Civil service grades

What are the civil service grades?

Civil servants’ seniority is denoted by their grade. There are five broad groupings of grades in the civil service:

• Administrative officer/Administrative assistant (AO/AA)
• Executive officer (EO)
• Senior executive officer/Higher executive officer (SEO/HEO)
• Grades 6 and 7
• Senior civil service (SCS)

The SCS includes four different grades, from SCS1 – SCS4. These correspond to the roles of deputy director, director, director general and permanent secretary.

While these are the broad grades that exist across the civil service, some departments use their own grade structures which map onto the one above, or are in the process of transitioning to the structure above. Similarly, job titles signalling levels of seniority are not uniform across the civil service. Terms such as ‘senior policy adviser’, ‘head of’, or ‘lead’ are often applied to different grades in different departments.

How many civil servants are there at each grade?

The largest grade grouping in the civil service is SEO/HEO. There were 151,680 (FTE) officials at these grades in 2024, making up 31% of the civil service. The senior civil service is the smallest, consisting of 7,295 officials (1%) in 2024. The figures for all the grades in 2024 were:

• AO/AAs – 123,040 (25%)
• EOs – 126,965 (26%)
• SEO/HEOs – 151,680 (31%)
• Grade 6/7s – 77,990 (16%)
• SCS – 7,295 (1%)

How have the numbers of civil servants at each grade changed over time?

Between 2010 and 2016, as the civil service shrank , the numbers were mainly shed at the lowest grades. In both absolute and percentage terms, reductions were concentrated among the most junior AO/AA grades.

The post-2016 expansion of the civil service did not replace these officials. Indeed, the ranks of AO/AAs continued to shrink. Instead, this period saw growth in slightly more senior as well as mid-level ranks. The number of EOs, for example, having fallen between 2010 and 2016, began to rise and had returned to 2010 levels by 2024. The ranks of SEOs and HEOs and grades 6s and 7s expanded by 62% and 106% respectively between 2016 and 2024. 

 In 2024, there were more than 100,000 fewer AO/AAs than in 2010 (a decline of 45%) but more officials at every other grade. This is the first year for which this is true – the number of EOs, for example, was still below 2010 levels in 2023 and was 1.2% higher in 2024. Both the SCS and SEO/HEO ranks have expanded by around 50% since 2010, while the numbers of grades 6s and 7s have expanded by 121%. The result is that the civil service has become significantly more weighted towards the middle and more senior ranks.

This change could be explained by a necessary or inevitable shift in the grade structure of the civil service, for example reflecting the automation of administrative roles. There is clear evidence for this in some departments, such as DWP and HMRC. But Institute analysis suggests that ‘grade inflation’ is the major cause. This has occurred through officials being promoted earlier than they otherwise would have been, and roles being advertised at higher grades, as ways to recruit and retain the best officials in an environment of inflation-eroded pay.

How do grade compositions differ across departments?

There are marked differences in the grade compositions of different departments. Departments such as the Ministry of Justice, Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Transport – where large proportions of staff work on ‘frontline’ services, such as in Jobcentres – tend to have larger proportions of more junior officials.

How much are civil servants at each grade paid?

Civil service pay varies from a median of around £24,500 at the AO/AA grade to almost £89,000 at the SCS level. In 2024, 30 officials earned more than £200,000.

But average pay at each grade differs substantially by department. Our explainer on civil service pay provides more detail.

How old are civil servants at each grade?

The published data does not allow us to calculate an average age at each grade. But we can see which broad age groups are best represented at each grade. For example, a plurality of officials at the AO/AA and EO grades are in the 50–59 age bracket.