Performance-related pay is unfair

A system of performance-related pay at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is discriminatory against black and minority ethnic staff and those at the bottom of the pay scale, research by civil service union PCS has found.

After studying data supplied by the OFT, the union concluded that the performance marking system was more likely to penalise black and Asian staff than their white colleagues. And staff in lower grades were also less likely to get high marks.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka called for a "more unified civil service pay system that eradicates discrimination and inequality", and called on the OFT to "move swiftly to eradicate any discrimination inherent in staff pay".

However, despite acknowledging that the performance pay system contains inequalities, the OFT is continuing to impose it on staff.