Civil servants working for the UK government have been awarded “good behaviour” bonuses worth £30 million – with £19.9 million in high street shopping vouchers going to employees at the Home Office.
Handing out vouchers to those working in the civil service is nothing new – but the amount shelled out for the bonuses this year has more than doubled compared to 2022, jumping from £14.7 million to £30.6 million.
And the scheme, which provides vouchers through service provider Enred, is funded by the taxpayer, with the cost for 2024 revealed to be £30.6 million in Freedom of Information requests submitted by The Times.
Alongside the Home Office, civil servants at the Department for Work and Pensions were among those best compensated – taking home a lion’s share of £6.1 million, while the rest was distributed among others in the 542,840-strong government sector.
While most of the individual payouts have been under £100, the biggest single voucher was for £1,200 to be spent at retailers including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Waitrose, awarded by the Department for International Trade.
Ministers from the last Conservative government have defended the voucher scheme, describing the performance incentives as “key part” of “attracting, retaining and motivating highly skilled individuals”.
The rise in the amount of money funnelled into the bonuses is linked to a recruitment drive which saw 23,060 new civil servants hired in the year to March 2024 and changes in the way vouchers are distributed.
But Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at the TaxPayers’ alliance (TPA) said the “luxurious” perks associated with civil service jobs was sure to “agitate” those around the country shelling out for them.
“Higher average salaries, more annual leave, more sick leave, shorter working hours and gold-plated pensions are just a few of the extraordinary perks available to those on Whitehall and beyond,” he told The Times.
“These additional handouts are also part of this. Ministers should scrap these schemes given the huge expense of recent pay rises.”
A spokesperson for the government said the scheme provided value for taxpayer money because of its positive impact on productivity.
The news comes after a change of leadership in the civil service, with long-term head Simon Case stepping down on health grounds and his successor Chris Wormald pledging to “do things differently”.
It also follows cutting comments made about the sector by the Prime Minister, who claimed that “too many people in Whitehall are comfortable with the tepid bath of managed decline” earlier this month.
