Officials are markedly happier with their pay and benefits than they were 12 months ago and more engaged with their work, according to the just-published findings of the 2025 Civil Service People Survey.
In the annual barometer of employee sentiment, 43% of respondents reported being satisfied with their total benefits package, up three percentage points from 2024.
The survey’s benchmark employee-engagement index, which is designed to reflect motivation and officials' inclination to recommend their organisation as a good place to work, increased by one percentage point to 65% after rounding.
The survey was carried out between 23 September and 21 October 2025, with 343,961 civil servants from 102 organisations responding, down from 354,962 in 2024.
Increased pay satisfaction among the civil service’s 500,000-plus staff likely reflects the average 3.25% rises implemented last year, which came on top of a more significant uplift in 2024-25.
An organisation-by-organisation breakdown of pay sentiment shows a more mixed picture.
Staff at energy watchdog Ofgem reported the lowest pay satisfaction, with just 18% expressing contentment with their earnings, down from 23% in 2024. Scottish Government staff recorded the largest drop in pay satisfaction, down from 65% in 2024 to 56% last year.
The Welsh Revenue Authority reported the highest level of pay satisfaction – 87%, although the figure represents a one percentage point reduction on the previous year.
Pay satisfaction among Cabinet Office Group staff increased by eight percentage points to 48% between 2024 and 2025. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and HM Revenue and Customs also experienced similar uplifts.
A survey question asking civil servants who have indicated an intention to leave their job in the next 12 months for their reasons found “for a better pay and benefit package” to be the top response. Some 39% of respondents gave that explanation, but this was a five percentage-point decrease on the previous year.
Promotion or career progression within the civil service was the second-placed reason (36% of respondents), while 22% of people who answered the question said they were seeking career progression outside of the civil service.
Engagement issues
The overarching employee-engagement index score of 65% for 2025 ranks among the highest recorded in the People Survey’s 17-year history – only 2020 and 2021’s figures were higher.
At 71%, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport had the highest level of employee engagement of any major government department. The figure is unchanged from 2024 after rounding.
However, not all parts of government were more engaged in 2025.
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory – or Dstl for short – recorded the lowest engagement index figure of any part of government this year. The Ministry of Defence executive agency’s 43% score represents a 15 percentage-point drop on 2024.
The Department of Health and Social Care, which is currently at the centre of a major restructuring programme to absorb the functions of NHS England, saw its employee-engagement score drop to 57%, down five percentage points on the previous year. The Home Office also scored 57% on its engagement-index score, down two percentage points from the previous year. DHSC and the Home Office are the lowest-scoring major government departments in the category.
Learning, development and reduced faith in management
Elsewhere in the survey, the proportion of civil servants who agreed that their organisation presents opportunities for them to develop their career dropped from 52% to 49%.
Staff at Dstl registered the lowest score in the category, with just 24% agreeing – down from 54% last year. DHSC staff marked a 28 percentage-point drop in sentiment in relation to learning and development opportunities, falling to a score of 30%.
In relation to managing change, civil servants’ faith in their senior leaders dropped from 33% of staff feeling change is handled “well” in 2024 to 32% last year. That said, the slight overall dip masks a reduction in confidence that is much more significant in some organisations.
Dstl had the lowest score in the category. Only 3% of People Survey respondents at the agency said they felt change was managed well in their organisation, down from 15% the previous year. At DHSC the figure was 14%, against 30% in 2024.
Staff across government also felt that their managers are communicating more poorly with them in relation to organisational change than was previously the case. The 2025 survey found 60% of respondents agreeing that their organisation keeps them informed about matters that affect them, down from 64% the previous year.
In other findings, the 2025 People Survey reports an apparent dip in staff productivity. One of the survey questions asks officials how productive they feel they have been over the past month. The latest survey finds the proportion reporting they were “90-100% productive” dipped from 65% of respondents to 62%.
In 2023, 66% of respondents said they had attained the top level of productivity, while in 2022 the figure was 69%.
Pay and transformation woes shine through, unions say
Civil service unions said the latest People Survey shines a light on pay and reward, coupled with transformation, as the centre of staff concerns.
FDA assistant general secretary Lauren Crowley said the survey provided “further evidence” than the current civil service pay system is “broken”.
“Pay continues to be the top reason staff want to leave their jobs. This is followed by wanting to leave for a promotion within the civil service, an inevitable consequence of removing pay progression,” she said. “We continue to work with the Cabinet Office on proposals for a new system of civil service pay but remain frustrated at the lack of progress.”
Crowley added that officials’ lack of optimism about civil service transformation – as demonstrated by perceptions of change-management capability – was also “deeply concerning” at a time of significant departmental reorganisation.
“Around half of respondents believe their senior leaders do not have a clear future vision and only a third feel that change is well-managed.,” she said. “Pursuing headcount reductions and efficiency targets without a plan for what skills need to be retained for the future is counterproductive and staff know this. Publishing the Cabinet Office's long-overdue Strategic Workforce Plan would be a good place to start.”
Prospect deputy general secretary Steve Thomas said the pay-satisfaction levels recorded in the survey had a “very real impact for government” in terms of recruitment and retention difficulties.
“We urgently need a reassessment of pay for key specialist roles in government,” he said.
He added that dwindling faith in leaders’ change-management abilities were “undoubtedly” influenced by confusion around the civil service reform agenda.
“Our members want to be partners in reform, but engagement with trade unions has been patchy and many civil servants are still unclear about what this means for their work,” he said.
Thomas added that rectifying the situation should be “a clear priority” for new cabinet secretary Dame Antonia Romeo.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, which is responsible for the Civil Service People Survey, said the exercise was an important part of understanding staff feelings.
“We are committed to making the civil service a great place to work, which is why we regularly seek feedback from staff,” they said.
“The findings of the annual People Survey have supported improvements an civil service leaders will study the results closely to inform our plans for the coming year.”
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of PCS, said the latest People Survey results confirmed officials’ commitment to delivering for the public in the face of pay constraints, high workloads and constant change.
“Small improvements in engagement should not distract from the ongoing pressures staff face every day,” she said. “Civil servants deserve fair pay, proper staffing levels and to be genuinely listened to.”
Heathcote said PCS would continue to press the government to address the “root causes of dissatisfaction” highlighted by the survey.
A Dstl spokesperson said the agency's results in the latest People Survey reflected “a period of significant change” for the organisation, as part of wider MoD reforms.
“Dstl has already taken clear action to strengthen engagement and support our people,” they said.
“Staff continue to report strong satisfaction with their work, teams and line managers, providing solid foundations to build on. We have listened carefully to staff feedback and have launched a comprehensive Engagement Reset Plan, alongside a targeted Engagement Framework addressing leadership, managing change, line management capability, employee voice and career development.”
Although the results were only published yesterday, the 2025 Civil Service People Survey was conducted in autumn last year and its findings were shared with departmental leaders before Christmas.
Civil Service World also sought a response from DHSC. It had not provided one at the time of publication.
This story was updated at 15:30 on 27 February 2026 to include a response from the PCS union