why join?
The FDA stands up for managers and professionals in public service. As a member of the FDA, we will defend your professional interests and ensure your rights at work are protected.
Collective bargaining agreements in more than 100 employers allow us to engage directly with departments and negotiate on our members’ behalf on pay, pensions, redundancy, equality and other issues.
The FDA acts as a strong, pragmatic voice for civil servants across the media, speaking up to defend members when they are unable to do so themselves and shaping conversations about public service.
We believe civil service political impartiality is a vital part of effective governance in the UK. We speak out to defend the civil service against politicisation as well as unwarranted attacks on its impartiality and integrity.
The FDA led a long campaign to enshrine the civil service values of independence and impartiality in law, which culminated in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act of 2010.
The FDA is a vocal advocate for strong ethics in the civil service and wider public sector, playing a key role in the original introduction of the Civil Service Code and subsequent modernisations.
We seek to influence public sector policy through our work with politicians and the government. FDA representatives regularly appear before select committees and submit evidence to enquiries and salary review bodies based upon the shared experience of our members.
Yesterday, FDA staff and reps attended the 2026 Fast Stream annual Base Camp, welcoming this year’s new joiners to the scheme and sharing the benefits of FDA membership with them.
The FDA’s National Officer for Northern Ireland Robert Murtagh has written to Speaker of the Assembly, Edwin Poots, asking him to remind MLAs that when officials appear before the Assembly, impartiality must not be brought into question.
If Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants a different political culture, he needs to start with the Ministerial Code says Dave Penman.
By joining the FDA, you’ll be standing alongside more than 26,000 other members who believe that public services – and the people who deliver them – matter.
