Senior civil servants are to have their pay linked to their performance in a move criticised as divisive by a leading union.
John Glen, the Cabinet Office minister, announced the trial of performance-related pay for some senior civil servants to come in by the summer, which he said would improve standards.
Speaking at a Reform thinktank event, the minister said it was an “ambition” for this to apply widely in the civil service, with the reforms making pay more attractive for people hired from the private sector without raising base salaries in the civil service.
However, Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, the union for senior civil servants, said the move would not solve the problem of low pay in the civil service compared with the private sector and would just worsen the gap between internal and external hires.
“Once again, we have ministers fiddling while Rome burns,” he said. “Rather than address the fundamentals of a broken pay system, with pay rates for existing civil servants – half of what they could get in the private sector – we have ministers focusing on the micro-management of the civil service and widening the gap between external hires and internal staff.
“If the government wants a world-class civil service, capable of meeting the challenges of the next decade, tinkering with a broken system won’t work. Root and branch reform of the pay system is needed and ministers need to have the political courage to say so and then deliver it.”
The minister said it would help attract civil servants from the private sector by encouraging and rewarding those that deliver high quality public services.
The pilot will be limited to certain senior civil service staff who would be rewarded for delivery of projects they manage.
The government also announced a review of hiring to ensure external candidates for senior civil service roles are always considered, and further work on performance management across the civil service.
“To build a world-class civil service that truly delivers for the public, we must start with the people,” Glen said.
“We need to recruit the brightest minds, ensure they have the tools and skills to succeed, and take swift action when performance falls below expected standards.
“The measures I’ve set out today will help to meet today’s productivity challenge head on, building a resilient and high performing civil service that is fit for the future.”
Glen’s measures are the latest in a long line of attempts by the government to reform the civil service, with Jeremy Hunt last year saying he would cap headcount and reduce staffing numbers to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the next spending review.
At the FDA’s annual conference in London on Thursday, Penman called on whoever is in power after the general election to “give the civil service the stability it craves. Clear objectives with the right resources and crucially, the freedom to manage them. Fair reward to recruit, retain and motivate committed public servants.
“Then rightly, hold the civil service to account for the outcomes it’s committed to delivering – but no more micromanaging and no more trashing the brand.”
