Beleaguered civil service uses taxpayer money to pay staff 14.5% more than the average UK employee

New research from The Global Payroll Association (GPA), reveals that the average salary for UK’s civil servants is 14.5% higher than the nation’s wider average salary, and that the combined wage bill for the civil service comes to an estimated £18.5bn, all of which comes, of course, from the UK taxpayer.

Civil servants in the UK have come under fire. There are reports that 67% of civil service employees have no clear function; stories of cronyism when it comes to the selection of high ranking employees; and the astonishing revelation that Sue Gray, head of the civil service and special advisor to Keir Starmer actually earns more than Prime Minister himself.

In light of these questions around the civil service, GPA has analysed data from the UK government to reveal how many civil servants there are up and down the country, how much they are paid, and how this level of pay compares to the overall average earnings in the UK.

The analysis reveals that there are an estimated 542,840 civil servants in the UK. 19.6% of them are employed in London, 13.1% in the North West, and 10.2% in Scotland.

Further analysis reveals that the total estimated annual wage bill for the civil service comes to a staggering £18.4bn. And because the civil service is a public organisation, this wage bill is, of course, paid by the UK taxpayer.

Despite all of the negative reports about the effectiveness of the civil service and the validity of those who have been given high profile positions within it, GPA can reveal that the average civil servant is taking home significantly more money than the average UK employee.

In fact, the average civil service salary of £33,980 is 14.5% higher than the average UK salary of £29,669.

Civil servants are outearning other employees across all regions of the UK, but nowhere more so than in the South West where an average civil service salary of £35,500 is 23.5% higher than the region’s overall average salary.

In London, civil servants earn an average of 18.1% more than the city’s other workers, followed by Scotland (13.7%), Yorkshire & Humber (11.8%), and the North East (9.4%).

Melanie Pizzey, CEO and founder of the Global Payroll Association, says: “There is no doubt that the civil service plays an integral role in the function of the UK economy, infrastructure, and public services, but there are so many problematic stories about its management and efficiency that people might be shocked to see just how much taxpayer money is being used to pay its employees.

And in an environment where public employees are fighting for fair and proper pay, from teachers to junior doctors, it might come as a surprise to see civil servants out-earning the average UK worker by such a large margin.

With a workforce of over half a million people, the UK civil service is a big beast to try and manage effectively, and if the workforce is indeed overinflated as reports suggest, some kind of streamlining exercise might go a long way towards increasing the bang for the buck that taxpayers receive for their investment in this vital public service.”