop valuable skills, obtain real-world experience, and contribute to meaningful projects.
Apprentice 2025
Excellent work environment, genuinely the best place I鈥檝e ever worked. Flexible working, hybrid/ remote, consistent development, supportive colleagues.
Glassdoor 2024
Financial
Competitive pay with ranges that are typically higher than most Civil Service salaries.
Access to two market-leading pension schemes, helping you to save for the future. Our defined benefit Alpha pension is conservatively valued at 29% of your salary. Most companies will only offer听one worth听6-12%.
Life assurance. If the unthinkable should happen and you die, we will provide for your chosen beneficiaries with a generous lump sum payment, and a dependant鈥檚 pension
A reward scheme to recognise your great work and/or demonstration of our values.
Options to ease your financial burden, including interest-free loans to spread the cost of season tickets, a new bicycle, or rental deposit.
A discount scheme providing access to hundreds of discounted offers to help you make significant savings from a .
A travel and subsistence offer which means that you are never out of pocket when travelling from your work base.听
Personal and Professional Growth
We believe that the ongoing development of people is crucial to creating a skilled, professional and high performing organisation. Our commitment is embedded in our approach to talent, learning and development, which empowers people to own their development and career path, supported by line managers.
Our Capability Framework maps how colleagues can grow their capabilities with us; providing a clear guide to support personal and professional development.
We promote and support our colleagues to build professional networks, including access to Civil Service development programmes such as Beyond Boundaries and the Future Leaders scheme.
We offer online learning resources for continuing professional development on Civil Service Learning and our own Learning Management System.
We offer funding for subscriptions to professional associations to help our people develop their professional and wider skills.
We support and encourage apprenticeships across all professions and levels for new and existing employees as a route to 鈥榚arn while you learn鈥�.
All of our jobs are advertised on:
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Flexible Working
We want you to enjoy a healthy work-life balance.
We offer a variety of flexible working arrangements so that your work fits in with your lifestyle. As well as a flexi-time scheme there are options to work part-time, part-year (including term-time only), job share, compressed week or fortnight, and partial retirement.
Our colleagues enjoy a hybrid working offer that works for us all. Teams are encouraged to develop local arrangements setting out the balance that is right between home and office working.听
Family Friendly
We want you to be there for the people that matter.听听
Maternity, adoption and shared parental leave. Our enhanced scheme offers 100% pay for 26 weeks鈥�, followed by statutory pay for a further 13 weeks鈥�.
Our paternity leave offer means that new parents can spend precious moments with the family by taking up to two consecutive weeks off at 100% pay following a new arrival.
Our working parents can also take up to 18 weeks鈥� of unpaid leave before their child鈥檚 18th birthday.听 Colleagues with children with a disability can take up to 26 weeks鈥� paid leave until the child鈥檚 18th birthday
It鈥檚 not just parents that we support, our carers leave arrangements, ensures that people with caring responsibilities can take one-weeks鈥� unpaid leave every 12 months. This is in addition to the flexible working arrangements that we offer.
Health and Wellbeing
We want to support you to look after your wellbeing. We have a dedicated Health and Wellbeing Hub giving you access to tools, tips and techniques, enabling you to look after yourself.
We know how important it is for you to feel at your best. We offer employee wellbeing and occupational health services alongside funding regular eye tests and annual flu vaccinations.
Our colleagues can choose to join the Civil Service Sports and Leisure Club which provides access to free days out, and .
Our subscription to the world leading Headspace App, ensures colleagues have access to a suite of exercises for meditation, mindfulness, sleep, focus, and movement, designed to support mental and physical health.
The Employee Assistance Programme is one of our employee benefits to help you deal with personal and professional issues which could be affecting home or work life, health, and general wellbeing. Confidential support is available and, dependent on the nature of the issue, counselling or information services can be provided by fully-qualified professionals.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We care 鈥� about each other, our customers, our performance and our culture. Our simple charter 鈥淭he PINS Way鈥� sets out not what we do, but how we do things.
We want you to feel comfortable and empowered to thrive while being yourself at work. Colleagues shape our organisation through our People Survey, temperature checks, and all staff sessions.
Our 鈥榃onderwall鈥� offers colleagues the chance to celebrate each other.听听
We are strengthening our offer as a modern and inclusive employer, brought to life through our:
- Employee networks 鈥� celebrating and supporting diversity in all its forms.
- Trade Unions 鈥� helping to ensure voices are heard and offering impartial guidance and support.
- Reverse mentoring 鈥� helping senior leaders to learn from colleagues with diverse lived experiences.
- Fun and informative events to broaden perspectives and raise awareness of peer challenges.
- Targeted leadership development programmes for under-represented groups.
Facilities
We provide portable, fast and modern IT kit, enabling seamless home working and team collaboration.
We offer world class office facilities right in the centre of Bristol, close to the public transport network and surrounded by shops, leisure options, and diverse places to eat and drink.
For our Inspector colleagues their home is their office. Alongside the office furniture that we provide, they have an open invite to our Bristol office to collaborate with wider teams.
There鈥檚 no need to BYOM (Bring Your Own Milk) when working from our office, with a full range of complimentary hot drinks to choose from.
As well as comprehensive news and information, our intranet hosts personal blogs from colleagues so you can share and learn about the experience of others.
A regular mix of in-person and online session with senior leaders offering insight into the decisions, challenges and opportunities we are experiencing.
Recruitment & Selection Privacy Notice
This statement provides information about how we process personal information for Individuals who have worked for or are looking to work for the Planning Inspectorate.
Recruitment & Selection Privacy Notice
PINS Personnel Record Retention Schedule
Disposal where a number is the deletion/destruction of the material XX years after its last modified date
Disposal 鈥榬eview鈥� is reviewed for either transfer to TNA, continued retention, or deletion/destruction
| Type | Type | Type | Type | Disposal (Years) | Amended Disposal | When to Review (Years) | Notes | Reference/Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Written particulars of employment | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Contracts of employment, including the Certificate of Qualification or its equivalent and including the Senior Civil Service | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Changes to terms and conditions, including change of hours letters | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Job History - consolidated record of whole career and location details (paper or electronic) | 听 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Current address details | 6 | 听 | 听 | After employment had ended | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Record of location of overseas service | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Variation of hours - calculation formula for individual | See notes | 听 | 听 | Destroy after use | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Promotion, temporary promotion and/or substitution documentation | See notes | 听 | 听 | Destroy after summary noted | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Working Time Directive opt out forms | 3 | 听 | 听 | After the opt-out has been rescinded or has ceased to apply | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Record of previous service dates | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Previous service supporting papers | See notes | 听 | 听 | Destroy after records noted as appropriate | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Qualifications/references | 6 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Transfer documents | See notes | 听 | 听 | Destroy after summary noted and actioned | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Annual/Assessment reports or summary of performance marks where an open reporting system operates | 5 | 听 | 听 | After reporting year has ended | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Annual/Assessment reports for the last five years of service or summary of performance marks where an open reporting system operates | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 72 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Training history | 6 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Travel and subsistence - claims and authorisation | 6 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Annual leave records | 2 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Job applications 鈥� internal | 2 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Recruitment, appointment and/or promotion board selection papers | 2 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Employment and career | Bank/Building society references | 0.5 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Health | Health Declaration | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Health | Health referrals, including Medical reports from doctors and consultants and correspondence with the appointed medical adviser to the PCSPS | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Health | Papers relating to any injury on duty | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Health | Medical reports of those exposed to a substance hazardous to health, including Lead, Asbestos, Compressed Air and Radiation | 50 | 听 | 听 | After date of last entry | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Health | Medical/Self Certificates 鈥� unrelated to industrial injury | 4 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Bank details - current | 6 | 听 | 听 | After leaving | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Death Benefit Nomination and Revocation Forms | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Death certificates | See notes | 听 | 听 | Return original to provider. Retain copy until age 100 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Decree Absolutes | See notes | 听 | 听 | Return original to provider. Retain copy until age 100 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Housing advance | 6 | 听 | 听 | After repayment | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Marriage certificate and documentation relating to civil registration | See notes | 听 | 听 | Return original to provider. Retain copy until age 100 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Unpaid leave periods (such as maternity leave) | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Statutory maternity pay documents | 6 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Other maternity pay documentation | 1.5 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Overpayment documentation | 6 | 听 | 听 | After repayment or write-off | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Personal payroll history, including record of pay, performance pay, overtime pay, allowances, pay enhancements, other taxable allowances, payment for untaken leave, reduced pay, no pay, maternity leave | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Pensions estimates and awards | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Full name and date of birth | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | National Insurance number | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Pensionable pay at leaving | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Reckonable service for pension purposes (and actual service where this is different, together with reasons for the difference) | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Reckonable service for pension purposes (and actual service where this is different, together with reasons for the difference) | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Amount and destination of any transfer value paid | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Amount of any refund of PCSPS contributions | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Amount and date of any Contributions | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Equivalent Premium paid | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | All other papers relating to pensionability not listed above (such as papers about pensionability of other employment (including war service); extension of service papers; papers about widow鈥檚, widower鈥檚, children鈥檚 and other dependant鈥檚 pensions; correspondence with the Cabinet Office, other departments and pension administrators, or the officer and his/her representatives (MPs, unions or others) about pension matters | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Resignation, termination and/or retirement letters | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Added years | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 100 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Payroll input forms | 6 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Bonus nominations | 6 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Complete sick absence record showing dates and causes of sick leave | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 72 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) forms | 6 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Papers relating to disciplinary action which has resulted in any changes to terms and conditions of service, salary, performance pay or allowances | See notes | 听 | 听 | When individual reaches 72 years of age | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Authorisation for deputising, substitution allowance and/or overtime/travel time claim | 6 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Advances for Season tickets, Car parking, Bicycles, Christmas/holidays or Housing | 6 | 听 | 听 | After repayment | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Pay and pension | Hospitality registers | 7 | 听 | 听 | 听 | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Security | Welfare papers | 6 | 听 | 听 | After last action | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Security | Security personnel files - leaving before normal retirement age | 10 | 听 | 听 | After leaving | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |
| Personnel | Personnel | Security | Security personnel files - leaving at normal retirement age | 5 | 听 | 听 | After leaving | Records Management retention scheduling: 2. Employee personnel records |