Garry Graham, Prospect deputy general secretary, responding to reports of an above inflation pay award for public sector workers but excluding most of the civil service, said:

“There has never been a government in peace time so reliant on the hard work and professionalism of the civil service and the coming months will prove even more challenging.

“Against that backdrop it is astounding that the Prime Minister has not seen fit to recognise the hard work of the civil service which has worked so hard and diligently to support the government. Pay in the wider economy is rising at 3.6 per cent but yet again we find that the civil service has been singled out for the harshest of treatment amongst public sector workers.

“With MPs receiving a 2.7 per cent increase in April, these double standards will smack of hypocrisy and either ignorance or disdain for what the civil service does. Hardworking public servants deserve better.

“The Prime Minister’s legacy for the civil service will be a demoralised and under appreciated workforce where long hours and low pay are the norm and where public servants are punished and rebuked for speaking truth to power.”

Around 55 per cent of public sector are not covered by a pay review body. Most civil servants are not covered by a pay review body and instead are covered by the civil service pay remit guidance. The civil service pay remit guidance has been set at just 1-2 per cent in 2019-20 (unless a further business case is submitted and agreed to).