FDA calls for reform of a pay system “broken beyond repair”

August 2, 2023

The FDA has written jointly with Prospect to the Minister for the Cabinet Office Jeremy Quin to push for reform of the civil service pay system.

In their letter, FDA General Secretary Dave Penman and Mike Clancy, General Secretary at Prospect, described the current pay system as being “broken beyond repair”, commenting that pay structures have gone “largely unreformed for three decades”. Penman and Clancy further called for a system to “reward talent, knowledge and expertise” in order to address issues around recruitment and retention:

“The remit process not only prevents individual employers developing a strategic approach to their pay and reward, but it also prevents any sort of strategic approach at the centre and is actively hindering other workforce strategies you want to progress for the whole of the civil service.

“We want to see a pay structure that rewards talent, knowledge and expertise so that the civil service can recruit and retain skilled staff that can address the major challenges faced by our vital public services.”

Penman and Clancy also requested an urgent meeting with the minister to discuss the issues raised in the letter.

The FDA announced its first national industrial action ballot on pay in 40 years earlier this year, following the publication of the pay remit guidance for 2023/24 without any meaningful consultation with the trade unions. An improved offer was subsequently secured, but both the FDA and Prospect were clear on the need to rebuild the civil service pay system.

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