The application of pay adjustments for civil servants, agreed under the local bargaining clause of the Public Service Agreement 2024–2026, comes into effect following publication of the Government’s latest pay circular. 

The new pay arrangements will apply from 1st September 2025, following approval of the proposals by Fórsa members in a ballot that closed in December. 

The proposals include pay increases of 1.25% at the maximum point of each scale and introduce point ‘skips’ within pay scales. They apply to clerical officers, executive officers, administrative officers, and higher executive officers working in the civil service.  

• The agreed skip points are: 
• Clerical officers: skip at point 11 
• Executive officers: skip at point 10 
• Higher executive officers: skip at point 6 
• Administrative officers (standard scale): skip at point 10 

Administrative officers on the higher scale will receive the 1.25% increase at the maximum point but will not have an incremental skip. 

For service officers, cleaners and related grades, a separate agreement provides for a 1.5% increase at the maximum point of the scale. 

Overtime, premium pay and allowances 

The circular also confirms that the revised pay rates will apply to overtime worked from 1st September 2025. In addition, premium payments (calculated as a percentage of basic pay) and allowances linked to basic pay will both be calculated with reference to the revised rates from the same date. 

Pension increases for members in pre-existing public service pension schemes will be applied in line with pay parity arrangements included in the current public service pay agreement. However, this will not apply to members of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme, who will continue to have pensions uprated separately in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). 

The Civil Service divisional executive committee (DEC) had unanimously recommended acceptance of the proposals negotiated under phase one of local bargaining. Following the ballot result, Fórsa issued a formal letter of acceptance to the Department and sought early engagement on any operational or processing issues arising from implementation. 

Fórsa deputy general secretary and head of the Civil Service division, Éamonn Donnelly, said the agreement was a significant early outcome for local bargaining and would help protect remaining claims as negotiations continue: “Local bargaining is a unique feature of the current agreement and gives us a fresh opportunity to pursue a second local bargaining claim as part of any successor agreement.  

“It also highlights the collective bargaining strength of our union and the impact of every vote cast in favour of these new terms. Fórsa anticipates an imminent discussion on the claim lodged on behalf of engineer grades, and we will pursue further claims under phase two of local bargaining, which will fall due after the expiry of the current public service agreement in June,” he said. 

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