Who We Are

There’s no one type of person working at the Home Office. Just like in the outside world, everyone here’s different. We believe that different backgrounds, different perspectives and different voices add up to produce richer, fuller thinking that helps us deliver fairer, better outcomes.

We’re committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people can bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best. That’s why we work to recruit and retain disabled staff and are a Disability Confident Leader.

We are also proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse departments in the Civil Service, a Stonewall Top 100 Workplace Equality Employer and a Social Mobility Foundation Top 75 employer.

Our journey

Our Department is at an important moment in its history. We’re currently delivering an ambitious transformation agenda, learning lessons from our past and making the most of the opportunities the future presents. We’re committed to continuously bettering ourselves , improving diversity, inclusion and our ways of working, so we can be even more focused on delivering for our customers.

To date we’ve offered more than £30m in compensation to members of the Windrush generation, and we are building a new, more open culture within the Home Office. We’re working together to ensure that the wrongs and injustices experienced by some members of the Windrush generation never happen again.

Our staff created our new values – to be compassionate, respectful, courageous and collaborative – and we strive to be guided by these in everything we do. We want to always put people before processes, and create the best possible environment for our staff to work in.

“Building a new culture within the Home Office I believe is about listening to people’s stories. I love this quote ‘we have two ears and one mouth, if only we listened more’. When you tell a story, something happens in a person’s mind but more importantly the impact it has in their heart. Listening and understanding stories touches the heart and what we are trying to do is reach the heart to make some changes to ensure nothing like this happens again. And I feel we are listening more, and change is coming.”

Richard

“As a Windrush descendant, I’m very proud to work on the Windrush Compensation Scheme. We can’t change what’s happened, but we can do our best to understand and learn from our failings and use our position in public service to make a positive difference to people’s lives. The Home Office culture I’d like includes thinking of people as people, a collaborative and respectful working environment where we consider our customers and their needs every single time we make a decision. A place where we challenge when things don’t seem right, and where the diversity of our backgrounds, knowledge and experience contributes to ensuring we represent and deliver for the people we serve.”

Alicia

Bring your whole self to work

Because we recognise that everyone’s different, we understand that wellbeing means different things to different people. We offer an Employee Assistance Programme and a range of staff support networks to ensure our colleagues are never alone and can always access help when they need it.

Our support networks include:

  • Spectrum
    The Home Office LGBT+ staff support network for all staff in the UK and overseas. Spectrum’s purpose is to provide a safe environment for LGBT+ staff to support each other, socialise and network, and to support the Home Office to create a fully inclusive workforce.
  • ABLE
    A voice for all staff in the Home Office who have a disability or are affected by disability. ABLE is a positive-minded network that works to improve awareness and understanding of disability issues, and provide the support and adjustments that allow disabled staff to thrive.
  • The Network
    A group committed to promoting equality within the Home Office. The Network wants to ensure that the Home Office recognises and addresses the issues faced by staff from different social and cultural backgrounds. The group aims to support a working environment where diversity is recognised, valued and celebrated.
  • GEN
    A group created to embed gender equality in who we are and what we do. GEN aims to challenge, raise awareness and hold the business to account for its actions on gender equality. The group also works with other staff support networks and HR to provide learning, training and support opportunities.