Falling Moral At the DWP

Public sector workers have been complaining about low pay. The take-home pay of senior civil servants had fallen by 23% in real terms since 2010. The Senior Salaries Review Body that recommends pay increases for senior Whitehall roles has warned that the continuing 1% pay cap was increasing recruitment and retention problems.

One DWP official has commented:

I hope this does not reflect on lower grade civil servants who work on the front line, we are struggling to continue working on the salaries we are on and are paid a lower salary than many who work for the private sector. Over the last few years so many of my colleague have taken VES packages or early retirement or just left the DWP to work in the private sector for better pay, in my years working for the department I have never know so many colleagues desperate to get out of the department and find another job. It's getting really tuff and staff are demoralised and tired and because of staff cuts they are doing more for less. It's really sad that the ministers don’t appreciate or comprehend that without our commitment to the job and care and compassion for the public the new welfare reform implementation would not come to fruition.