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

Highest-ranking staff will get 2.5% pay rise with bonuses for top performers in plan to ‘rewire’ civil service 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. The idea of performance-related pay for senior civil servants was announced as a trial by the Conservatives before the last election and has since been championed by Labour. In January, Jones set out his ambition to “rewire” the civil service, pledging to bring in bonuses for top performers across senior ranks to encourage excellence. 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

May 21, 2026 → May 21, 2026