Civil Service grades and pay

The Civil Service has one ladder of grades but no single national pay scale. From the bottom, the grades are administrative assistant (AA), administrative officer (AO), executive officer (EO), higher executive officer (HEO), senior executive officer (SEO), Grade 7, Grade 6 and then the Senior Civil Service (SCS). Each department sets its own pay range for each delegated grade, which is why an EO job at one department can pay noticeably more than at another. For 2026/27, the government has capped departments’ headline pay awards at 3.5% of the paybill.

The grades in order

Grade	Typical level of work
AA	Entry-level admin and support tasks
AO	Front-line casework, customer service and admin
EO	First line management, casework decisions, front-line team leading
HEO	Middle management, policy and analytical work, project roles
SEO	Managing teams, leading policy or delivery areas
Grade 7	Senior specialists and team leaders, often leading on policy
Grade 6	Senior leaders below the SCS, running larger areas
SCS	Deputy directors, directors, directors general (pay bands 1 to 3), then permanent secretaries

Some departments use their own band letters or titles for these grades, and the Fast Stream has its own pay arrangements. Job adverts nearly always give the standard grade alongside any local name.

Why pay differs between departments

Pay for grades AA to Grade 6 is delegated. Each department or agency negotiates its own pay ranges with the unions, within the limits set each year by the Cabinet Office. Over time, ranges have drifted apart, so departments with similar grades can pay quite different amounts, and London ranges are usually higher than national ones.

Rozile does not list departmental ranges here because there are dozens of them, they change each year, and we only publish figures we have checked. The salary on each advert at Civil Service Jobs is the reliable figure for that post. Most adverts show the minimum of the range as the starting salary.

Whatever the department, pay cannot fall below the National Living Wage, which is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026.

The 2026/27 pay remit

The Civil Service pay remit guidance for 2026/27, published on 21 May 2026, sets a headline maximum of 3.5% for departmental pay awards. That figure is a paybill measure. The guidance says it does not confirm the amount any individual will receive. A department can use the money for a flat rise, a higher rise at the bottom of ranges, progression payments, or a mix.

Other points in the guidance:

• departments can make a small business case for up to 1% extra for a specific group
• pay flexibility cases are due by 31 October 2026
• a voluntary Pay Compression Framework covers grades AA to EO, where ranges have been squeezed by rises in the minimum wage
• the Senior Civil Service is outside the remit and is handled separately

Because each department settles at a different time, your 2026/27 rise may arrive later in the year than the 1 April date that many awards are backdated to. Your department’s intranet or union branch will have the timetable.

The Senior Civil Service

SCS pay is set centrally on the advice of the Senior Salaries Review Body. For 2026/27 the government’s response of 21 May 2026 gives a 3.5% paybill increase, made up of 2.5% for base pay and 1% for performance-related progression. The review body had recommended 3.5% on base pay. These details come from secondary reporting of the government response.

Pension contributions by pay

Civil servants are normally in the alpha pension scheme. Member contributions for 2026/27 depend on your pay:

• 4.6% on pay up to £36,199
• 5.45% from £36,200 to £56,000
• 7.35% from £56,001 to £150,000
• 8.05% above £150,000

The employer rate was 28.97% in 2025/26; the 2026/27 employer rate was not available when this was written. The Civil Service pension (alpha) guide explains how the pension builds up, and the take-home pay calculator shows net pay at any salary.

Moving up the grades

Promotion is usually by applying for a job at the next grade, competing against other candidates. Applications are assessed using Success Profiles, which have five elements: behaviours, strengths, ability, experience and technical. The Civil Service Success Profiles guide explains how each is tested.

Temporary promotion is common, where you act at a higher grade for a period and are paid at that grade while you do. Some departments also have pay progression within a grade, linked to time in post or performance, and some have very little. If you want to know how a specific department handles progression, ask during the interview or look for its pay agreement on the department’s own site.

The administrative officer and executive officer profiles describe the two most common entry grades.