Labour has accused ministers of getting round a civil service pay freeze final 12 months by handing out at the very least £30mn in bonuses within the type of non-cash vouchers, to be spent at shops together with retailer Argos and bakery chain Greggs.
The vouchers, which might be spent at excessive avenue chains and on leisure amongst different issues, have turn into an more and more fashionable manner for the civil service to reward workers throughout the nation whereas pay is held down.
Utilizing a collection of parliamentary questions, Labour established that the usage of non-cash vouchers soared in 2021-22, a 12 months throughout which most civil servants had their salaries frozen.
Sixteen Whitehall departments paid out a mixed whole of £29.5mn to workers within the type of “reward and recognition” vouchers, a third greater than in 2020-21, and two-thirds extra than the quantity paid out in 2018-19.
Florence Eshalomi, shadow cupboard minister, stated on Wednesday: “No-one would dispute that hard-working civil servants should be recognised for his or her efforts, particularly those that went the additional mile throughout the pandemic.
“However as soon as once more, what we see in these figures is a Tory authorities responsible of rank double requirements.
“On the identical time that ministers are refusing even to debate the topic of pay with our nation’s nurses, we now uncover they acquired round their very own pay freeze final 12 months by giving out document numbers of non-cash vouchers to Whitehall workers as a substitute.”
One Conservative official stated the follow of giving civil servants non-cash reward and recognition schemes was additionally adopted by the latest Labour authorities.
Most Whitehall workers acquired their rewards within the type of vouchers from Edenred, a digital platform that gives worker reward schemes, and reward playing cards, redeemable in shops together with Clarks, Haven Holidays and the Edinburgh Woollen Mill.
The corporate’s web site tells its public sector purchasers: “It could not all the time be doable to offer pay rises, however with a whole bunch of the way to save lots of on spending, you possibly can assist stretch your folks’s pay additional.”
Labour has not established precisely how a lot was given to civil servants within the type of non-cash vouchers; three large departments — well being, defence and setting — haven’t offered the knowledge.
Of the 16 departments that did present information, the Overseas Workplace got here out on prime. It paid out £9.9mn in reward vouchers to workers final 12 months at dwelling and abroad, up 16.6 per cent over the previous 4 years.
The House Workplace was second, with £6.6mn price of vouchers bought in 2021-22, in contrast with £1.2mn in 2018-19, a 461 per cent enhance in 4 years.
The federal government stated: “Reward and recognition schemes have a optimistic affect on workers engagement and morale.
“Non-cash vouchers are customary follow throughout authorities and are used to mark the numerous contributions of junior workers who’ve labored on particular tasks.
“All particular person awards observe a longtime approval course of to make sure worth for cash.”
Public sector pay is ready to be an enormous concern in 2023, as unions wage a marketing campaign of strikes for larger salaries whereas prime minister Rishi Sunak makes an attempt to comprise the nation’s total pay invoice.
