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Pay statistics for the Northern Ireland Civil Service

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) today published a report providing an overview of pay statistics for the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS).
~ Thursday, 8 December 2011

The statistics relate to basic salary, and the emphasis is on 2011, though some trend information covering the period 2006-2011 is also presented. For contextual purposes the NICS is compared with civil servants in the rest of the UK as well as the public and private sectors in Northern Ireland.

The key findings are as follows:

  • The median full-time equivalent (FTE) basic salary of Northern Ireland Civil Service staff is £21,490. A basic salary (FTE) of £17,000 would put someone in the bottom 10% of NICS staff, whereas a basic salary (FTE) of £38,000 would put someone in the top 10%.
  • The median basic salary (FTE) of female staff is 4.8% lower than that of male staff. One reason for the gap between males and females, which has narrowed in recent years, is that there is a larger proportion of men than women in higher grades.
  • Analysis of gender pay differences within grades reveals a more complex picture. For example, at Administrative Officer level, the grade with the highest gap, women’s median basic salary (FTE) is 7.4% above that of men. In contrast, at Deputy Principal level and Grade 5 and above, women’s median basic salary (FTE) is 5.0% below that of men. Differences of this kind can arise from a complex range of factors, of which, typically, the most influential is the length of time staff have been in their grade.
  • With regard to community background, there are fewer gaps at grade level in median basic salary (FTE) than is the case for gender. The largest gap is for industrial staff, where Catholic median basic salary (FTE) is 4.7% above that of Protestants. A slightly smaller gap, but in the opposite direction, exists at Grade 5 level and above, where Catholic median basic salary (FTE) is 4.6% below that of Protestants. As with gender, differences of this type can arise from a complex range of factors.
  • While there has been an upward trend in median basic salary (FTE) for all grade levels over the period 2006 to 2011, the increases at Administrative Officer and Administrative Assistant have been particularly marked (38% and 45% respectively). These increases are largely due to alignment to new pay scales as a result of a settlement of equal pay claims.
  • Between 2010 and 2011, at all grade levels from Administrative Officer to Grade 6, the majority of staff experienced an increase in salary in the range 2% - 3.9%. This increase was due to staff progressing one step up their pay scales.
  • The median basic salary (FTE) of staff at Administrative Assistant and Administrative Officer levels is higher than that of civil servants at equivalent levels in the rest of the United Kingdom, whereas the median basic salary (FTE) of staff at Executive Officer level and all higher grade levels is lower than that of their counterparts elsewhere in the UK.

The report is available on the NISRA website

Notes to editors:

  1. This is the first annual bulletin by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) on pay statistics in the NICS.
  2. If salaries were ranked from the lowest to the highest, the median would be the middle value.
  3. In the case of a part-time member of staff, full-time equivalent salary is the salary they would have if they worked full-time.
  4. For more information on the settlement of equal pay claims, see various Equal Pay circulars on the Pay Section on the DFP website.
  5. In December 2010 the Finance Minister announced a freeze on annual inflationary increases for those earning over £21,000. Each pay scale for non-industrial staff below the Senior Civil Service consists of a number of steps. Under the terms of the 2010-2011 pay award all eligible fully satisfactory or better performers progressed one step up their pay scale. This means that whilst some staff received no increase in salary over the period March 2010 to March 2011 (typically because they are at the top of their pay scale), others did receive an increase.
  6. Media enquiries should be addressed to the Department of Finance and Personnel Communications Office on Tel: 028 9016 3388 or 028 9016 3389. Out of Office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.