QCG

Research into aspects of civil service pay reform

The Project

Shortly after the Coalition Government was formed in May 2010, we were appointed by the Cabinet Office  to support one of the aspects of civil service reform that was riding high on the new agenda.

Our Role

We worked closely with the in-house team to build on and refresh some of the thinking that we have developed on other client projects in which an organisation with a goegraphically dispersed workforce operates a pay system that is driven by local market practice, not a national scale.  Research shows that many private sector organsiations in the retail and retail banking sector manage their pay in this way. 

Outcome

We created a new ‘thermal’ map  of the UK which identified where the similarities and differences are in base pay terms across the country.  This was incorporated in a report that which indicates, based on a robust body of evidence, that significant savings could be achieved if the civil service were to adopt such an approach.  However, these savings can still be achieved with a lower headcount loss and less impediment to frontline service delivery than by simply reducing the pay bill by cutting jobs.