Main Points

Key Points Commentary
Median Pay¹ has increased by 2.0% The average² (median full-time equivalent) pay of NICS staff is £31,643 which is an increase of 2.0% on the equivalent figure for 2024. The overall pay award for the NICS for 2024 was an increase to most NICS pay scales of 3.0%. See Annex 2 for more details.
Top decile Pay: £56,863 Bottom decile Pay: £26,504 Pay of £26,504 would put someone in the bottom 10.0% of NICS staff, whereas pay of £56,863 would put someone in the top 10.0% of NICS staff.
99.7% of NICS staff received a pay increase between 2024 and 2025 The extent of the increase varied between grades: 100% of AA and Industrial 1 staff received a pay increase of between 4.0% and 5.9%. 89.8% of AO staff received a pay increase between 2.0% and 3.9%.
Gender Pay gap is 2.0%³ ⁴ There continues to be a gap between male and female pay in the NICS – the median pay for females is 2.0% lower than the median pay for males.

  1. Figures reported are based on acting grade rather than substantive grade e.g. staff on temporary promotion at the end of March 2025 are recorded using the temporary promotion grade and pay

  2. Median is the measure used for the average of pay data. The median is preferred over other ways of calculating the average as it is less likely to be influenced by a few very high or low values, which can often be the case with pay data. There is a video to explain the median on the NISRA website.

  3. The female median has been calculated as a proportion of the male median.

  4. Gender pay gap refers to the difference in male and female pay.

Key Definitions

Pay: Gross basic annual salary only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

All salaries are full-time equivalent.

NICS: Northern Ireland Civil Service.

SCS: Senior Civil Service, which equates to analogous Grade 5 and above1.

Background

This report contains an overview of NICS pay statistics as at March 2025. The statistics relate to annual pay, and the emphasis is on 2025, though some trend information from 2015 onwards is also presented. Pay increases can be due to normal progression up a pay scale (for those who are not at the maximum of their scale) and changes to pay scales (due to annual pay awards). The figures take account of the NICS August 2024 pay award and the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) April 2024 pay award2.

Analysis of Pay - Year Ending March 2025

At March 2025, the median pay of NICS staff was £31,6433, which represents a 2.0% increase on the equivalent figure for 2024. The overall pay award for the NICS for 2024 was an increase to most NICS pay scales of 3.0%. See Annex 2 for more details.

Figure 1: Median and Quartile Pay by Analogous Grade Level, March 2025 1, 2


  1. ‘Other’ Staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

  2. For further details on breakdown of job titles within Industrial grades, see DoF Industrial Pay Scales (opens a new window).

In Figure 1, the grey circle identifies the median pay for each grade, the black bar shows the upper quartile, and the blue bar the lower quartile. For staff in Industrial 1, Industrial 2, AA, AO and HOCS grades, the median, lower quartile, and upper quartiles are equal.

For staff at EOII to G6 grade levels, and in Industrial grades, this chart shows that the median and the upper quartile are the same, consistent with the majority of these staff being at the maximum point on their pay scale. The majority (99.7%) of NICS staff members received an increase in pay between 2024 and 2025. Basic pay of £28,734 would put someone in the bottom 25% of NICS staff, whereas basic pay of £41,004 would put someone in the top 25% of NICS staff.

Industrial 1 level, AA staff, Staff on Other payscales and HOCS level staff received the largest increases to median pay with an increase of 5.0% to both Industrial 1 and AA staff, 6.1% for Other staff, and 5.4% for HOCS, between 2024 and 2025. There was a 3.0% increase in the median pay of staff at the Industrial 2 and Industrial 3 grades, along with all Non Industrial grades from AO to G5 inclusive.

99.7% of staff received a pay rise, the majority of which received an increase in pay between 2.0% and 3.9%. Almost 94% of Industrial 2 staff and 90% of AO staff received pay increases between 2.0% and 3.9%, and at AA and Industrial 1 levels 100% of staff received pay increases of 4.0% and 5.9% 4.

Analysis of Pay - 2015 to 2025

Figure 2: NICS Median Pay Trend, 2015-2025


The overall median pay in the NICS increased by 28.0% between 2015 and 2025, from £24,728 to £31,643 (Figure 2). Over this period, a number of factors affected median pay, including Pay and Grading reviews.

Figure 3: NICS Median Pay by Analogous Grade, 2015-20251, 2, 3


  1. Data for Industrial 1, 2, and 3 staff are only available from 2017 onwards.

  2. ‘Other’ staff have not been included in this chart as the grades and pay scales classified as ‘Other’ have varied extensively over the time period of this chart.

  3. Please note that at HOCS level there is only one staff member. This staff member changed in 2021.

Between 2015 and 2025, median pay for staff at Industrial 1, 2 and 3, AA, Grade 5, and Permanent Secretary levels have had the highest increase over time, between 25% and 50%. In comparison, median pay for staff at AO, EOII, EOI and SO levels have had the lowest increases over time, between 18% and 20%.

5 Year Trend

Figure 4: % Change in NICS Median Pay by Analogous Grade, 2020-20251, 2, 3, 4


  1. See Table 8.

  2. ‘Other’ Staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

  3. A video explaining why we use the median instead of the mean can be found on the NISRA website.

  4. Please note that at HOCS level there is only one staff member. This staff member changed in 2021.

Industrial 1 and AA staff have seen a 35.7% and 28.9% increase in their median pay over the period 2020-2025 (Figure 4), the main reason for which was the NICS commiting to being a Voluntary Living Wage Foundaton employer. In addition, industrial 1 pay was affected by the outcome of an Industrial Pay and Grading review over the course of 2016 and 2017, which placed staff to the bottom of their new pay scales5.

While there has been an upward trend in median pay at all NICS grade levels between 2020 and 2025, changes to the median pay of staff at Industrial 2, Permanent Secretary and Grade 3 levels have been particularly marked with increases of 20.1%, 15.8%, and 15.1% respectively. A range of factors contributed to these changes, including staff advancing up their pay scales, and revised pay scales.

The median pay of Other staff (i.e. those who were not on NICS pay scales) has increased by 27.3% since 2020.

Pay Differences within the NICS

Sex

Within the NICS the median pay of female staff is 2.0% lower than the median pay for male staff (£32,293 for males compared with £31,643 for females)6. The median pay for both male and female staff lies within the EOI pay scale.

Figure 5: Pay Gap by Analogous Grade Level and Sex, March 20251, 2


  1. See Table 3.

  2. ‘Other’ Staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

The primary reason for the gender pay gap is the differing proportions of males and females across the grades. The majority of staff are in the higher paid grades i.e. EOI and above, however 51.1% of females are in grades EOI and above compared with 54.7% of males. The overall NICS medians for male and female staff are within the EOI pay scale, but the median pay for male staff is on a higher step within the EOI pay scale than the female median.

Among Industrial staff, the median pay of males and females was equal. Among Other staff (those not on NICS pay scales), female median pay was 8.3% below male median pay.

For the General Service grades from AA to Grade 7, the median pay of males and females was equal. However, for the Permanent Secretary and Grade 5 grades, the median pay of males was higher than their female equivalents by 2.2% and 1.9% respectively.
Median pay of females exceeded male equivalents by 1.9% at Grade 3 level and by 2.9% at Grade 6 level.

Differences of this kind can arise from a range of factors, including the length of time that staff have been in their grade, differing proportions of males and females across grades, and the overall staff profile of the NICS.

To illustrate the constantly changing staff profile of the NICS, it is worth noting that between April 2024 and April 2025, the number of female staff at Grade 5 level increased by 10.6%, whereas the number of male staff at Grade 5 level decreased by 5.0% over the same period. The number of female staff at AO level increased by 2.9% compared with 11.5% for males, and the number of female staff at AA level decreased by 8.2% while the number of male staff at that level increased by 13.8%. 7.

Data on leavers and joiners indicates that in 2024/25, 54.0% of leavers from the NICS were male. Males made up the highest proportion of leavers at both EOI grade and above (56.3%) and at EOII grade and below (52.0%).

Although males made up a higher proportion (54.9%) of all joiners to the NICS in 2024/25, more males than females joined at EOII or below, and a higher proportion of joiners at EOI and above were female. Staff joining at EOII grade and below made up 80.5% of all joiners in 2024/25.

Data on promotions within the NICS indicates that in the financial year 2024/25, the number of females promoted into higher grades was approximately 2.0% higher than the number of males promoted into higher grades. However, this difference in the proportions of females and males promoted was not always reflected at individual grade levels. For example, the majority of promotees to Grade 6 (52.2%), and AO (56.8%) were male, whereas the majority of promotees at SCS (58.5%) and EOII (53.5%) were female.

Community Background

In the NICS Overall, the median pay of Catholic staff is 2.0% lower than that of Protestant staff (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Pay Gap by Analogous Grade Level and Community Background, March 20251, 2


  1. See Table 4.

  2. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

With regard to community background, at Industrial 1 and 2 grades, from AA to Grade 6 inclusive and at Grade 3, there is no difference between the median pay of Protestants and Catholics. However, among Other staff (those not on NICS pay scales) Catholic median pay is 8.3% lower than Protestant median pay, and at Grade 5 level Catholic median pay is lower than Protestant median pay by 1.9%. However at Industrial 3 level, Catholic median pay is 0.5% higher than Protestant pay, and at Permanent Secretary level, median Catholic pay exceeds median Protestant pay by 9.2%.

An overall NICS community background median pay gap can arise, even when individual grades do not have a median pay gap, due to the overall staff profile of the NICS, and differing proportions of staff in lower paid grades among Catholics and Protestants.

Although the overall NICS medians for both Protestant and Catholic staff are within the EOI pay scale, the median pay for Protestant staff is on a higher point than the median pay for Catholic staff. Also, there are differences at individual grade levels particularly in lower paid grades. For example, there are higher proportions of Catholic staff at AO and EOII levels, whereas the majority of staff (51.0%) at SCS level are Protestant.

Catholics made up a higher proportion (56.5%) of all joiners to the NICS in 2024/25, and the proportion of Catholics joining at EOI and above was higher than that of Protestants (58.1% compared to 41.9%). The proportion of Catholics joining at EOII or below was also higher than that of Protestants (56.2% compared to 43.8%).

In relation to promotions, data indicates differing proportions of Protestants and Catholics promoted to different grades. For example, 52.9% of staff promoted to a higher grade were staff from a Catholic community background and 47.1% of staff promoted to a higher grade were staff were staff from a Protestant community background. When looking at individual grades, the majority of promotees to SCS (60.0%) and G7 (58.9%) levels were from a Catholic community background, whereas the majority of promotees to EOI (50.8%) level were from a Protestant community background.

Disability

In the NICS overall, the median pay of staff with a disability declared is 8.2% lower than staff without a disability declared8 9. There are differences at some grade levels with regard to disability. For example, at Permanent Secretary, Grade 3 and Industrial 2 levels, the median pay of those with no disability declared is 8.6%, 3.6% and 1.5% respectively higher than the median pay of those with a disability declared. Again, it should be emphasised that median differences of this type can arise from a complex range of factors. It should be noted that information on disability is missing for a high proportion of NICS staff. Any staff for whom this information is missing have been allocated to the ‘No disability declared’ category. The true proportion of disabled staff is therefore likely to be higher than recorded on HR Connect.

Age

There are no gaps in median pay among staff at AA to SO inclusive, G7, or Industrial 1 or 2 grades when analysed by age10. At all other grades there is a gap in favour of staff aged 50+ compared to staff aged 16 to 49. This is to be expected, given that in each grade it takes several years to reach the top of the pay scale, so those staff on the highest point tend to be older than those on lower points.

Comparison with the rest of UK

Please note, this section is based on data as at March 2024, as data for March 2025 was not available by time of publication.

The median pay of NICS staff at SCS, and EOI/EOII levels was lower than the median pay of their counterparts elsewhere in UK. The median pay of NICS staff at Grade 6, and SO levels was lower than the median pay of their counterparts elsewhere in UK with the exception England (excluding London). At AO grade level, median pay of NICS staff was higher than their counterparts across the rest of the UK11.

Figure 7: Median Pay of Civil Servants across the UK, by Analogous Grade Level, March 20241, 2


  1. See Table 11.

  2. For purposes of comparison with the rest of UK in Table 11, the NICS Executive Officer I and Executive Officer II grades have been amalgamated.

The median pay of NICS staff at AA grade level was lower than the median pay of civil servants at the equivalent level across the rest of the UK with the exception of Wales.

At G7 level, median pay of NICS staff was higher than their counterparts in England and England (excluding London), but lower than their counterparts in Scotland, and Wales.

At DP grade level, median pay of NICS staff was higher than their counterparts across the rest of the UK with the exception of Scotland.

(See Annex 1 for the minimum/maximum points of pay scales for each grade in the NICS, the Scottish Government, and a number of GB Departments.)

Comparison with the Northern Ireland Public and Private Sectors

Please note, this section is based on data as at March 2024, as data for March 2025 was not available by time of publication. This publication will be updated when the March 2025 data becomes available.

NICS median weekly pay12 13 for full-time staff (£601) is lower than that in the overall Northern Ireland public sector (£651), but is higher than in the private sector (£576).

For part-time staff, NICS median weekly pay (£400) is higher than both the overall Northern Ireland public sector (£300) and the private sector (£196).

NICS mean weekly pay for full-time staff (£680) is lower than that in the overall Northern Ireland public sector (£718), but is higher than in the private sector (£700).

For part-time staff, NICS mean weekly pay (£437) is higher than both the overall Northern Ireland public sector (£317) and the private sector (£231).

Some of the differences between these sectors may be due to differences in the composition of the respective workforces. For example, many of the lowest paid occupations, such as bar and restaurant staff, hairdressers, elementary sales occupations and cashiers, exist primarily in the private sector, whereas there is a larger proportion of graduate-level and professional occupations in the public sector.

Tables

Table 1a: Staff numbers (headcount) by Pay Band and Analogous Grade Level: March 2025 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  1. This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher grade level.

  2. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  3. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  4. Some pay bands have been combined to avoid potential disclosure of pay.

  5. Where Analogous Grade is not available for Grade C/Executive Officer staff in DOJ it is assumed to be EOII.

  6. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

Table 1b: Pay Average and Pay Percentiles by Analogous Grade: March 2025 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  1. This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher grade level.

  2. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  3. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  4. Where Analogous Grade is not available for Grade C/Executive Officer staff in DOJ it is assumed to be EOII.

  5. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

Table 2a: Staff numbers (headcount) by Pay Band and Sex: March 2025 1, 2, 3

  1. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  2. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  3. Some pay bands have been combined to avoid potential disclosure of pay.

Table 2b: Pay Average and Pay Percentiles by Sex: March 2025 1, 2

  1. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  2. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

Table 3: Median Pay (£) by Analogous Grade Level and Sex: March 2025 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  1. This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher grade level.

  2. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  3. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  4. The pay gap is the percentage by which female median pay is below or above male median pay. A minus sign before the percentage denotes that female median pay is above male median pay.

  5. A cell showing N/A means that no staff fall into that category, so it is not possible to determine if there is a gap.

  6. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

  7. Gender pay gap refers to the difference in male and female pay.

Table 4: Median Pay (£) by Analogous Grade Level and Community Background: March 2025 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  1. This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher grade level.

  2. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  3. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  4. The pay gap is the percentage by which Catholic median pay is below or above Protestant median pay. A minus sign before the percentage denotes that Catholic median pay is above Protestant median pay.

  5. Details for HOCS have been excluded to avoid disclosing community background (-).

  6. A cell showing N/A means that no staff fall into that category.

  7. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

Table 5: Median Pay (£) by Analogous Grade Level and Disability: March 2025 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  1. This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher grade level.

  2. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  3. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  4. The pay gap is the percentage by which the median pay of staff who have declared a disability is below or above the median pay of staff who have not declared a disability. A minus sign before the percentage denotes that the median pay of staff who have declared a disability is above the median pay of staff who have not declared a disability.

  5. Details for HOCS have been excluded to avoid disclosing Disability status (-).

  6. A cell showing N/A means that no staff fall into that category, so it is not possible to determine if there is a gap.

  7. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

Table 6: Median Pay (£) by Analogous Grade Level and Age-Group: March 2025 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  1. This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher grade level.

  2. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  3. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  4. The pay gap is the percentage by which the median pay of those aged 50+ is below or above the median pay of those aged 16-49. A minus sign before the percentage denotes that the median pay of those aged 50+ is above the median pay of those aged 16-49.

  5. A cell showing N/A means that no staff fall into that category, so it is not possible to determine if there is a gap.

  6. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

Table 7: Median Pay (£) 2020-2025, by Sex 1, 2, 3

  1. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  2. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  3. Figures take account of backdated pay awards (either using calculations or actual data on backdated pay).

Table 8: Median Pay (£) 2020-2025, by Analogous Grade Level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  1. This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher responsibility level.

  2. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  3. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  4. Figures take account of backdated pay awards (using actual data on backdated pay).

  5. A cell showing N/A means that no staff fall into that category.

  6. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

  7. Please note that at HOCS level there is only one staff member. This staff member changed in 2021.

Table 9: Increase in pay, March 2024 to March 2025, by Analogous Grade Level 1, 2, 3, 4

  1. This table compares the salaries from March 2024 to March 2025 for Permanent and Casual staff who have not changed grade.

  2. Some totals have been presented as ranges to avoid disclosing another number (lower than 4).

  3. ‘Other’ staff are staff not on NICS Pay Scales.

  4. ‘*’ denotes the number of cases is below 4.

Table 10: Median Pay (£) by Age: March 2025 1, 2

  1. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  2. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees

Table 11: Median Pay (£) of Civil Servants across the UK, by Analogous Grade Level: March 2024 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten.

  2. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  3. Pay represents the full-time equivalent salaries of part-time employees.

  4. This table shows staff in their substantive responsibility level unless on temporary promotion in which case staff are recorded at the higher grade level.

  5. For GB, workplace postcode data are used to derive geographical information.

  6. The Northern Ireland (NICS) data excludes Industrial staff and other staff not on NICS pay scales.

  7. For purposes of comparison, the NICS EOI and EOII grades are amalgamated.

  8. GB Civil Service departments define their own grades below SCS Level. During the data collection that underlies these statistics, GB departments are asked to map their own grade structure onto the Civil Service-wide structure. Because of this mapping, these grade figures will contain the salaries of individuals who may have unusually high or low salaries for the grade.

  9. Please note, this section is based on data as at March 2024, as data for March 2025 was not available by time of publication. This publication will be updated when the 2025 data become available.

Table 12: Mean and Median Basic Weekly Pay (£), Northern Ireland: March/April 2024 1, 2, 3,

Sources: DoF (HR Connect figures) and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, NISRA

  1. Pay represents gross basic annual salaries only; overtime, allowances and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  2. Pay represents the actual pay of part-time employees i.e. they are not full-time equivalent values. The pay of part-time employees are therefore dependent on the number of hours worked.

  3. Please note, this section is based on data as at March 2024, as data for March 2025 was not available by time of publication. This publication will be updated when the 2025 data become available.

Background Notes

Concepts and Definitions

The Northern Ireland Civil Service

  1. The Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) is the civil service of the devolved administration. It includes staff working in the 9 Northern Ireland ministerial departments and staff working in the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (which is a non-ministerial Government department). Civil servants in the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and the Office of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland are also included.

  2. In the NICS, there are two separate collective bargaining units for pay: one for Non-Industrial staff and one for Industrial staff. There are separate arrangements for the pay of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) Prison Grades, and Learning and Skills staff in NIPS. Each of the pay systems differ in their pay progression arrangements – see Paragraphs 14-17. Approximately 92% of NICS personnel are Non-Industrial staff on NICS pay scales.

Coverage of NICS Staff

  1. Unless otherwise stated, figures relate to Industrial and Non-Industrial staff, both permanent and casual. Permanent employees are employees with a contract with no agreed expiry date or a fixed-term contract of more than 12 months. Temporary/casual employees are those with a fixed term contract of twelve months or less, or employed on a casual basis.

    When analyses are broken down by analogous grade, a separate row/column is presented for Industrial 1, 2, and 3 staff, and Other staff (those not on NICS pay scales), as analogous grades are not available for some of these staff.

    Agency staff and a small number of other staff, in various Departments, who are not on NICS pay scales are excluded.

Pay

  1. ‘Pay’ and ‘pay band’ refer to gross basic pay only. Overtime, allowances, and non-consolidated payments are excluded.

  2. Many of the tables refer to median pay. The median is one of several different ways of determining the average of a group of numbers, and it is defined as the middle number in a list of numbers which has been sorted from lowest to highest. For example, the median of the following group of numbers is 3000.

    1000, 2000, 3000, 30000, 80000

    Another commonly used method of calculating the average is the mean, which is simply the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers there are. In the case of the numbers above for example, the mean is 23200 (i.e. 1000+2000+3000+30000+80000=116000/5=23200).

    In deciding whether to use the mean or the median as the measure of average of a set of data, a lot depends on the nature of the data. Sets of numbers which include a few very high or very low numbers (outliers) can artificially make the mean very high or low. In the case of the numbers presented above, the mean is a misleading indicator of the average, because 1 of the 5 numbers is significantly higher than the other 4.

    In such cases, the median is a more accurate way to describe the average, particularly when discussing salary data because these often have relatively few very high values.

  3. Table 2 refers to bottom and top decile pay. The bottom decile is the 10 per cent of staff with the lowest pay. The top decile is the 10 per cent of staff with the highest pay.

  4. Table 1 and Table 2 refer to lower and upper quartile pay. The lower quartile is the 25 per cent of staff with the lowest pay. The upper quartile is the 25 per cent of staff with the highest pay.

Data Sources, Quality and Validation

  1. Pay data for NIPS Prison Grade staff have come from the data system (Compass) of this Agency. Pay data for all other NICS staff14 have come from HRConnect, the Human Resource Service of the NICS. Figures take account of backdated pay awards (either using calculations or actual data on backdated pay). While every care has been taken in collating these data, they are subject to the limitations inherent in any large-scale recording system and to variation in recording practice over time.

  2. Both HR Connect and Compass provide individual-level data at a high level of detail. The data cover all staff in the NICS and other non-NICS public bodies. Both systems are managed on a day-to-day basis by private sector companies which run regular data quality checks. In addition to the quality checks carried out by the data supplier, pay data are also subject to extensive automated and manual quality assurance checks when the data are received by Workforce Statistics & Analysis (WSA was formerly known as HRCS. This change took effect from 1 April 2024).

  3. Specific to this publication are, for example, checks carried out to ensure that changes to an individual’s pay and/or grade (e.g. through normal pay awards, movement up pay scales, by promotion, or temporary promotion) are correctly recorded from one year to the next. Any anomalies or errors identified as a result of these checks are referred back to HR Connect or Compass (via appropriate channels) to be corrected at source by the data supplier on their IT systems.

  4. Given the importance of pay to employees, and the fact that employees are very likely to quickly flag up problems with the data (for example, if they don’t receive their pay, or if they don’t receive their correct level of pay), the pay data are considered to be as complete and accurate as possible.

    Following guidance provided by the Office for National Statistics on the Quality Assessment of Administrative Data, information pertaining to data quality and validation is continually being assessed.

  5. With reference to Tables 1a and 2a, please note that some pay bands have been combined to avoid potential disclosure of pay information. This has resulted in some pay bands in these tables being unequal. However, this means that no data have been removed or suppressed and that coverage in these tables is therefore 100%.

Analogous grades

  1. Each grade in each occupational group has an associated grade level. The table below lists the grade levels in descending order of seniority, along with the abbreviation used for each grade.
Grade Level Abbreviation
Head of the Civil Service HOCS
Permanent Secretary Perm Sec
Grade 3 G3
Grade5 G5
Grade 5 and above SCS
Grade 6 (Senior Principal) G6
Grade 7 (Principal) G7
Deputy Principal DP
Staff Officer SO
Executive Officer I EOI
Executive Officer II EOII
Administrative Officer AO
Administrative Assistant AA
Industrial 3 Ind 3
Industrial 2 Ind 2
Industrial 1 Ind 1

Pay Progression arrangements of the pay systems in the NICS

Non-Industrial Staff15

  1. Each Non-Industrial grade has a pay scale consisting of a minimum pay point, a maximum pay point and a number of fixed pay points in between. Individuals may be paid on any pay point within the pay scale.

    The operative date of the annual pay award is 1 August. The reporting year, upon which the pay award is based, is 1 April to 31 March.

    Individuals whose performance is deemed as satisfactory and who meet certain eligibility criteria, for example in relation to service during the reporting period, would be eligible for the annual pay award.

NIPS Prison Grades

  1. Prison grades either have pay scales consisting of a minimum pay point, a maximum pay point and a number of fixed pay points in between, or single point rates. The operative date of the annual pay award is 1 April. Progression arrangements are dependent on grade and pay structure.

NIPS Learning and Skills Staff

  1. Teachers within NIPS are paid on a pay scale consisting of a minimum pay point, a maximum pay point and a number of fixed pay points in between. The operative date of the annual pay award is 1 September. Pay scales are increased in reference to Further Education pay scales as determined by the College Employers Forum. Individuals whose performance is deemed as satisfactory and who meet certain eligibility criteria, for example in relation to service during the reporting period, would be eligible for an incremental progression increase.

Industrial Staff

  1. Prior to 2016, the Industrial pay system was very different from that of Non-Industrial staff. However over the course of 2016 and 2017, the NICS implemented the outcome of an Industrial Pay and Grading Review, the purpose of which was to simplify and improve the Industrial pay system and align it with Non-Industrial pay.

    Industrial staff in the NICS are now classified as Industrial 1, 2, or 3 and are analogous to the non-industrial AA, AO and EOII grades. Industrial 1 grades are, in the main, unskilled or semi-skilled roles. Industrial 2 grades mainly carry out skilled trades, crafts and supervisory roles, and Industrial 3 grades hold distinct management responsibilities.

    As with the Non-Industrial staff, the operative date of the annual pay award is 1 August.

Non-Industrial Pay and Grading Review

  1. In 2011 the NICS commenced a Comprehensive Pay and Grading Review. As a result of this, in August 2012 all pay scales below SCS level were shortened to a maximum of 6 points between the minima and maxima and the EOII and EOI maxima and minima were increased to a greater extent than that for other grade levels. For staff at EOII and EOI levels, assimilation to the new pay scales was based on their period of reckonable service in the grade. Revised pay scales for all grades were introduced in August 2013. For staff at SO, DP, Grade 7, and Grade 6 levels, assimilation to the new pay scales was based on their period of reckonable service in the grade. In cases where the assimilation terms resulted in staff being assimilated to a pay less than their current pay, staff were assimilated to a point on the pay scale that was of the next highest monetary value, or the maximum if appropriate. Further details of the NICS Non-Industrial Pay and Grading Review can be found at NICS Pay and Grading Review for Non-Industrial Staff (opens a new window).

Industrial Pay and Grading Review

  1. Over the course of 2016 and 2017, the NICS implemented the outcome of an Industrial Pay and Grading Review, the purpose of which was to simplify and improve the Industrial pay system and align it with Non-Industrial pay. This resulted in an increase in pay for some Industrial staff in this year, necessary to ensure equity of treatment of those staff. Further details of the NICS Industrial Pay and Grading Review can be found at NICS Pay and Grading Review for Industrial Staff (opens a new window).

Voluntary Exit Scheme

  1. On 2 March 2015 the NICS-wide Voluntary Exit Scheme was launched. The Scheme involved the voluntary early departure of staff in 5 tranches with the following leaving dates; 30 September 2015, 30 November 2015, 31 January 2016, 30 March 2016 and 31 May 2016. In total 2,996 staff members left the NICS under this scheme.

Further Information

  1. Media enquiries should be directed to the Department of Finance Press Office on Tel: 028 9081 6724 or send an email to: dof.pressoffice@finance-ni.gov.uk.

  2. To keep up to date with news from the Department you can follow us on the following social media channels:
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  3. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service For Media Enquiries Only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

Annex 1

General Service Pay Ranges16, by Analogous Grade, NICS and Departments in GB
The tables below show the minimum and maximum of the pay range for each general service grade in the NICS, the Scottish Government, and various GB Departments. Departments which have amalgamated grades (e.g. AA and AO) are not included in this set of tables; the Welsh Government is excluded for this reason. The GB Departments in this list are different from that provided in previous years due to a request from users that we present a broader range of GB Departments.

AA

Organisation Minimum Maximum
NICS £24,336 £24,336
Department for Education £25,605 £25,605
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £24,510 £24,510
Department of Health and Social Care N/A N/A
Department for Business & Trade N/A N/A
Department for Work and Pensions £26,086 £26,086
Home Office £23,800 £23,800
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office N/A N/A
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £26,770 £26,770
Cabinet Office N/A N/A
Department for Transport £23,583 £23,583
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £26,548 £26,548
Ministry of Justice £23,583 £23,583
Scottish Government¹ £25,235 £28,131

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and each GB Department.

  1. A3 grade, equivalent to AA/AO.

AO

Organisation Minimum Maximum
NICS £24,952 £26,504
Department for Education £25,605 £25,605
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £25,070 £25,070
Department of Health and Social Care £24,209 £24,209
Department for Business & Trade £27,685 £27,685
Department for Work and Pensions £26,086 £26,086
Home Office £26,750 £26,750
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £28,000 £28,000
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £26,770 £26,770
Cabinet Office £25,678 £25,678
Department for Transport £25,159 £25,159
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £26,548 £26,548
Ministry of Justice £24,202 £24,202
Scottish Government¹ £29,013 £31,177

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and each GB Department.

  1. A4 grade.

EOI/EOII/Executive Officer

Organisation Minimum Maximum
NICS £28,734 £32,293
Department for Education £29,180 £30,268
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £28,710 £29,810
Department of Health and Social Care £28,433 £30,039
Department for Business & Trade £28,695 £30,664
Department for Work and Pensions £30,975 £30,975
Home Office £30,000 £31,500
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £30,000 £31,500
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £29,475 £31,536
Cabinet Office £28,791 £30,088
Department for Transport £29,525 £30,262
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £27,707 £29,637
Ministry of Justice £28,312 £30,011
Scottish Government £32,455 £35,203

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and each GB Department.

SO/Higher Executive Officer

Organisation Minimum Maximum
NICS £35,560 £36,783
Department for Education £33,834 £37,025
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £33,590 £36,000
Department of Health and Social Care £33,476 £36,755
Department for Business & Trade £34,254 £36,142
Department for Work and Pensions £37,497 £38,373
Home Office £37,300 £39,911
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £37,200 £41,200
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £36,320 £39,234
Cabinet Office £36,728 £40,670
Department for Transport £34,233 £36,577
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £34,584 £38,044
Ministry of Justice £34,140 £37,105
Scottish Government £36,944 £42,244

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and each GB Department.

DP/Senior Executive Officer

Organisation Minimum Maximum
NICS £43,584 £46,712
Department for Education £41,458 £45,566
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £41,220 £45,400
Department of Health and Social Care £41,026 £45,497
Department for Business & Trade £41,156 £45,112
Department for Work and Pensions £42,614 £45,081
Home Office £44,720 £47,850
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £44,500 £49,500
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £44,110 £47,664
Cabinet Office £42,382 £45,920
Department for Transport £42,848 £46,631
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £39,365 £48,608
Ministry of Justice £41,463 £45,276
Scottish Government £45,894 £54,952

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and each GB Department.

Grade 7

Organisation Minimum Maximum
NICS £56,863 £60,820
Department for Education £56,353 £65,103
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £54,470 £61,000
Department of Health and Social Care £54,444 £62,324
Department for Business & Trade £55,836 £62,823
Department for Work and Pensions £55,557 £66,058
Home Office £60,300 £66,330
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £55,500 £64,000
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £56,344 £62,590
Cabinet Office £55,403 £61,939
Department for Transport £54,857 £60,419
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £52,082 £61,084
Ministry of Justice £56,532 £64,048
Scottish Government £57,701 £71,942

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and each GB Department.

Grade 6

Organisation Minimum Maximum
NICS £67,371 £73,494
Department for Education £68,623 £75,778
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £65,430 £73,280
Department of Health and Social Care £68,503 £76,243
Department for Business & Trade £67,170 £76,117
Department for Work and Pensions £72,664 £77,740
Home Office £73,900 £81,290
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £67,000 £77,000
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £68,966 £76,979
Cabinet Office £67,126 £71,795
Department for Transport £67,313 £74,406
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £59,003 £71,686
Ministry of Justice £68,967 £78,842
Scottish Government¹ £74,480 £85,964

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and each GB Department.

  1. Minimum of C2 grade and maximum of C3 grade.

SCS Pay Band 1/NICS Assistant Secretary (Grade 5)

Organisation Minimum Maximum¹
NICS £81,614 £91,575
Department for Education £76,000 £117,800
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £76,000 £117,800
Department of Health and Social Care £76,000 £117,800
Department for Business & Trade £76,000 £117,800
Department for Work and Pensions £76,000 £117,800
Home Office £76,000 £117,800
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £76,000 £117,800
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £76,000 £117,800
Cabinet Office £76,000 £117,800
Department for Transport £76,000 £117,800
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £76,000 £117,800
Ministry of Justice £76,000 £117,800
Scottish Government £90,718 £94,383

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and Cabinet Office.

  1. Care should be taken in interpreting the large differences between the NICS and GB Departments in the pay maximum of SCS staff. In 2012 the NICS introduced shorter pay scales for each SCS grade allowing for progression, assuming performance has been satisfactory, towards the maxima. The SCS Pay Scales 1 August 2024 – 31 July 2025 are published on the DoF website.

SCS Pay Band 2/NICS Deputy Secretary (Grade 3)

Organisation Minimum Maximum¹
NICS £104,605 £116,930
Department for Education £98,000 £162,500
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £98,000 £162,500
Department of Health and Social Care £98,000 £162,500
Department for Business & Trade £98,000 £162,500
Department for Work and Pensions £98,000 £162,500
Home Office £98,000 £162,500
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £98,000 £162,500
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £98,000 £162,500
Cabinet Office £98,000 £162,500
Department for Transport £98,000 £162,500
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £98,000 £162,500
Ministry of Justice £98,000 £162,500
Scottish Government £108,393 £117,329

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and Cabinet Office.

  1. Care should be taken in interpreting the large differences between the NICS and GB Departments in the pay maximum of SCS staff. In 2012 the NICS introduced shorter pay scales for each SCS grade allowing for progression, assuming performance has been satisfactory, towards the maxima. The SCS Pay Scales 1 August 2024 – 31 July 2025 are published on the DoF website.

SCS Pay Band 3/NICS Permanent Secretary

Organisation Minimum Maximum¹
NICS £135,008 £154,025
Department for Education £128,000 £208,100
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs £128,000 £208,100
Department of Health and Social Care £128,000 £208,100
Department for Business & Trade £128,000 £208,100
Department for Work and Pensions £128,000 £208,100
Home Office £128,000 £208,100
Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office £128,000 £208,100
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £128,000 £208,100
Cabinet Office £128,000 £208,100
Department for Transport £128,000 £208,100
Department for Culture, Media and Sport £128,000 £208,100
Ministry of Justice £128,000 £208,100
Scottish Government £138,533 £149,953

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and Cabinet Office.

  1. Care should be taken in interpreting the large differences between the NICS and GB Departments in the pay maximum of SCS staff. In 2012 the NICS introduced shorter pay scales for each SCS grade allowing for progression, assuming performance has been satisfactory, towards the maxima. The SCS Pay Scales 1 August 2024 – 31 July 2025 are published on the DoF website.

SCS Pay Band 4/NI Head of Civil Service

Organisation Minimum Maximum¹
NICS £182,104 £208,306
Tier 1 £152,000 £200,000

Sources: DoF (NICS HR), Scottish Government, and Cabinet Office.

  1. Care should be taken in interpreting the large differences between the NICS and GB Departments in the pay maximum of SCS staff. In 2012 the NICS introduced shorter pay scales for each SCS grade allowing for progression, assuming performance has been satisfactory, towards the maxima. The SCS Pay Scales 1 August 2024 – 31 July 2025 are published on the DoF website.

  2. SCS Pay Band 4 was previously published as three separate pay tiers. Since 2024 it is published as one pay band.

Annex 2

NICS Non-Industrial and Industrial Pay Awards 2024, and NIPS Pay Award 2024

2024 NICS Non-Industrial Pay Award

The 2024 pay award applied from 1 August 2024.

All elements of entitlement in this award detailed at (a) to (d) are in respect of a one year period with effect from 1 August 2024 and do not establish any future contractual entitlements.

The elements are as follows:

  1. all eligible satisfactory performers to receive one step progression, subject to band maximum, with effect from 1 August 2024;

  2. AA and analogous civil service pay scale to be revalorised to £24,336, in line with the Civil Service’s continuing commitment to being a voluntary Living Wage Foundation employer;

  3. all points on civil service pay scales AO and analogous to SCS, inclusive, excluding non-NICS retained pay scales, from minimum to maximum, to be revalorised by 3%; and,

  4. any staff receiving less than a 3% consolidated increase, to receive a non-consolidated, non-pensionable payment to bring them up to the equivalent value of 3% of their salary at 31 July 2024 (for those in civil service grades who are in receipt of a salary in excess of the maximum, the 3% would be based on the scale maximum. For those on non-civil service pay scales the 3% would be limited to 3% of the equivalent civil service general service scale maximum).

2024 NICS Industrial Pay Award

The 2024 pay award applied from 1 August 2024.

All elements of entitlement in this award detailed at (a) to (d) are in respect of a one year period with effect from 1 August 2024 and do not establish any future contractual entitlements.

The elements are as follows:

  1. all eligible satisfactory performers to receive one step progression, subject to band maximum, with effect from 1 August 2024;

  2. Industrial 1 pay scale to be revalorised to £24,336, in line with the Civil Service’s continuing commitment to being a voluntary Living Wage Foundation employer;

  3. all points on civil service pay scales Industrial 2 and 3, from minimum to maximum to be revalorised by 3%;

  4. staff receiving less than a 3% consolidated increase, to receive a non-consolidated, non-pensionable payment to bring them up to the equivalent value of 3% of their salary at 31 July 2024.

Implementation of NICS Pay Awards

The operative date for implementation of the annual NICS pay award is in August of each calendar year. Because of this, there is a discrepancy between the date of the annual pay award, and the reporting year on which the report is based – the reporting year is normally a year in advance of the pay award year. Prior to 2017, the pay award was always implemented before the March cut-off – therefore the data was ready immediately on 1st April and we did not have to wait for the correct pay data.

From 2017 to 2021, the pay award was always implemented after March, so it was necessary to wait for the pay award to be implemented to get the correct up-to-date pay data.

The development of a 2-year pay award for the NICS resulted in the 2021 NICS pay award being implemented in October 2021. Therefore the 2022 publication reported on salaries of NICS staff in post at March 2022 who already have had their 2021 pay award salaries updated.

In the case of this report for example, the 2024 NICS pay award was implemented in May 2025, but the financial year on which the report is based is April 2024 to March 2025. Therefore, in order to produce the dataset on which the report is based, information on salaries for staff in post at March 2025 are retrospectively updated with their new salaries after implementation of the 2024 pay award.

2024 NIPS Pay Award

Staff must have been in post on 1 April and have at least 90 days satisfactory performance in the grade to be eligible for the pay award and receive progression and revalorisation. Staff who do not meet these criteria only receive revalorisation. Custody Prison Officers must have attained their Certificate prior to the settlement date to receive progression.

National Statistics Status

National Statistics17 are accredited official statistics. These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in December 2021, following a full assessment. They comply with OSR set standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing or via the OSR website.

If you would like to provide feedback on these statistics, or you require further statistical information, please contact:

Christopher Baird
Workforce Statistics & Analysis
Floor 3
2-4 Bruce Street
Belfast
BT2 7JD

Telephone: 028 9038 8443

E-mail:




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Footnotes