Senior civil servants to get bonuses for first time to reward doers, not talkers'

Most civil servants will receive a 3.5% pay rise, while senior staff will get a 2.5% base increase. An additional 1% will be held back to fund bonuses for the highest performing officials. The government will award higher but fewer bonuses to exceptional senior civil servants who go above and beyond. The government will also increase the lowest pay band by an uplift of 5,000, bringing pay rises to more officials. The changes aim to improve pay progression after years of limited meaningful movement between pay bands, using delivery, skills, and experience as criteria.

"Senior civil servants will get bonuses for exceptional performance for the first time under a new system that Darren Jones, the Cabinet Office minister, said would reward the doers, not the talkers. Jones, who is also chief secretary to the prime minister, said most civil servants would get a 3.5% pay rise, but senior staff would have a base increase of 2.5%, with 1% held back for bonuses for the highest performing officials."

"On Thursday, he said the government wanted to award higher but fewer bonuses to those exceptional senior civil servants who go above and beyond. The government did not accept the pay review body's recommendation for a 3.5% increase for senior staff, instead opting to retain some cash to reward a few top performers. It will bring in an uplift of 5,000 to the lowest band of senior civil servant pay, meaning some more officials will get rises."

"Jones added: This is just the start to improving our pay system This is one of the many steps I am taking to power up the system to make sure words are turned into action and what happens in Westminster is followed through to the streets, schools and livelihoods of people in every part of the country."

"Lauren Crowley, the assistant general secretary of the FDA, the union for senior civil servants, said the 3.5% overall award compared favourably to the wider public sector and current inflation figures. Pay systems across the civil service have been blighted by a lack of meaningful pay progression for almost two decades, she said. The ability to move up a pay band based on delivery, skills and experience should be a feature of any well-functioning workplace."

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