Revealed: Top mandarins’ bumper pandemic bonuses

The news this month that the government will offer nurses a 3 per cent pay rise didn’t exactly go to as ministers had hoped. Public sector workers still facing a pay freeze took umbrage at their exclusion while the UK’s largest nursing union is planning ‘a summer of action’ over what they view as a pitiful raise. But while the government is keen to argue that the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic make it impossible for a large raise, there are some workers who appear to be the exception to the rule.

Following reports in the Telegraph that Treasury civil servants were given pay rises and £15,000 bonuses, a Spectator analysis of accounts released by top governmental and arm’s length bodies show that senior mandarins are enjoying bumper rewards. In total, between £2,000,000 and £3,000,000 in bonuses was paid out to those in charge of the country in the 2020/21 financial year. 

The Cabinet Office dished out up to £70,000 for their top officials last year, including a payment of between £15,000 to £20,000 for Alex Chisholm, the COO of the Cabinet Office.