Capita’s CEO was slammed by a staff member after making claims that the “right” things are in place to turn the botched Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) administration around.
The comments from a staff member cast doubt on Capita’s ability to fix the problems being experienced by members of the pension scheme.
In an internal message to staff, known as the Capita Daily Digest, Adolfo Hernandez, CEO at the outsourcer, explained the company’s lower-than-expected profit was “mainly due to additional costs” related to CSPS failings.
Since taking over the administration of the CSPS, Capita has failed to meet its delivery promises and left some claimants in severe financial difficulties. The company is set to lose money on the seven-year contract, worth £239m.
In 2023, the Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract for the work that supports 1.7 million members. The takeover from the previous administrator, MyCSP, took place on 1 December 2025.
“The service there has not been good enough and we are sorry about the impact on members – but we now have the right people, processes and technology in place to put that right,” Hernandez wrote in a message to staff.
‘Abysmal’ service
In a response to Hernandez’s statement, copied to all Capita staff, a member of the pensions team said: “The service provided by Capita surpasses your assertion of ‘not good enough’, it has been abysmal for members. The fact members have died in waiting due to this whole catastrophe is a really harrowing thought that none of us should have to live with, yet we sadly do.”
The worker said that staff have been trying to air their concerns about the CSPS contract, but that all contacts have been “met with vague, deflective and meaningless responses”.
Hernadez was also lambasted for his continued use of the backlog, left to Capita by the previous supplier MYCSP, as an excuse. “I see you are still harping on the backlog scapegoat diatribe as well, which really must stop,” wrote the worker. “All staff have tried their best, with the very little tools we have at our disposal, to reduce the backlog.”
The worker added: “I must also remind you it has increased by 40,000 since 1 December 2025, when the scheme went live at Capita.”
Capita has faced MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on several occasions since it took over the pension scheme, as well as a joint PAC and Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) hearing.
The firm has repeatedly said to MPs that it was putting in place measures and processes to get the CSPS back to where it should be.
When contacted by Computer Weekly, a Capita spokesperson said: “We take the concerns of colleagues seriously and remain focused on supporting them as we continue our work to improve the service for members.
“We continue to work at pace to resolve the operational issues with the CSPS in collaboration with the Cabinet Office. Despite progress made, we recognise the service has not been good enough, particularly for members waiting on bereavement, retirement and quotation cases, and we are sorry for the impact this has had on those members.”
‘Insulting to staff’
The CEO’s claim that it now has the right people, processes and technology in place was an “insult” the staff, the worker added: “How can you state that Capita only now have the right people, when you have had staff at your disposal from the go-live date on 1 December? This is very insulting to all the staff who, [were] not only TUPE’d over, but were moved over internally in this company to work on the contract.”
Capita’s boss was asked to explain his claims about having the ‘right’ parts in place when staff were struggling with resources needed. “Who are the ‘right people’? Please can you define and elucidate this point?”
The worker went on: “…I am currently without a line manager, as are other teams. They are without an operations manager; we are short of senior pension technicians. There are people in place [who] have no experience in pensions, which isn’t always a bad thing, but given the scale of the pension scheme, we would require more pensions experience, which this company is letting walk out of the door.
“Please can you provide a detailed list of what processes have been put in place to restore service? For somebody working on retirements, and discussing with colleagues across the business, I can’t see any.”
It was suggested by the employee that processes are “conveniently put in place” each time Capita is called to a hearing to discuss the troubled CSPS.
Tech troubles
The technology that staff are relying on was also criticised by the worker who, in response to the CEO, said: “From my experience, when I am not wasting my mobile phone battery using the authenticator app at least five times a day, after waiting patiently for 10 minutes for the VPN to load, we are still working from spreadsheets and still processing all workflows manually, without any sight of technological improvement. Please can you confirm what technology you have put in place to put things right?”
This is not the first time Capita’s methods have been condemned by its own staff. CSPS staff aired concerns last month over data accuracy, data protection and the possible impacts for scheme members.
According to the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), some of its members working on the CSPS administration at Capita are being asked to upload large volumes of data into live systems despite known system and validation issues.
“[Staff] say this has resulted in extensive manual checking, including line-by-line verification of data, increasing workload pressures and the risk of human error,” said the PCS.
