Civil service pay link

Diversity targets must be met

The government plans to link top civil servants’ pay to diversity targets, with those who don’t make the grade losing out on bonuses.

Figures published earlier this month showed the government is embracing diversity, with the government meeting its 3.2% target for ethnic minorities at senior levels. It narrowly missed its target of 3% for people with disabilities and 25% for women.

Targets set for 2008 have raised the bar even higher. The government will require 37% of the workforce to be women, 4% from ethnic minorities and 3.2% people with disabilities.

Civil service chiefs who achieve the targets will receive a performance bonus, under a scheme similar to one pioneered by US retailer Wal-Mart.

Minority recruitment performance will be one of the factors taken into consideration when top civil servants negotiate their bonuses, which can be worth in the region of £10,000 a year.

“A truly representative workforce will enable policies and services to be developed that will result in better outcomes for everyone in society,” said Sir Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and the UK’s top civil servant.

But not everyone in the recruitment industry has been convinced by the idea.

“It should be the right person for the job and you should not have these targets,” said Colleen Morrison, managing director of MRB recruitment.

But Steve Carter, managing director of Nigel Lynn Associates, said: “Although the box-ticking mentality is alive and well in some sectors, there is a blindingly obvious business case for having a diverse workforce.

“If you want to attract top talent you can’t be restrained by outdated ideas of what that talent will look like – or what gender it is likely to be; not if you want to remain competitive.”

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