UK Space Agency as an Employer and its Undocumented Changes

10th Sep 2024

On 6th September 2024, Orbital Today published Nicholas Fearn’s feature, ‘How Neurodivergent People Forge Careers in the Space Industry‘. It is part of our increasing focus on working in the space industry in the UK, and after you’ve read this piece of brilliance (cough), I highly recommend that you read Nicholas’ article if you haven’t already. It’s hopeful and positive, but not always a happy read. It’s rather like what unrolls below here, for I need to look at UK Space Agency and working there, specifically through the lense of the National Audit Office report.

The National Audit Office (NAO) released its report on UK Space Agency during FIA in July. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the press shouted out about the less-than-parity value for money the agency’s funding into ESA had garnered. The coverage wasn’t totally unsympathetic, but there was a lot more than “93p!” to be shouted from the rooftops.

UK Space Agency as a workplace

The NAO report covered UK Space Agency from the human resources angle as well as from the funding perspective. The report zeroed in on a developing improvement, albeit from the lowest possible starting point. In the 2021 Civil Service People Survey, the agency ranked last out of 101 participating government bodies regarding bullying or harassment. Over 19% of respondents from the agency reported such treatment. The report continues by noting that rates had dropped. From the report:

“Since the Civil Service People Survey in 2021, the percentage of UKSA staff who have reported they had been bullied or harassed over the last 12 months has dropped from 19% to 13% in 2023. Similarly, the number reporting they have been discriminated against in the last 12 months has reduced from 15% in 2021 to 10% in 2023. It is not, however, possible to determine whether this change is attributable to UKSA’s transformation programme.”

Source: National Audit Office

Though the NAO does not state exactly why the rates for bullying, harassment and discrimination have dropped, there are few possibilities. An emerging institutional culture that frowns upon such actions could be the cause. At the same time, for an organisation with 400-500 people, where 80-100 people are reporting these issues, a change of programme manager could also have an outsized effect. Could the sharpening of UK Space Agency’s focus also have had an effect? It’s frustrating to read about such an important institutional shift while it’s buried among other issues.

A possible clue can be found within the document. Perhaps a crotchety Old Guard or a few bad apples were indeed removed. Again, from the report:

UKSA has a higher staff turnover than other government departments.
For example, between August 2022 and July 2023, UKSA’s turnover rate was 25%,
nearly double the civil service average of 13.6% (March 2021 to March 2022).30
In the 12 months to February 2023, 31 UKSA staff who left completed exit
questionnaires. The reasons given for leaving were advancement/retirement,
pay, culture, personal circumstances change, and bullying and harassment.
Turnover at UKSA has since decreased to 15.2% from April 2023 to March 2024 [emphasis added].

UK Space Agency could set the pace

Greater transparency would be more than just appreciated. The need for transparency and a policy declaration regarding hiring and employee relations is in order. UK Space Agency is tasked with the creation of a global powerhouse of a national industry, one that attains to certain standards, and it could easily be coupled with leading the industry to an environment where those contributing to its building can focus on said building.

It might be too much to hope for. The NAO report does not have recommendations focused on it, and the note pointing to UK Space Agency’s continued efforts in that direction are in the same paragraph with statements about the agency’s physical move to new offices. To wit: