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.