Research and analysis
Pay reform for the senior civil service
This research from the Institute for Government explores civil service pay reform and capability-based pay.
Documents
Details
This research was commissioned by the Office of Manpower Economics. It found that:
- a capability-based pay system will not be viable unless the government can guarantee sufficient funding to support pay rises
- capability-based pay alone is unlikely to do much to reduce turnover. While pay contributes to churn there are many other relevant factors including, most importantly, promotion prospects
- capability-based pay needs to accommodate specialists who stay in post and become deep subject matter experts
- end-of-year bonuses are not being used as a strategic tool for driving improved performance, capability or motivation, and should be scrapped when a capability-based pay system is implemented, although in-year awards should be retained
- there is an overlap between the concepts of performance and capability
- the Scottish and Welsh governments should, on balance, be granted the power to decide pay scales for their own senior civil servants
Published 10 November 2021