Hundreds
of civil servants may be in line for a 50 per cent pay rise in a bid by the
Government to narrow the pay gap with the private sector.
The Senior
Salaries Review body is expected to propose new grades for 3,000 senior civil
servants next month.
Many
officials currently earning between £42,000 and £127,000 are likely to get
sizeable increases in basic salary alongside bonus payments worth thousands of
pounds from next April.
A report
in The Times claims the Government is keen to boost pay to encourage more
private sector employees into top Whitehall posts.
A
consultation paper drawn up by the Cabinet Office last January has been passed
to the review body.
As part of
the consultation’s recommendations, it suggests that the first pay band
covering 2,300 civil servants should range from £49,000 to a maximum of
£87,500; the second, affecting 600 officials, should vary from £67,500 to
£129,500; while the top band with around 100 officials, should range from
£83,000 to £183,000.
All these
civil servants will be eligible for bonuses of at least 10 per cent, rising to
15 to 20 per cent in years ahead.
An
official on or near the top maximum band could earn up to £200,000 including
bonus payments, under the new pay scales.
Those most
likely to benefit from the pay overhaul include deputy permanent secretaries,
heads of policy secretariats and their deputies.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
By Karen Higginbottom
