Does Defra pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Defra employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Defra. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Defra?

67% of Defra employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Defra 4.3 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Defra?

Policy Advisor (46) , Senior Policy Advisor (36) , Project Manager (17) , Economist (11) , Executive Officer (8) , Policy Officer (8) , Assistant Economist (7) , Civil Servant (7) , HEO (7) , Senior Policy Adviser (7) , Deputy Director (5) , Intern (5) , Programmer Manager (5) , Senior Executive Officer (5) , Accountant (4)

What are the pros of working at Defra according to real employee reviews?

"Nice people (mostly)" ((in 55 reviews)); "Interesting work and great colleagues" ((in 54 reviews)); "Has good work life balance" ((in 40 reviews)); "Working from home and good pension" ((in 29 reviews)); "good culture fo work flexiblity" ((in 28 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Defra according to real employee reviews?

"low pay and quite complex" ((in 34 reviews)); "Low salaries and had to get promotion." ((in 19 reviews)); "Bad management, your skills are not fully utilised at beginning of your career." ((in 9 reviews)); "No training into the role" ((in 8 reviews)); "Poor career progression" ((in 7 reviews))

Defra Reviews

Compare reviews

3.6

67% would recommend to a friend

(481 total reviews)

Tamara Finkelstein

67% approve of CEO

59% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.3

Work/Life balance

4.1

Diversity and inclusion

3.7

Culture and values

3.2

Senior management

3.2

Career opportunities

2.9

Compensation and benefits

Defra has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 481 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Defra employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government and public administration industry (3.6 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Ethnic group

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

481 reviews

5.0

Apr 20, 2026

Really enjoyed working here

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Work culture and meaningful work

Cons

Career progression not always clear.

2.0

Apr 18, 2019

Very mediocre

Heo

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Flexible working, work from home, mostly lovely people, the work itself can be interesting, training opportunities emerge (but not for new starters)

Cons

Senior management do not give appropriate amounts of responsibility to those who deserve it, very hierarchical. You cannot get promoted easily even if you are vastly exceeding expectations for your pay grade Very bureaucratic and slow moving at times The work comes and goes (sometimes loads to do, sometimes nothing) Very little, if any, training for new starters Onboarding process was poor (some staff not being paid in their first few months)

2.0

Jan 4, 2018

Avoid

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

It pays the bills, so you are able to live and feed your family. The hours are 9 to 5, and no one works hard on a Friday if at all

Cons

You can only expect career progression if you are part of one club or another, or something worse. Expect s pointless career.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 481 Reviews

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Defra

Defra Reviews

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Really enjoyed working here

Very mediocre

Avoid

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