Civil Servants: Pay
(asked on 16th March 2026) - View Source
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the median salary for civil servants graded at Senior Executive Officer, or equivalent, in England in each year since 1996–97 in (1) cash terms, and (2) real terms adjusted for inflation; and what was the percentage salary increase in each of those terms between 1996–97 and 2025–26.
Decisions on pay below Senior Civil Service are delegated to Departments.
Information on median salary of civil servants at SEO grade in England is available only for each year from 31 March 2007 to 31 March 2025. Please see table below:
Year | Grade | Median Salary | Median Salary - real terms adjusted for inflation relative to 2007 | Median Salary - real terms adjusted for inflation relative to 2025 | Percentage increase in cash terms since 2007 | Percentage increase in real terms adjusted for inflation since 2007 |
2007 | SEO | £36,000 | £36,000 | £59,100 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
2008 | SEO | £36,000 | £35,100 | £57,600 | 0.0% | -2.5% |
2009 | SEO | £36,400 | £34,600 | £56,800 | 1.3% | -3.9% |
2010 | SEO | £37,500 | £34,700 | £57,000 | 4.2% | -3.5% |
2011 | SEO | £38,700 | £34,600 | £56,900 | 7.7% | -3.7% |
2012 | SEO | £38,800 | £33,600 | £55,300 | 7.8% | -6.5% |
2013 | SEO | £38,800 | £32,800 | £54,000 | 7.8% | -8.7% |
2014 | SEO | £39,000 | £32,500 | £53,400 | 8.3% | -9.7% |
2015 | SEO | £38,800 | £32,200 | £53,000 | 7.8% | -10.4% |
2016 | SEO | £38,900 | £32,100 | £52,800 | 8.2% | -10.7% |
2017 | SEO | £38,700 | £31,200 | £51,300 | 7.5% | -13.3% |
2018 | SEO | £38,800 | £30,600 | £50,300 | 8.0% | -14.9% |
2019 | SEO | £39,200 | £30,400 | £49,900 | 9.1% | -15.6% |
2020 | SEO | £39,800 | £30,300 | £49,800 | 10.6% | -15.7% |
2021 | SEO | £40,600 | £30,600 | £50,300 | 12.8% | -14.8% |
2022 | SEO | £40,600 | £28,800 | £47,400 | 12.8% | -19.8% |
2023 | SEO | £42,100 | £27,500 | £45,200 | 17.2% | -23.5% |
2024 | SEO | £44,000 | £27,700 | £45,500 | 22.5% | -22.9% |
2025 | SEO | £46,100 | £28,000 | £46,100 | 28.2% | -22.0% |
Notes:
-Source: Civil Service Statistics
-Figures are based on Civil Service salaries as at 31st March in each year.
-Median salaries have been rounded to the nearest £100.
-The ONS CPIH index for March in each year has been used to calculate real terms inflation adjusted median salaries.
-Historically not all departments have had distinct SEO and HEO grades, and so may have reported under a combined SEO/HEO grade in previous years, and this may change across years, therefore caution should be used in interpreting time series at SEO only level as they may not be consistent.