All members of the senior civil service (SCS) are considered for a bonus on top of their regular salary. In line with Cabinet Office guidance bonuses are awarded to between 60 per cent. and 75 per cent. of SCS members. Awards are made by relatively assessing individuals in relation to others in the same SCS pay band. In determining performance-related bonus payments, the following criteria were used to award bonuses this year:
Performance against agreed priority business objectives or targets;
Total delivery record over the year;
Relative stretch; and
Response to unforeseen events which affected performance.
Below SCS, the Department for Work and Pensions currently operates two separate bonus schemes, which may be paid on top of regular salary: These are the individual performance bonus scheme and the special bonus scheme.
Individual Performance Bonus: All staff have the potential to earn an individual performance bonus, based on the performance level they receive through our performance management system. Individual performance is relatively assessed at the end of the performance year. There are 4 performance levels. In 2006 people who achieved one of the top 3 levels received a bonus, determined by their grade and performance level.
Special Bonus: The special bonus scheme enables line managers to award a one-off bonus to recognise and reward exceptional personal or team achievement. Detailed criteria are determined by local managers. Awards may be cash or vouchers but the amounts that can be awarded are modest because the total expenditure over the year is limited to 0.25 per cent. of the manager’s staffing budget.
All bonuses are non-consolidated and so they are not added into salary and are not pensionable.