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Foreign Office admits it is worst government department for pay

Man wears British embassy vest at the ferry terminal at Santander, Spain.
The ferry terminal at Santander, Spain. Photograph: Markel Redondo/Getty

The Foreign Office has become Britain’s worst government department for pay, and the situation is becoming unsustainable, it has admitted in evidence to parliament’s foreign affairs select committee.

It also says staff are rejecting jobs because of the uncompetitive rates, and in only 55% of 554 filled postings requiring a foreign language does the occupant meet the expected level of language skill. A further 154 posts remain vacant.

The description of the state of the Foreign Office runs counter to the optimistic vision set out the the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson in his resignation statement to MPs. He said the department was a flourishing, expanding institution ready to take on the role as champions of “global Britain”. Johnson pointed to an expansion of the number of embassies under his stewardship.

But the Foreign Office seems to admit that the number of diplomatic staff may become less important if the quality of staff declines owing to low pay.

The pay crisis, the Foreign Office admits in its evidence, is also affecting the performance of the embassies. Pay for local staff across the globe continues to be a challenge to its ability to attract the best candidates.

The select committee is conducting an inquiry into the skills set inside the Foreign Office (FCO), including its language and specialist skills.

The evidence submitted by the department says: “Cabinet Office data shows that the FCO currently has the lowest median pay of any government department for policy officers and middle management officers.

“At policy officer level our base pay is 19% lower than the leading department, while the gap at middle management stands at 20%. This disparity has led to only 11% of our London-based staff reporting that they feel positive about pay, ranking us 98th out of the 98 organisations featured in the annual government staff survey.”

It adds: “Although the FCO is still viewed as an attractive employer, and we have attracted and retained the staff we need, the situation is becoming unsustainable.

“Over 70% of those leaving cite poor pay as the main reason for doing so. In a recent campaign for policy officers (separate to the fast stream), 33 out of 159 successful candidates subsequently decided not to join, citing pay as a key contributing factor.

“Applicants for specialist roles regularly compare our package negatively to other government departments and external organisations.”

It adds: “We are able to attract excellent candidates for specialist roles but retention is a problem, especially where individuals may be looking for more rapid salary advancement and quicker promotion.”

Local staff in embassies represent an increasingly large part of the Foreign Office workforce largely because they are cheaper to employ, but it appears the pay levels being offered do not even match local labour market conditions. The Foreign Office says: “Pay for local staff across the globe will continue to be a challenge to our ability to attract the best possible candidates for roles. In 44% of our posts, local staff are currently paid below the 40th percentile in the local jobs market.”

In 2016-17, there were 4,499 UK-based FCO employees, and 8,366 local staff.

Garry Graham, a deputy general secretary of the trade union Prospect, said: “If the new Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is serious about promoting ‘global Britain’ and expanding our global influence then his top priority should be making sure his department and embassies can pay to hire and hold on to the best staff.

“Government must withdraw the insulting civil service pay guidance and engage in serious discussion with the unions, otherwise we are clear that we are prepared to go to court to fight for a fair deal for civil servants.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said it was addressing a longstanding pay problem and improving its language training. It added that it had sought Treasury permission for greater flexibility to use administrative savings to increase salaries.

In separate evidence to the select committee, Heidi Maurer, a fellow in EU and international organisations at the London School of Economics, says the salary for Foreign Office researchers is £20,000 less than for comparable academics.

“Salary for research analysis in the Foreign Office, for example on a D7-grade, range from £55,434 to £68,539,” she said. “Comparable academic salaries in the UK show the strong disincentive that FCO research analysts face: they earn £20,000-£30,000 less a year than academic experts on an equal level.”