Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister rewards “the doers not the talkers” with the introduction of performance-related pay for senior civil servants

• Following Darren Jones' announcement in January on his ambition to modernise the civil service to better incentivise delivery and innovation by rewarding top performers, the Government has confirmed senior civil servants' pay rises will be linked to whether or not they deliver for the public for the first time.

• As part of the Future Civil Service Programme, the Cabinet Secretary and Permanent Secretaries have introduced performance-related pay progression for the Senior Civil Service, in response to the Senior Salary Review Body's recommendations.

• This new approach raises the performance standard that needs to be met by senior civil servants, while rewarding those who go above and beyond to deliver for the public. 

• As well as its response to the Senior Salaries Review Body's recommendations on senior civil service pay, the Government also announced a 3.5% pay award available for delegated grades.

The Government has today, 21 May, published its response to the recommendations of the independent Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) on pay for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) for 2026-27.

In light of the overall constraints posed by the current affordability context, as well as fairness with the wider public sector, the Government will increase the overall SCS paybill by 3.5%. On base pay this will be a 2.5% increase, rather than the 3.5% recommended by the SSRB.

However, for the first time ever, the Government has introduced performance-based pay 

progression for the SCS - with those who deliver for the public at an exceptional level being rewarded with salary increases. To deliver this, 1% of the total SCS paybill will be allocated to the performance-related progression approach.

This is an important step in the Future Civil Service programme, which will drive excellence in delivery and ensure the Civil Service is transformed to deliver for the Government with purpose and the pride that comes with high performance.

Following his speech in January in which he set out the steps he was taking to modernise the Civil Service so it can move fast and fix things for the public, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister confirmed changes to SCS pay to reward the doers, not the talkers.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said:

“The Prime Minister has called for a complete rewiring of the state. In January this year, I set out the need to reward the doers, not the talkers in the Civil Service. It's pretty simple. Those who perform well should be rewarded. Those who fall short should be held to account.

“Today, the Government has followed through, confirming our new approach will reward exceptional civil servants who go above and beyond for the public, while raising the standard we expect civil servants to meet. 

“As a package, this represents the biggest change to Senior Civil Service pay in decades and is just one of the many steps the Government is taking to modernise the system to make sure what happens in Westminster is followed through to the streets, schools and livelihoods of people in every part of the country. Our job as Ministers is to give civil servants the tools and support they need, so that together, we can build a Britain that is richer, fairer and stronger.”

Civil Service pay processes have also been streamlined to make it easier for managers to request pay flexibility for specialist roles to help attract and retain the technical skills needed for effective delivery and embedding technology and innovation in the public sector.

This builds on the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister's ongoing work with the Civil Service leadership to build a public sector that can move fast and fix things for the public. Last week, he told civil servants at the FDA union conference that he is delighted to be working with the Cabinet Secretary to support the Future Civil Service programme – the success of which will be defined by embedding a culture of excellence, focused on getting stuff done and delivering outcomes, changing how we work by learning from the best, and creating the pride that comes from high performance.

Notes to editors

• The headline pay award for Senior Civil Service this year is 3.5%, comprised of a 2.5% base pay uplift and a further 1% of the total SCS paybill for performance-related pay progression.

• The overall 3.5% award is the same for both SCS and the rest of the Civil Service. This is the overall maximum spend for each workforce, not what each individual will receive in their pay.

• Each Civil Service employer is responsible for implementing the award for most employees in their organisation. This year, we have provided additional flexibility to departments, which they can apply to access, to support improvements in operational delivery in front-line roles.

• Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones' speech on 20 January 2026 is here.

• Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones' speech to the FDA on 14 May 2026 is here.

• The Cabinet Secretary's Objectives for 2026-27 can be found here and an introductory message here.

• The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister's Written Ministerial Statement “Senior Civil Service Update” is here.