Research and analysis

NCA Evidence to the NCA Remuneration Review Body (NCARRB), 2024 to 2025 (accessible)

Published 7 May 2024

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Executive Summary

The Government’s vision for the NCA is as the elite law enforcement agency with a lead role for reducing crime and protecting the UK against Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). SOC has a devastating impact on the public: it exploits the most vulnerable people; undermines communities; and has a corrosive effect on our economy.

The NCA continues to protect the public by disrupting and bringing to justice those serious and organised criminals who pose the highest risk to the UK. SOC is increasing in scale in response to drivers including geopolitical instability, economic challenges and advances in technology. The NCA needs to constantly adapt to the ever-changing threat posed by the most harmful offending, including child sexual abuse, economic and cybercrime, fraud, trafficking of illegal drugs and firearms and organised immigration crime.

Almost all SOC threats have a significant overseas dimension; are enabled by technology; and for growing threats such as cyber and fraud, increasingly take place online. SOC actors are highly capable adversaries, especially given the increasing role of States in SOC threats.

The NCA has an integral role within a set of overlapping communities. It is part of the National Security Community along with the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) and Defence. It is part of the law enforcement community with wider policing, H.M. Revenue and Customs and other executive agencies, and it is part of the Government strategic community, of the Home Office family and constitutionally within the Civil Service.

The specialist skills we require in the NCA workforce are not unique to the NCA: the police have investigators; several operational agencies have technical operations and human intelligence officers; an increasing number of organisations need financial, cyber and data analysts; child protection officers work in local authorities; and lawyers, commercial officers and HR specialists exist in most large organisations.

What does make the NCA unique is the sheer breadth and diversity of skills we draw from across the three primary market sectors (Civil Service, Police and Private Sector) that enable the organisation to deliver its end to end mission and system leadership role. It is important the NCA can attract, retain and develop our highly skilled workforce.

The NCA has made significant improvements to reduce recruitment timeframes. However, the rigorous vetting requirements for the NCA means it still takes considerably longer than most organisations to appoint staff. We must continue to attract staff who have the right skills and can pass the highest vetting standards in the UK.

The NCA was formed with pay arrangements that now need to be refined to underpin our workforce strategy and our future success. We have until 2023 had two pay mechanisms – one recommended by the NCA Remuneration Review Body (NCARRB) for officers with powers and the remaining workforce covered by the Civil Service pay remit. In 2022 we secured one pay envelope and in 2023 we were able to make the case that the NCARRB should consider our whole workforce in its recommendations. The NCARRB have been asked to do the same for 2024. While roles within the NCA are distinct, our workforce strategy depends upon us offering careers and development that encourage movement across the organisation.

The NCARRB’s 2023 report was categorical that these issues can only be resolved with an NCA wide restructuring of our pay and employment framework and in March 2024 the NCA has submitted a business case for these reforms.

In parallel with reform of pay structures however, the key issue facing the NCA for 2024 is ensuring that our pay ranges and pay of our officers do not fall further behind that of the police. We are seeking a consolidated pay uplift to officers pay and the NCA maximas in line with the uplift for police to prevent the gap in competitiveness widening, and to ensure the NCA has the agile workforce it needs to identify and dismantle criminals and networks who cause harm within our communities and to institutions.

It is imperative that pay awards strike a careful balance in recognising the vital importance of public sector workers, whilst ensuring affordability and delivering value for the taxpayer.

Last year’s historically high pay awards were made in light of the extraordinary macroeconomic context. Accepting these recommendations, whilst not increasing borrowing, required tough decisions.

Chapter 1: NCA Context

1.1. The NCA’s role in tackling Serious and Organised Crime

1.1.1. The National Crime Agency’s mission is to protect the public from serious and organised crime. The NCA achieves this by degrading the most harmful organised crime groups and leading the wider law enforcement system to reduce the threat.

1.1.2. Serious and organised crime is a threat to the UK’s national security, to its economic prosperity and to the safety of its people. It is pervasive and can affect all aspects of life, driving serious violence and anti-social behaviour on the streets, undermining how people connect and act online, trapping and abusing the vulnerable, and diminishing the UK’s prosperity and security. In the coming years, the most harmful criminals will become better at hiding their identities and criminal activity, and at exploiting the online and international domains. Unless the UK transforms its response accordingly, the corrosive effect of serious and organised crime will damage people’s lives in ever more complex and harmful ways in their homes, on the streets and online.

1.1.3. Serious and organised crime continues to increase in scale in response to drivers including geopolitical instability, economic challenges and advances in technology. Organised crime groups (OCGs) have proven adaptable in the face of these drivers, with at least 59,000 offenders involved in serious and organised crime across the UK in 2023. The impact of their activity can be felt as they work to exploit the vulnerable, dominate communities and undermine the UK’s prosperity.

1.1.4. The ways in which criminals exploit the vulnerable is seen primarily across the threats posed by child sexual abuse (CSA), organised immigration crime, and modern slavery and human trafficking. An estimated 680,000- 830,000 adults pose a sexual threat to children in the UK, equal to 1.3- 1.6% of the adult population. As of 2023, there were an estimated 1.4 million users of The Onion Router (an encrypted network that enables users to use the Internet, chat and send instant messages anonymously) in the UK, with searches for CSA material accounting for over 40% of searches on the dark web.

1.1.5. In terms of organised immigration crime, the number of detected small boat arrivals increased from 27,176 to 45,746 in 2022, with almost all of these journeys facilitated by OCGs. It is highly likely that the 840 OCGs recorded by law enforcement as involved in organised immigration crime, seek to exploit irregular migrants following their arrival in the UK. Debt bondage is commonly used to pay for the crossing, which puts migrants at risk of becoming victims of modern slavery. As of 2023, a minimum of 6,000 offenders were involved in modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK, with a minimum of 7,964 potential victims identified.

1.1.6. Communities across the UK continue to experience harm as a result of drugs and firearms. Despite the ongoing seizure of large quantities of cocaine and heroin, the wholesale price of both drugs declined in 2022, indicating abundant supply and stable demand across the UK. There is also a growing threat from the greater prevalence and range of varieties of synthetic drugs available in the UK. Drug-related deaths increased to 4,564 in 2021, a rise of 5.5% since 2019.

1.1.7. The NCA’s success in shifting its operational response to the ‘high end of high harm’ continues to generate new insights into the nature and scale of SOC, which has increased and is more harmful. At the time of writing this evidence submission, the National Strategic Assessment 2024 is being finalised for publication. The changing threat, rapidly evolving technology and the global context means the NCA’s mission to protect the public is even more challenging than it was before.

1.1.8. The NCA Workforce Evidence for 2023/24 highlighted the NCA’s core functions: a ‘crime-reduction function’ and a ‘criminal intelligence function’ as set out in the Crime Courts Act 2013, and its key responsibilities:

• Holding the single, most up-to-date intelligence picture of the SOC threat facing the UK and collecting and exploiting data and intelligence (including overseas) to detect and disrupt SOC;

• Investigating and taking action (criminal justice or otherwise) against the highest-harm offenders and their enablers, including through civil recovery and tax proceedings;

• Hosting and providing partners with access to national and specialist capabilities, and providing specialist support to serious and major crime investigations; and

• Setting operational priorities for the SOC system (including roles and responsibilities for a cross-system threat response), providing a prioritised view of demand on it, and measuring and assessing Agency and national system performance against those priorities.

1.1.9. Within these statutory requirements, the NCA has several key responsibilities, the combination of which make the NCA unique in its breadth, scope and reach:

• Running investigations through their entire lifecycle, from proactive subject identification to intelligence development, and ultimately, to arrest or alternative disruption; and

• Sitting alongside policing and the UKIC in the national security landscape. Like the intelligence community, it houses intelligence capabilities, builds proactive intelligence packages against the highest-harm offenders internationally and in the UK and like policing, it undertakes an operational response to criminality, arresting criminals.

1.1.10. The NCA continues to deliver the Strategy 2023-28 to meet the Home Secretary’s priorities to protect the public from SOC, and equip the NCA with the tools, capability and workforce that are required. It will be implemented through four priorities:

• Degrade the most harmful organised crime groups;

• Lead the UK’s operational response;

• Transform the NCA’s capabilities;

• Build a highly skilled workforce.

1.1.11. The following operational case studies illustrate the breadth, complexity and specialist nature of the NCA’s operations against the threat, and required officers to deploy a range of specialist skills, tactics and knowledge across multiple jurisdictions and with multiple partners.

Figure 1: Case Study 1 – Under our Control

Under our Control

In February 2024, after infiltrating the groups’ network, the NCA took control of the world’s most harmful cyber-crime group LockBit, compromising their entire criminal enterprise. LockBit ransomware attacks targeted thousands of victims around the world, including in the UK, and caused losses of billions of pounds, dollars and euros, both in ransom payments and in the costs of recovery. When a victim’s network was infected by LockBit’s malicious software, their data was stolen and their systems encrypted. A ransom was demanded in cryptocurrency for the victim to decrypt their files and prevent their data from being published.

The NCA have been working closely with a number of partners internationally as part of a dedicated taskforce. The NCA’s bespoke technical covert infiltration and disruption is only the beginning; some of the LockBit actors in Europe and US have been arrested and/or criminally charged and over 200 cryptocurrency accounts linked to the group have been frozen. The NCA is also now in a position to support LockBit victims in the UK and help recover encrypted data.

Figure 2: Case Study 2 – Combating Child Sexual Abuse

Mechanic who secretly ran child abuse sites on the dark web is jailed

In February 2024, a mechanic from Cheshire who created and moderated sites dedicated to child sexual abuse on the dark web was jailed for 16 years. Nathan Bake, 28, is one of three UK-based moderators of a site called ‘The Annex’ who were identified by the NCA as part of an investigation targeting those behind the site. The Annex, which is no longer active, had around 90,000 global members who used it to share and discuss some of the most extreme kinds of abuse material, involving ‘hurtcore’ and the sexual abuse of babies and toddlers. New users of The Annex would have to gain the trust of the site’s administrators by posting a certain amount of abuse material, before being granted access to the wider site.

Bake was second in command of the site, which was run by an American man who was sentenced to life in prison in the US in January 2024. Bake and the other moderators would advise members on techniques to evade law enforcement detection, and encourage them to keep the site busy by sharing links to child abuse content. Hundreds of thousands of indecent images and videos of children were also recovered from his storage devices, as was a 576-page paedophile manual. The NCA worked with a number of international partners to target this group of moderators. A further 14 men have been charged in the US for their roles in helping to run The Annex, with eight receiving sentences of between six and 28 years.

Figure 3: Case Study 3 – Deprivation of British Citizenship

High-ranking criminal deprived of British Citizenship

In December 2023, the NCA gave comprehensive evidence at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) to support the Home Secretary’s defence against the appeal of C9, an Albanian national who had been deprived of his British citizenship in September 2020. C9 was a high-ranking criminal facilitating organised immigration crime into the UK by small boats and HGVs, the importation and distribution of Class A and B drugs, and had access to firearms.

The Albanian national also generated significant criminal profit which was laundered both in and out of the UK. The NCA’s approach led to C9 being the first individual to be deprived of their citizenship based on their involvement in serious organised crime rather than national security. SIAC dismissed C9’s appeal in January 2024.

Figure 4: Case Study 4 –Transnational Child Sex Offenders Jailed

Transnational child sex offenders imprisoned with lengthy sentences

As part of a flagship NCA investigation of Transnational Child Sex Offenders (TCSO’s) led by Europol, the Netherlands and the UK, two British men were jailed in November 2023 after the NCA proved they were part of a secret Europe-wide network that travelled the world to sexually abuse children. Investigators identified them both appearing separately in a series of abuse images seized from another member of the network - a Dutch national who was convicted in the Netherlands.

The NCA also recovered over 200,000 indecent images of children and conversations with other offenders via encrypted emails. They discussed children they had met and abused, payments made to victims and their families, and ways in which they could avoid detection by law enforcement. The NCA has identified a further four men based in the UK believed to have links to the network and investigations are ongoing in a number of countries across Europe.

1.2. Background to the NCA

1.2.1. The National Crime Agency (NCA) was formed in October 2013, bringing together a number of bodies: the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA); the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP); the Police Central E-Crime Unit; the Crime and Financial Investigation capability from UK Borders Agency and a small group from the National Fraud Authority (who joined 1 December 2013).

1.2.2. The dominant precursor for the NCA was SOCA whose operational capacity consisted primarily of former police officers. SOCA’s delegated grading structure Grades 1-6 was adopted to minimise disturbance during and after the transition phase to the NCA. In broad terms, the NCA Grade 6 is a support/trainee officer level; Grade 5s are fully qualified officers; Grades 4 and 3 are middle managers and Grades 2 and 1 are senior managers. Grades are determined by a bespoke job evaluation scheme brought over from SOCA under the transition programme. The current NCA grading structure has an equivalency mapping to the standard Civil Service grading structure – although the NCA does not utilise AA Grades.

1.2.3. Table 3: Workforce by Command in Annex A shows the variety of Command’s in the NCA and their relative size of the overall workforce.

Chapter 2: The NCA’s Approach to Pay

2.1. Powered and non-powered officers

2.1.1. Section 14 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (The National Crime Agency (Remuneration Review Body) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)) provides for the Home Secretary to make arrangements for determining the NCA’s pay and related matters. The NCARRB was established under this section to provide independent advice to the Home Secretary on pay matters for powered officers. Pay for non-powered officers is covered by the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance, however since 2022 the NCARRB have provided advice for the NCA’s whole workforce.

2.1.2. In 2023, of the NCA’s total workforce of 5973 officers, 37% were designated with operational powers, although a large number of our operational staff are not required to hold powers. In our operational commands^{[footnote 1]} the split is 44% powered / 56% non-powered officers^{[footnote 2]}.

2.1.3. Although the 2013 Crime and Courts Act expressly states that “NCA functions are exercisable on behalf of the Crown” [Schedule 1, Part 1], there is no provision that excludes non-powered officers from undertaking operational work. The NCA’s workforce strategy therefore relies on a high degree of movement between roles. It supports officers’ career development by enabling movement between operational and enabling capabilities, and enables the NCA to develop a multi-skilled workforce which can respond to emerging threats in an agile manner. This workforce model is essential for the efficient and effective delivery of the NCA’s strategic and operational priorities.

2.1.4. Almost every Command – both operational and enabling capabilities – has powered and non-powered officers in which work and functions are shared. The NCA requires powered and non-powered officers to work together in unified teams and to be treated fairly.

2.1.5. Many of the NCA’s critical functions, such as assessing threats, are not directly operational but are still vitally important for disrupting organised crime. In operational situations, an investigations team require the power of arrest but will be supported by a number of non-powered officers who are deployed alongside their powered colleagues, for example digital forensics officers and child protection advisors. These officers undertake equivalent risk of harm and disruption of daily life tasks due to deployment obligations at times and locations in the field.

2.1.6. The NCA’s teams have a blend of officers working side by side drawn from the Civil Service, police, intelligence community and private sector. Their pay will vary significantly when securing a role in the NCA due to pay differences in the respective markets, which has created an imbalance within the NCA.

2.1.7. It would be detrimental to exacerbate the perceived unfairness of differences in pay caused by route to post by applying a further pay distinction and paying powered officers more than non-powered officers. Furthermore, data from exit interviews indicates pay (7.58%) is a contributing factor for officers leaving the NCA, alongside career development (6.82%), promotion (22.73%), alternative working conditions (3.79%), retirement (25%) and workplace conflict (9.85%) (see 7). Turnover is not uniformly distributed across the NCA; in some teams within enabling capabilities it is up to 41%, and the NCA as a whole has 9% of posts unfilled due to difficulties attracting and retaining the skilled workforce it needs to conduct its operations. The NCA relies on contingent labour to backfill vacancies where we struggle to recruit, particularly within Enabling Capabilities, Commercial and Investigations. This resource is used to bolster and support key work priorities.

2.1.8. The NCA is keen to explore the implications and opportunities that a change of status of its employees as “Crown” rather than “Civil” servants might have. This work will be conducted during 2024 and the NCA will include its findings in its 2025/26 evidence to the NCARRB.

2.2. Introduction of Spot Rate Roles

2.2.1. The NCA’s underlying reward strategy does not seek to replicate police pay but it must enable us to match pay for those doing comparable roles to support retention of our most specialist and talented officers and minimise the risk of NCA officers leaving to join the police. It is recognised that critical differences exist between the police and the NCA by virtue of NCA officers’ civil servant status. Police officers are also covered by police regulations whereas NCA officers are employed with Civil Service terms and conditions, although all NCA officers are subject to Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) oversight and NCA regulations.

2.2.2. Police pay retains annual progression within its pay ranges in addition to the headline pay awards recommended by the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB). New constables are placed on a 7-point pay scale and reach the top point in seven years. This difference in approach means the NCA pay scales are now misaligned to the police comparators with which they were originally set up to maintain pace, and the gap is widening year on year as the NCA falls further behind.

2.2.3. The NCA pays a pensionable London Weighting allowance for officers working at London locations and is set at £3,847 pa. The PRB evidence last year shows an average London allowance paid of £4,338. In contrast the Metropolitan Police Service pays both non-pensionable and pensionable

London Allowances totalling in excess of £8,000 pa which they are seeking to increase by a further £2,000 this year. Additionally, Transport for London (TfL) services are free for all MPS/British Transport Police (BTP)/City of London Police (COLP) officers, with subsidised travel for other rail services.

2.2.4. The 2018 pay flexibility case, accepted by Ministers, set out difficulties in attracting and retaining capable resource from police. The NCA subsequently introduced spot rate roles for the most critical operational roles including analysts, firearms, cyber and financial investigators.

2.2.5. For roles categorised as spot rated at Grades 1, 2 and 3 there are two spot rates – a lower spot rate (SR1) and a higher rate (SR2). At Grade 4 there are two main spot rates, with only officers from the NCA’s Armed Operations Unit (AOU) receiving a third higher spot rate. At Grade 5 there are three main spot rates with a higher fourth one being paid to officers from the AOU. The spot rates levels are fixed below the NCA’s pay range maxima, and significantly below police maxima, which are considerably higher than the NCA’s. This means that the NCA’s spot rate arrangements are not attractive enough to recruit serving police officers as it would result in a reduction of several thousand pounds in pay. The difference between the NCA spot rate and police maxima at Constable, Sergeant and Inspector grades are £9,000, £6,400 and £12,500 respectively.

2.2.6. Officers on spot rates have the ability to move through the levels within grade, by evidencing the required operational and occupational competencies as set out in the skills matrix. As well as receiving a salary uplift, officers opting to take up spot rate are also required to move from a 37 hour working week to a 40-hour working week. To date, 3309 Grade 1- 5 officers have elected to move to the new Spot Rate Framework, this includes current officers and leavers since implementation.

2.2.7. The benefits of moving to a 40-hour week, excluding breaks, means the NCA relies less on discretionary overtime, and managers have guaranteed working hours to roster. Over 2000 roles are categorised as operational and on the spot rate framework. Between August 2022 and August 2023, an additional 31 officers opted into spot rate, providing the NCA with 93 additional working hours per year – equivalent to 2.51 additional operational FTE protecting the public. Policing work a standard 36.25 hour week, excluding breaks.

2.3. The non-consolidated pay pot

2.3.1. The NCA also operates a non-consolidated pot of money to support performance and retention. A significant proportion of this funding (£1.6 million) is used for Recruitment and Retention Allowances (RRAs) to target roles that are hard to recruit to or have retention risks.

2.3.2. The NCA has a rigorous approach to assessing which roles are eligible for RRAs. Care is taken to ensure the process is fair and based on objective evidence. The budget is somewhat ineffective with relatively small payments targeted to a large number of officers. The average payment levels are consequently very low and insufficient to support recruitment and retention. The turnover within some roles that currently receive an RRA is many times greater than the NCA average of just under 9%.

2.4. The 2023 NCA Pay Settlement

2.4.1. The 2023 pay settlement for the NCA resulted in an uplift of NCA pay ranges and pay by 7%. Last year’s historically high pay awards were made in light of the extraordinary macroeconomic context and was in excess of the Civil Service pay remit and aligned with policing.

Chapter 3: Recruitment, Retention and Pay Comparisons

3.1. Recruitment Needs

3.1.1. The NCARRB has drawn attention to the NCA’s ability to attract, retain and motivate its highly skilled workforce. The NCA is a complex organisation and requires a wide range of skillsets and specialisms to fulfil its mission; the NCA therefore needs to attract candidates from a more diverse set of labour markets than other organisations. Across the entire workforce the NCA recruit approximately a third of staff from policing, a third from the private sector and a third from the Civil Service. In Enabling Capabilities we see a much higher proportion (47%) from the Civil Service, and in operational roles, 37% join from policing. Our skillsets range from investigation roles where our direct comparator is policing; intelligence functions which are comparable with the police and UKIC; cyber roles which are comparable with the private sector and child protection advisors who have strong comparators within local government.

3.1.2. On an annual basis, 8% of our officers move between operational and enabling capabilities commands with key operational skills consistently required within our enabling services. It is crucial the NCA’s future pay arrangements can support the recruitment and retention of a very broad range of skills against a wide range of competitors, each of which price labour differently.

3.1.3. Although the private sector is a large recruitment market, the range of markets, companies and sectors the NCA recruits from is very diverse and varies by grade, command and the nature of roles. There is not a single dominant private sector company or market the NCA recruits from but reliance on skills only readily available in the private sector is a major feature of the NCA. This is due to the number of technical and specialist roles required including forensic scientists, occupational psychologists, and cyber security experts, where the skillsets required are rare and niche.

3.1.4. The price of labour is much higher for most roles above Grade 4 in the private sector and police than the Civil Service, and consequently it is more difficult for the NCA to recruit from these sectors. The wider Civil Service is not as exposed to policing or private sector labour markets as the NCA. The wider Civil Service has its own internal market and uses this much more prevalently to fill roles. The stringent vetting requirements add significantly to recruitment time in the NCA.

3.1.5. The NCA also has a need for enabling capabilities roles such as HR, Finance, Commercial, Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT), Legal and Estates where the NCA is at considerable risk of losing officers to Civil Service departments which, even though our pay scales are often higher, are able to attract NCA officers with roles often graded higher than the NCA equivalent.

3.2. Comparisons of pay in the NCA and competitors

3.2.1. When analysing the NCA’s pay against the Civil Service the NCA compares favourably, but against the police it lags behind.

Table I: Pay Comparison against Civil Service and Police

Grade	NCA Median	Civil Service Median	Police Median
Grade 1 / G6 /Chief Superintendent	£77,559	£65,900	£93,651
Grade 2 / G7 / Superintendent	£61,675	£53,818	£79,563
Grade 3 / SEO / Chief Inspector	£50,697	£39,900	£59,064
Grade 4 / HEO / Sergeant	£45,057	£32,815	£48,129
Grade 5 / EO / Constable	£38,560	£27,144	£43,032
Grade 6 / AO	£24,557	£22,497	N/A

3.2.2. A further analysis of key roles including DDaT, Social Workers and Commercial skills highlights the wide gap in salary. See Table 71 for market comparators for specialist functions. The difference in overall remuneration, including allowances, between the NCA and some Civil Service departments for these specialist roles is high, creating further retention challenges for the NCA.

3.2.3. The NCA requires a blend of internally developed and police experience. Currently there is a clear capability gap between recently trained NCA recruits and end-of-career police officers. The NCA recognises the need to bridge the gap with mid-career serving police officers to minimise the risk of losing in-house developed officers to the police due to salary. Regular movement of officers between policing and the NCA at an earlier stage in their careers would benefit both organisations.

3.2.4. The most prevalent recruitment need is for more serving Sergeants and Constables (equivalent to NCA Grade 4 and 5) to reduce the high percentage of officers close to retirement (see Table 12). The NCA also needs to fill vacancies in operational roles, where turnover is higher than in policing. The NCA’s remit has grown with significant additional responsibilities in recent years, for example leading on disruption of people smuggling and small boats in the English Channel, identification and disruption of organised crime ransom-ware such as Lockbit and identifying and sanctioning Russian Oligarchs. It therefore needs to attract candidates from a larger market and across the full experience/service profile of policing in addition to retired police officers that wish to join the NCA.

3.2.5. The NCA cannot function effectively at the high end of high harm if all vacancies are filled by less experienced officers. The exit interview data set out in Table 51 highlights retirement as the most popular reason for leaving the NCA, comprising a quarter of all leavers.

3.3. Turnover

3.3.1. The NCA’s overall turnover is currently 9% at delegated grades and at a similar rate to the police and the Civil Service and it is recognised that pay is not the only reason why officers leave or reflect the 2023/24 pay award. Operational turnover in the NCA is increasing compared to last year with Investigations at 9.1%, Intelligence at 6.7% and NECC at 9.8%. Threat Leadership is the highest at 11.6%, although this is not unexpected due to this command including Cyber roles and a large number of digital roles where there is larger turnover.

3.3.2. The NCA experiences retention issues in enabling capabilities, particularly within Corporate Business Services (9.1%), Legal (25%) and DDaT (12.7%) who have strong Civil Service connections. It indicates our current pay ranges are not sufficient to retain specialist skills in these areas; see Table III. Similarly, 30% of our lawyers leave for the private sector who offer much more attractive packages.

3.3.3. Due to the specialist nature of the workforce, the NCA’s recruitment and enhanced vetting processes can take up to 12 months, with the average time to hire 9-11 months. Coupled with the time required for new starters to develop NCA specific skills, it can take up to 18 months for staff to be recruited and become proficient in the role. This is a substantial loss for a law enforcement organisation in terms of capability, productivity, and cost.

3.3.4. The NCA’s unfilled vacancies are due to:

• the absence of any appointable candidate;

• candidates declining the job offer;

• candidates failing pre-employment checks; and

• candidates withdrawing during the long vetting and recruitment process – this has increased over the last two years, driven by the cost of living challenges and people being unwilling to wait for job offers.

3.3.5. The NCA is working hard to transform its recruitment and vetting, however security remains paramount and it cannot relax restrictions or vetting processes. The factors listed at 3.3.4 are exacerbated by the lower salaries the NCA offers compared to other market sectors for equivalent Police and Civil Service roles. Comparison with the police suggests the most suitably qualified candidates will tolerate lengthy recruitment arrangements if the pay offer is higher. The NCA submits that any improvement in attractiveness to potential candidates could have a disproportionately high impact on conversion rate and lead to additional savings. The NCA has a programme of activity to optimise the recruitment process and candidate experience. Measures include holding assessment centres where interviews, substance testing, some vetting checks and Occupational Health assessments are all undertaken in one day – reducing timeframes by 10 weeks on previous processes.

3.3.6. Turnover represents a direct cost to the NCA that can be minimised. Each recruitment campaign costs approximately £6,000 plus £300 per post (not including resource for sifting and interviewing). Continuous recruitment places additional burden on teams carrying vacancies, where time is diverted to shortlist and interview candidates. There are also significant additional costs associated with training and equipping new joiners.

3.3.7. Unfilled vacancies disrupt ongoing investigations, and delay key enabling projects and intelligence assessments for critical operations. This necessitates the use of contingent labour or to outsource services. For example, the legal team continues to carry a number of vacancies for legal advisor roles. The Command has employed various measures to address capacity constraints resulting from vacancies, including the utilisation of external commercial law firms (apprentice, trainee and qualified solicitors). In addition to contracting individuals to work in-house at the NCA, the legal team has also instructed external legal providers (including the Government Legal Department and commercial law firms) to conduct litigation cases on behalf of the NCA and provide advice on specific projects and matters.

3.3.8. Although it is normal practice for an in-house legal team to instruct external providers to conduct matters on their behalf, for reasons of expertise, capability and capacity, the vacancy rate within the legal team has driven the implementation of contingent labour and external provider solutions which would have otherwise not been adopted. Using external resource to cover vacancies costs the NCA at least three times more than in-house provision from permanent NCA legal advisors.

3.3.9. The table below highlights the challenge faced within Strategy & Change, Corporate Business Services and DDaT, who have the majority of contingent labour costs – comparative to their command sizes.

Table II: Percentage of Contingent Labour Costs against Command Size & Attrition

Command	Command Size (%)	Percentage of CL costs	Attrition
Strategy & Change	2.83%	2.43%	15.60%
Corporate Business Services	3.31%	23.50%	9.10%
Digital, Data and Technology	4.66%	23.42%	12.70%
Human Resources	4.20%	0.43%	7.40%
Integrated Protective Security	3.54%	0.87%	5.40%
Intelligence	34.69%	11.71%	6.70%
Investigations	31.94%	8.85%	9.10%
Legal	0.93%	0.00% [footnote 3]	25.00%
National Economic Crime Centre	5.44%	1.73%	9.80%
Threat Leadership	7.30%	7.37%	11.60%
Transformation	1.13%	19.69%	N/A [footnote 4]

3.3.10. The NCA is paying £14 million annually for contingent labour with an additional spend of over £78 million per annum on Professional Services, these resources include covering activities where the NCA cannot recruit permanent officers to fulfil the function.

3.3.11. The NCA non-consolidated pot is currently 1% of the overall wage bill.

3.3.12. This means the NCA’s average RRA payments are less than Civil Service departments, with three values of £1,000, £2,000 and £3,000. For example, the average RRA payment made to qualified accountants across the Civil Service is £5,000 pa; technical and cyber roles can receive up to £15,000 pa. The table below shows the salary comparison between the NCA and Civil Service roles within the DDAT, Commercial and Child Protection specialisms.

Table III: Pay comparison between the NCA and Public Sector in key specialisms including allowances

Job Family	Job Title	Market Comparator	NCA Grade	NCA Average Salary	Public Sector Market Average Salary (including allowances) [footnote 5]
Digital, Data & Technology	Head of DDAT	Civil Service	1	£77,842 [footnote 6]	£76,979 +allowances up to £20,000
Digital, Data & Technology	DDAT Senior Manager	Civil Service	2	£63,253 [footnote 7]	£68,065 +allowances up to £20,000
Digital, Data & Technology	DDAT Manager	Civil Service	3	£51,481 [footnote 8]	£46,473 +allowances of £10,000
Safeguarding	Social Worker	Local Councils	5	£35,953 + £3,000 RRA	£41,149 +RRA’s up to £1,500 and welcome bonuses of circa £5,000
Commercial & Procurement	Head of Procurement	Civil Service	1	£75,092 [footnote 9] + £3,000 RRA	£82,550 + 15% allowances
Commercial & Procurement	Procurement Senior Manager	Civil Service	2	£61,675 + £3,000 RRA	£69,320 + 15% allowances
Finance	Senior Financial Accountant	Civil Service	2	£62,497 +£1,000 RRA	£61,220 + £7,000 RRA

3.3.13. The NCA offers higher starting salaries where it is able to; on average 21% of candidates starting above the grade minimum. In addition, 12% of posts are filled by contingent labour. In teams with high turnover such as the Child Protection team, 40% are contingent labour. Given the sensitive and high risk nature of the work, the NCA relies on this resource in order to fight child exploitation.

3.3.14. Additionally, the NCA’s restricted pay targeting (either through RRA or spot rate) contributes to the high level of critical vacancies. As well as using contingent labour to mitigate the impact on operational efficiency, the NCA also utilises overtime; see 5.1.4.8.2.

3.4. Building Capability

3.4.1. The NCA has been focussing on improving internal training and development programmes that will enable officers to join at a more junior grade and progress through the NCA. This will mitigate some of the impact caused by retirement and recruitment delays.

3.4.2. The NCA has a new Officer Development Programme (ODP) for officers to gain accreditation in specific disciplines either via the Intelligence or Investigations Profession. All officers will undertake a generic four month training programme during which they will learn the fundamentals of operational law enforcement. At the end of the four months officers are assessed and will undertake specific training relating to their role. Following successful completion, officers will achieve a nationally recognised qualification relevant to their role.

3.4.3. The NCA also delivers a new Management Development Programme (MDP) for officers at Grades 1-5 with line management responsibility. MDP delivers a series of one day practical workshops with casework examples. Additionally, the NCA’s Onboarding for all new starters, regardless if they are going in to a management role, includes a session on management and leadership expectations, and why being an effective manager is essential within the Civil Service and the NCA. We want our managers to lead by example, embed the core values, behaviours and our expectation of every officer taking pride in who we work for.

3.5. Culture in the NCA

3.5.1. Building the right culture is key to the NCA’s success and essential to secure the trust of our officers and the public. Priority Four of the NCA Strategy emphasises our commitment to establishing a more diverse workforce and inclusive culture. To do this successfully, the NCA needs to shift the culture to attract and retain a high performing workforce who feel they belong at the NCA; are safe and respected; and valued for what they do. The People Survey comments and the NCA’s Cultural Inquiry highlight many positive aspects of the NCA culture, and there are excellent examples of innovation, creativity, brilliant leadership and dedication.

3.5.2. In the past two years, the NCA has launched several initiatives to improve our culture and ways of working including:

• Refreshing the NCA’s Values to set out how it should feel to be an NCA Officer and embed these in our people practices to drive forward cultural change. The new values are Integrity – we do the right thing and act with courage – for our people and for the public we serve, Agility – we are flexible and innovative to stay ahead of the threat, Alliance – we embrace diversity, collaborating with teams and partners, and Excellence – we aspire to be world class in protecting the public from serious and organised crime;

• Identifying six cultural shifts of Collaboration, Recognition, Innovation, Empowerment, Diversity and Identity to ensure we can build a positive culture that supports the NCA and our people;

• Mandating the Allyship programme, designed to equip and encourage officers to actively support and stand up for others, especially those from non-dominant groups;

• Running our EMPOWER Programme, a 12 month structured development programme for officers from an ethnic minority background at Grades 3-6;

• Responding to the recommendations from the HMICFRS report including a revised Discipline and Misconduct policy and launching a new Confidential Reporting Tool to enable users to anonymously submit reports independently and privately from outside of the NCA, using any non-NCA Personal Electronic Device;

• Signing up to the ‘HeforShe’ https://www.heforshe.org/en movement, initiated by the UN to tackle Gender Inequality and Misogyny, addressing the gender imbalance in middle management teams; and addressing and removing sexism and misogyny in the NCA culture;

• Launch of the Reward Voucher Scheme to recognise positive contributions and behaviours; and

• Pilot of the Female Senior Leadership Scheme, aimed at officers G2 and above who identify as female with inspirational speakers from across all sectors.

3.5.3. In addition, work is planned to:

• Publish the Gender Pay Gap report, where initial analysis for 2022-23 indicates a reduction in the mean gender pay gap by 2.7% and median gender pay gap by 3.97%, and with more females being promoted than males in this period. Additionally, between 2016 and 2024, 59% of female officers who participated in a development programme were promoted during this period;

• Develop and introduce ‘Stay Interviews’ aimed at officers who may be thinking of leaving the NCA or are in highly skilled/critical roles;

• Launch ‘Green Dot’, a short training course followed by an active organisational campaign aimed to empower people to tackle inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, challenge everyday ‘isms’, and foster respect, openness and psychological safety in the workplace;

• Development of a new Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Strategy to tackle BHD across the NCA and reduce workplace conflict (9.85%) as a reason for leaving. This is a priority to help with retention as well as officers’ wellbeing and morale.

Chapter 4: Pay Proposition for the NCA for 2024/25

4.1. The case for NCA officers (both powered and non-powered) to receive a headline pay award in line with the police award for 2024/25

4.1.1. The pay award for 2024/25 should address a range of factors including a damaging industrial relations climate with the risks of equal pay legal challenge, withdrawal of goodwill, potential strikes, employee disengagement and higher turnover. The strong link between employee engagement and productivity and delivery is well established, as is the link between dissatisfaction and perceptions of unfairness in pay with employee disengagement.

4.1.2. Whilst recognising the need for a fair and affordable award, it is necessary to ensure the gap does not widen further between the NCA and police pay. By receiving pay awards of equivalent percentage, the NCA is losing pace with Police Forces due to their higher salaries. This is shown in Table 72 where even with an equivalent 7% pay award, the NCA pay gap with policing is widening. This is affordable for the NCA as detailed at paragraph 4.2.7.

4.1.3. We do not consider that this would in any way affect or undermine the pay settlement for police in 2024/25.

4.1.4. NCA officers and trade unions’ dissatisfaction with pay levels in the NCA is causing increasing risks of industrial action and has already resulted in the withdrawal of goodwill in 2023. Over 65% of NCA officers are trade union members. Such disruption is damaging to NCA operations and decreases the NCA’s ability to monitor and combat organised crime including people smuggling gangs both in the UK and overseas.

4.1.5. It is critical that NCA officers are motivated, that pay and workforce arrangements are perceived as fair and not subject to legal challenge and that good industrial relations are maintained with trade unions.

4.1.6. The NCA is not prioritising an ask for a non-consolidated payment for 2024/25 as we consider it more critical that we secure a consolidated pay award that is in line with the police settlement for 2024/25.

4.1.7. The NCA’s 2023 People Survey results showed a further drop for pay and benefits to 21% which is now 13 percentage points below the 2021 data and 11 percentage points below the Civil Service average of 32%. In 2022, the NCA People Survey was 12 percentage points below the 2021 data and that was 6 percentage points lower than the CS average of 28%. Whilst it is recognised the 2023 People Survey was completed before the NCARRB recommendations for the 2023 pay award were known, these scores are the lowest scores for pay and benefits since the inception of the NCA.

4.1.8. Dissatisfaction with pay is consistently raised by officers in a range of engagement fora. This highlights the extent to which pay is a key issue for officers in the NCA.

4.1.9. NCA officers are concerned about the value of the offer the NCA is making in comparison to police. As shown in Table 72, the median pay difference between Police and the NCA at all grades has increased with NCA G5 officers now £7,000 behind their constable equivalents.

4.1.10. The NCA operates arrangements that provide higher pay for London and the South East. The location allowance for roles based in London is £3,847 and for Stevenage/Chelmsford (South East allowance) the location allowance is £3,078.

4.1.11. These location allowances are valuable to recruit and retain in these locations although they are significantly smaller than location allowances in comparable employers e.g. the police payment in London is in excess of £8,000. MPS also funds TfL travel for its officers and subsidises rail travel outside of TfL.

4.1.12. RECOMMENDATION 1: NCA officers (both powered and non-powered) should receive a minimum headline pay award equivalent to the police award for 2024/25. This would represent a consolidated pay award and an uplift in location allowances to ensure the NCA pay gap with Police does not widen.

4.1.13. RECOMMENDATION 2: The NCA’s Location Allowances are increased by a higher level than pay to reduce the gap with the location payments offered to police and particularly the Metropolitan Police.

Table IV: Indicative costs of increasing all location allowances by 1%

	Location Allowance Uplifts (Including NI and Pension costs)	Percentage of total wage bill
1% Uplift	£102,000	0.04%

4.2. NCA Finances

4.2.1. The National Crime Agency (NCA) is funded through two routes: Parliamentary Supply (vote funding) accountable to the Home Secretary for NCA performance, and externally funded projects with funding received from other government departments allocated for specific operational activities to deliver Government priorities.

4.2.2. The budget delegation received from HMT (DEL) is allocated to enable the Accounting Officer to deliver priorities agreed with the Home Secretary. External funding received in addition to DEL is applied to specific operational deliverables. Financial year 2023/24 saw external funding at £193.6 million (resource and capital).

4.3. Funding in 2023/24

4.3.1. In the financial year 2023/24 the NCA budgeted for a 5% pay award effective from 01 August 2023. The additional 2% to fund the approved 7% headline award cost around an additional £2.8 million per annum which was identified from in-year efficiencies including overtime and travel and subsistence.

4.3.2. In order to afford the historically high pay award in 2023/24, the NCA applied a modest constraint on overtime, travel and subsistence and learning and some learning and development to the FY 2023/24 vote RDEL budgets. This was necessary given high inflation in recent years. Financial efficiency targets were included in Directors’ delegated budgets in order to fund the NCA’s priorities as set out in the annual business plan. Vote funding has not kept up with inflation. External funding for specific operational projects has seen funding increases. At the time of writing the budget for financial year 2024/25 is being finalised.

4.4. Pensions

4.4.1. The NCA contributes 28.97% towards officers being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme. The pension scheme arrangement provides officers with financial security and options when they retire as well as benefits for family members and loved ones, including tax relief on contributions, options to increase pensions, life insurance cover and the option of tax-free lump sum on retirement. This is a very generous pension arrangement compared to the private sector and will be more attractive for officers recruited from this sector. Officers who are active police pension members immediately prior to joining the NCA can continue their membership throughout their NCA employment.

4.5. Economic Context

4.5.1. When considering the NCA’s remuneration, the NCARRB should give regard to HM Treasury’s economic evidence. The economy fared better last year than many forecasts had predicted at the start of 2023 and revisions to gross domestic product (GDP) show that the economy also recovered more strongly from the pandemic than previously thought. However, in recent months, the economy has been more subdued with increases in interest rates, necessary to bring down inflation, having weighed on growth in advanced economies including the UK. The economy ended 2023 in a technical recession, having contracted over the final two quarters of the year.

4.5.2. Inflation has more than halved from its peak in late 2022 but remains above the 2% target. Returning inflation to the 2% target is critical for sustainable growth, though it will not fall in a straight line to get there with domestically driven pressures continuing to have an impact. The Bank of England forecast that inflation will return to the 2% target in the second quarter of 2024 before rising slightly again, towards the end of the forecast period.

4.5.3. To combat high inflation, the Bank of England has raised interest rates to 5.25%. This has resulted in additional borrowing costs for many mortgage- holders, businesses, and government. The Government is committed to supporting the MPC to bring inflation back to target by aligning fiscal with monetary policy. Further borrowing, above what is forecast, would add to inflationary pressure which would put upward pressure on interest rates potentially causing them to stay higher for longer.

4.5.4. HM Treasury’s evidence also provides an overview of the labour market context. Settlement data are the most comparable data to PRB decisions, as they are a direct measure of consolidated pay awards, and so are not affected by broader labour market factors such as changes to working hours. According to XpertHR, median settlements across the economy have been between 4.8% and 6.0% so far in 2023-24, making the award for the National Crime Agency slightly ahead of the wider economy.

4.5.5. Wage growth has started to ease from the historically high levels, seen in the summer of 2023, and is forecast to moderate further as the labour market loosens. In their March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that expects average pay growth to almost halve across 2024 and fall below 2% in the second half of 2025 as the labour market loosens. This measure of average earnings growth has historically been higher than average pay settlements, as it is affected by compositional changes in the labour force and factors such as changes to working hours.

4.5.6. These are challenging times for everyone and the NCA’s focus is ensuring a fair pay award which recognises the vital importance of the NCA’s role while minimising inflationary pressures. The recommendations for changes to the NCA’s pay this year (and in the longer term) must be affordable and any longer-term costs from increased pay must be sustainable for the future.

4.6. Implementation

4.6.1. The NCA’s proposed approach is to make any award at the same percentage of salary for all our staff. By not differentiating between our staff, this demonstrates the value that the Government places on the NCA, regardless of their specific responsibilities.

4.7. Affordability

4.7.1. Previously in this chapter we have set out the economic and NCA financial landscape for 2024-25 which builds on the challenging position following the 2023-24 pay round.

4.7.2. Since the Spending Review 2021 the financial landscape has changed with inflation rising substantially higher than anticipated although it is now reducing to expected levels. These pressures have led to re-prioritisation of budgets and challenging efficiency and cashable savings targets, even prior to the submission of this evidence and subsequent decisions on the pay award. The pay award should be considered in this context. The NCA continues to seek further baselining of external funds.

4.7.3. If further reprioritisation were also required this would impact the NCA priorities set by Government. These priorities include degrading the most harmful organised crime groups that pose a threat to the UK and leading the national operational response to serious and organised crime in the UK.

4.7.4. Alleviating recruitment and retention concerns is a strategic priority for the NCA as these issues lead to additional costs. These costs include repeated expensive recruitment exercises, the use of overtime and reliance on expensive contingent labour to cover vacancies, as well as lowering capability and disrupting ongoing activity and investigations.

4.7.5. Each 1% increase in the NCA’s pay for delegated grades would cost £1.4m budgeted on 23/24 payroll costs.

Chapter 5: The NCA’s Long Term Plan for Reform of its Pay and Employment Framework

5.1.1. The NCA’s workforce is critical to its success but the underlying governance structures have not been reviewed since the formation of the NCA in 2013. Specifically, there remains inconsistency as to how pay and workforce matters are controlled as the NCA is covered by both the annual Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance and the NCARRB.

5.1.2. The NCARRB reports over recent years have referenced the need for the NCA to submit a case for multi-year transformational reform in 2024 in order to address the workforce and pay issues that have been highlighted. The NCA recognises the need for reform and is similarly keen to address it expeditiously to resolve the following challenges:

• Lack of recruitment and retention in our hard to fill roles;

• Increasing industrial relations tensions following two years of pay award delays, and low employee motivation and engagement;

• Legal risks associated with equal pay claims (estimated to be over £200 million risk);

• Lack of workforce agility and movement between roles; and

• Lack of parity with policing and UKIC pay.

5.1.3. Our proposals will address these challenges in a cost-neutral manner enabling the NCA to fulfil its mission effectively without higher cost or need for additional funding.

5.1.4. Our intention is to implement the reforms via collective agreement as the changes and savings are contingent on contractual reform – removing the vast majority of overtime and on-call payments increasing. This means the NCA will need to secure majority agreement to the reforms from its whole workforce through collective bargaining.

Annex A: Supporting Data

1. The NCA Workforce

1.1 The Workforce

1.1.1 At 31 August 2023, the NCA had a workforce of 5,973, comprising a mix of directly employed officers, seconded officers, fixed term employees and contingent labour. Their collective skills and diversity of experience are crucial to our operational success.

Table 1: Workforce Employment Status^{[footnote 10]}

Workforce by Employment Status	Headcount
Agency Staff	~
Attached Staff	48
Career Break	65
Commercial Contractor (Contingent Labour)	90
External Staff Loaned In (Costing)	23
External Staff Loaned In (Not Costing)	~
Fixed Term Contract	84
NCA Staff Loaned Out	16
Outsourced Contractor (Professional Fees)	45
Perm Staff Attached Out	~
Perm Staff Seconded Out	~
Permanent Staff	5467
Seconded Officer Costing	103
Seconded Officer Non Costing	13
Student Placement	~
Grand Total	5973

Table 2: Workforce by Grade

Workforce by Grade	Headcount
NCA Grade 1	141
NCA Grade 2	376
NCA Grade 3	942
NCA Grade 4	1776
NCA Grade 5	2525
NCA Grade 6	213
Grand Total	5973

Table 3: Workforce by Command

Workforce by Command	Headcount
NCA Change	140
NCA Corporate Business Services	197
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	266
NCA Human Resources	235
NCA Integrated Protective Security	181
NCA Intelligence	2124
NCA Investigations	1827
NCA Legal	61
NCA Margin[footnote 11]	52
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	316
NCA Strategy	126
NCA Threat Leadership	448

Workforce by Command	Headcount
Grand Total	5973

1.1.2 The majority of the workforce sits within the primarily operational functions of Intelligence and Investigations, with Grades 4 & 5 having the highest number of officers.

1.2 Current Spot Rate and Standard Pay Range Frameworks

Table 4: NCA Spot Rate Framework

Grade	SR1 -Developing	SR2 –Proficient/ Developing at G5	SR3 -Proficient	SR4 - Expert
Grade 1	£77,559	£83,683	–	–
Grade 2	£67,293	£72,584	–	–
Grade 3	£50,697	£54,442	–	–
Grade 4	£45,057	£48,798	–	£50,746
Grade 5	£37,100	£38,560 (Developing 2)	£40,996	£42,620

Table 5: NCA Standard Pay Range Framework

Grade	Minimum	Maximum
G1	£75,092	£91,794
G2	£61,675	£75,332
G3	£50,697	£62,065
G4	£41,347	£50,089
G5	£32,892	£42,424
G6	£24,557	£30,928

1.3 NCA Workforce – Powers

1.3.1 Table 6 provides an overview of powered vs. non-powered officers. Most powered officers are in the commands which are primarily operational, though there are some powered officers in enabling capabilities that are able to support operations where surge capacity is required (shown in Table 6).

Table 6: Powers by Command^{[footnote 12]}

Workforce by Command	Powers	No Powers	Headcount
NCA Change	~	~	~
NCA Corporate Business Services	~	~	~
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	22	244	266
NCA Human Resources	23	212	235
NCA Integrated Protective Security	55	126	181
NCA Intelligence	610	1514	2124
NCA Investigations	1299	528	1827
NCA Legal	~	~	~
NCA Margin[footnote 13]	~	~	~
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	32	284	316
NCA Strategy	~	~	~
NCA Threat Leadership	143	305	448
Grand Total	2206	3767	5973

Table 7: Powers by Command by percentage

Workforce by Command	Powers	No Powers
NCA Change	5.00%	95.00%
NCA Corporate Business Services	1.02%	98.98%
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	8.27%	91.73%
NCA Human Resources	9.79%	90.21%

Workforce by Command	Powers	No Powers
NCA Integrated Protective Security	30.39%	69.61%
NCA Intelligence	28.72%	71.28%
NCA Investigations	71.10%	28.90%
NCA Legal	0.00%	100.00%
NCA Margin	13.46%	86.54%
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	10.13%	89.87%
NCA Strategy	4.76%	95.24%
NCA Threat Leadership	31.92%	68.08%
Grand Total	37%	63%

1.3.2 Table 8 shows that the majority of our powered roles are officers Graded 4 and 5, which are more frontline facing roles.

Table 8: Powers by Grade^{[footnote 14]}

Workforce by Grade	Powers	No Powers	Headcount
NCA Grade 1	37	104	141
NCA Grade 2	114	262	376
NCA Grade 3	333	609	942
NCA Grade 4	691	1085	1776
NCA Grade 5	1025	1500	2525
NCA Grade 6	~	~	~
Grand Total	2206	3767	5973

Table 9: Powers by Working Pattern

Workforce by Working Pattern	Powers	No Powers
Full Time	34.32%	55.63%
Part Time	2.61%	7.43%
Grand Total	37%	63%

Table 10: Powers by Gender

Workforce by Gender	Powers	No Powers
Female	11.69%	34.09%
Male	25.25%	28.98%
Grand Total	37%	63%

Table 11: Powers by Role Type

Workforce by Role Type[footnote 15]	Powers	No Powers
Enabling Function	2.28%	25.73%
Operational	34.66%	37.33%
Grand Total	37%	63%

2. Diversity Data

2.1 Diversity

2.1.1 A diverse workforce enables a culture where different perspectives and knowledge are embraced to innovatively combat newly emerging criminal threats.

2.1.2 Diversity is improving and the NCA continues to embrace initiatives, such as the NCA ODP, to create opportunities for increased representation. This is being furthered through our Inclusion and Culture strategy.

2.2 Overall Workforce

Table 12: Workforce by Age

Workforce by Age Band	Total
16 - 19	0.02%
20 - 29	12.94%
30 - 39	25.30%
40 - 49	24.73%
50 - 59	28.19%
60 - 64	6.88%
65 & over	1.59%
Not Declared	0.35%
Grand Total	100%

Table 13: Workforce by Gender

Workforce by Gender	Headcount
Female	45.77%
Male	54.23%
Grand Total	100%

Table 14: Workforce by Ethnicity

Workforce by Ethnicity	Headcount
EM/Other	9.74%
Not Declared	10.88%
Prefer not to say	3.53%
White	75.84%
Grand Total	100%

Table 15: Workforce by Religion/Faith

Workforce by Religion/Faith	Headcount
No Religion	37.15%
Christian	36.48%
Not Declared	15.05%
Prefer not to say	5.78%
Muslim	2.01%
Hindu	1.00%
Any other religion	0.92%
Sikh	0.89%
Atheist	0.22%
Buddhist	0.20%
Jewish	0.20%
Agnostic	0.07%
Humanist	0.02%
Pelagianism	0.02%
Grand Total	100%

Table 16: Workforce by Disability Declaration

Workforce by Disability Declaration	Headcount
Disabled	4.89%
Not Declared	69.73%
Not Disabled	25.38%
Grand Total	100%

Table 17: Workforce by Sexual Orientation

Workforce by Sexual Orientation	Headcount
Heterosexual/Straight	76.46%
LGB (T)	4.35%
Not Declared	12.92%
Prefer not to say	6.26%
Grand Total	100%

2.3 Commands

2.3.1 Proportionately, fewer officers work part time hours in commands that are primarily operational. The data also shows that female representation is higher within our enabling capabilities teams.

Table 18: Workforce by Working Pattern^{[footnote 16]}

Workforce by Command - Working Pattern	Full Time	Part Time	Headcount
NCA Change	126	14	140
NCA Corporate Business Services	170	27	197
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	242	24	266
NCA Human Resources	192	43	235
NCA Integrated Protective Security	168	13	181
NCA Intelligence	1904	220	2124
NCA Investigations	1651	176	1827
NCA Legal	~	~	~
NCA Margin	~	~	~
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	286	30	316
NCA Strategy	~	~	~
NCA Threat Leadership	417	31	448
Grand Total	5373	600	5973

Table 19: Workforce by Gender

Workforce by Command - Gender	Female	Male	Headcount
NCA Change	75	65	140
NCA Corporate Business Services	113	84	197
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	124	142	266
NCA Human Resources	157	78	235
NCA Integrated Protective Security	85	96	181
NCA Intelligence	937	1187	2124
NCA Investigations	723	1104	1827
NCA Legal	42	19	61
NCA Margin	26	26	52
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	163	153	316
NCA Strategy	77	49	126
NCA Threat Leadership	212	236	448
Grand Total	2734	3239	5973

2.3.2 Table 20 shows the split between operational and enabling function type roles by command. This highlights that even though Intelligence and Investigations are primarily operational commands they are both supported by enabling function type roles, between 2.83-3.31% of the workforce in each command.

Table 20: Workforce by Role Type

Workforce by Command - Role Type	Enabling Capabilities	Operational	Headcount
NCA Change	2.29%	0.05%	2.34%
NCA Corporate Business Services	3.30%	0.00%	3.30%
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	3.11%	1.34%	4.45%
NCA Human Resources	3.93%	0.00%	3.93%
NCA Integrated Protective Security	1.67%	1.36%	3.03%
NCA Intelligence	2.83%	32.73%	35.56%
NCA Investigations	3.31%	27.27%	30.59%
NCA Legal	1.02%	0.00%	1.02%
NCA Margin	0.60%	0.27%	0.87%
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	1.42%	3.87%	5.29%
NCA Strategy	1.93%	0.18%	2.11%
NCA Threat Leadership	2.58%	4.92%	7.50%
Grand Total	28.01%	71.99%	100.00%

Table 21: Workforce by Gender and Role Type

Workforce by Gender - Role Type	Enabling Capabilities	Operational	Headcount
Female	17.31%	28.46%	45.77%
Male	10.70%	43.53%	54.23%
Grand Total	28.01%	71.99%	100.00%

Table 22: Workforce by Command, Gender and Role Type

Workforce by Command, Gender and Role Type	Gender	Enabling Capabilities	Operational	Headcount
NCA Change	Female	1.24%	0.02%	1.26%
NCA Change	Male	1.05%	0.03%	1.09%
NCA Change Total		2.29%	0.05%	2.34%
NCA Corporate Business Services	Female	1.89%	0.00%	1.89%
NCA Corporate Business Services	Male	1.41%	0.00%	1.41%
NCA Corporate Business Services Total		3.30%	0.00%	3.30%
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	Female	1.59%	0.49%	2.08%
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	Male	1.52%	0.85%	2.38%
NCA Digital, Data and Technology Total		3.11%	1.34%	4.45%
NCA Human Resources	Female	2.63%	0.00%	2.63%
NCA Human Resources	Male	1.31%	0.00%	1.31%
NCA Human Resources Total		3.93%	0.00%	3.93%
NCA Integrated Protective Security	Female	0.95%	0.47%	1.42%
NCA Integrated Protective Security	Male	0.72%	0.89%	1.61%
NCA Integrated Protective Security Total		1.67%	1.36%	3.03%
NCA Intelligence	Female	1.93%	13.76%	15.69%
NCA Intelligence	Male	0.90%	18.97%	19.87%
NCA Intelligence Total		2.83%	32.73%	35.56%
NCA Investigations	Female	2.33%	9.78%	12.10%
NCA Investigations	Male	0.99%	17.50%	18.48%
NCA Investigations Total		3.31%	27.27%	30.59%
NCA Legal	Female	0.70%	0.00%	0.70%
NCA Legal	Male	0.32%	0.00%	0.32%
NCA Legal Total		1.02%	0.00%	1.02%
NCA Margin	Female	0.42%	0.02%	0.44%
NCA Margin	Male	0.18%	0.25%	0.44%
NCA Margin Total		0.60%	0.27%	0.87%
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	Female	0.90%	1.82%	2.73%
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	Male	0.52%	2.04%	2.56%
NCA National Economic Crime Centre Total		1.42%	3.87%	5.29%
NCA Strategy	Female	1.21%	0.08%	1.29%
NCA Strategy	Male	0.72%	0.10%	0.82%
NCA Strategy Total		1.93%	0.18%	2.11%
NCA Threat Leadership	Female	1.52%	2.03%	3.55%
NCA Threat Leadership	Male	1.05%	2.90%	3.95%
NCA Threat Leadership Total		2.58%	4.92%	7.50%
Grand Total		28.01%	71.99%	100.00%

2.4 NCA Grades

2.4.1 The data shows that 10.05% of the workforce are part time with Grades 4, 5 and 6 having a higher ratio of which the highest ratio being at Grade 5.

Table 23: Grade by Working Pattern

Workforce by Grade	Full Time	Part Time	Headcount
NCA Grade 1	2.26%	0.10%	2.36%
NCA Grade 2	5.98%	0.32%	6.29%
NCA Grade 3	14.58%	1.19%	15.77%
NCA Grade 4	26.95%	2.78%	29.73%
NCA Grade 5	37.45%	4.82%	42.27%
NCA Grade 6	2.73%	0.84%	3.57%
Grand Total	89.95%	10.05%	100.00%

2.4.2 Table 24 shows there is a higher proportion of females than males at Grade 5 and 6. From Grade 4 the difference shows a higher ratio of males to females, with males more likely to be in a senior role at Grade 1.

Table 24: Grade by Gender

Workforce by Grade	Female	Male	Headcount
NCA Grade 1	49	92	141
NCA Grade 2	144	232	376
NCA Grade 3	376	566	942
NCA Grade 4	743	1033	1776
NCA Grade 5	1292	1233	2525
NCA Grade 6	130	83	213
Grand Total	2734	3239	5973

2.5 Spot Rate Eligibility

2.5.1 Upon the introduction of spot rates, officers were able to voluntarily opt into the framework. This means a proportion of our workforce (6.51%) are in spot rate posts, whilst remaining on the Standard Pay framework. These officers are eligible to opt into spot rate terms at any time. The following data tables detail officers eligible to opt in to spot rate as of August 2023.

2.5.2 The data in tables 25-31 is based on NCA employees on NCA Terms & Conditions.

Table 25: SR Eligibility by Gender

Eligibility by Gender	Spot Rate Officers	Eligible for Spot Rate	Standard Pay Range	Headcount
Female	15.00%	2.31%	28.46%	45.77%
Male	22.67%	4.20%	27.36%	54.23%
Grand Total	37.67%	6.51%	55.82%	100.00%

2.5.3 The highest percentage of officers eligible to opt into spot rates are in the higher age brackets, 2.96% of 50-59 year olds and 1.49% of 40-49 year olds.

Table 26: SR Eligibility by Age

Eligibility by Age Band	Spot Rate Officers	Eligible for Spot Rate	Standard Pay Range	Headcount
16 - 19	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%	0.02%
20 - 29	5.37%	0.25%	7.32%	12.94%
30 - 39	11.60%	0.40%	13.29%	25.30%
40 - 49	8.22%	1.49%	15.02%	24.73%
50 - 59	9.84%	2.96%	15.39%	28.19%
60 - 64	2.16%	1.21%	3.52%	6.88%
65 & over	0.45%	0.15%	0.99%	1.59%
Not Declared	0.02%	0.05%	0.28%	0.35%
Grand Total	37.67%	6.51%	55.82%	100.00%

Table 27: SR Eligibility by Grade

Eligibility by Grade	Spot Rate Officers	Eligible for Spot Rate	Standard Pay Range	Headcount
NCA Grade 1	1.04%	0.08%	1.24%	2.36%
NCA Grade 2	2.49%	0.15%	3.65%	6.29%
NCA Grade 3	0.13%	0.22%	15.42%	15.77%
NCA Grade 4	12.04%	1.81%	15.89%	29.73%
NCA Grade 5	21.97%	4.25%	16.06%	42.27%
NCA Grade 6	0.00%	0.00%	3.57%	3.57%
Grand Total	37.67%	6.51%	55.82%	100.00%

Table 28: SR Eligibility by Religion/Faith

Eligibility by Religion/Faith	Spot Rate Officers	Eligible for Spot Rate	Standard Pay Range	Headcount
No Religion	15.75%	1.51%	19.89%	37.15%
Christian	14.13%	2.36%	19.99%	36.48%
Not Declared	4.22%	1.86%	8.97%	15.05%
Prefer not to say	2.11%	0.54%	3.13%	5.78%
Muslim	0.47%	0.07%	1.48%	2.01%
Hindu	0.15%	0.08%	0.77%	1.00%
Any other religion	0.27%	0.05%	0.60%	0.92%
Sikh	0.35%	0.02%	0.52%	0.89%
Atheist	0.03%	0.02%	0.17%	0.22%
Buddhist	0.07%	0.00%	0.13%	0.20%
Jewish	0.08%	0.02%	0.10%	0.20%
Agnostic	0.03%	0.00%	0.03%	0.07%
Humanist	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%	0.02%
Pelagianism	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%	0.02%
Grand Total	37.67%	6.51%	55.82%	100.00%

2.5.4 When looking at the ethnicity of the workforce population, we can see that officers who identify as White are the highest percentage of officers eligible to opt into Spot Rate (4.59%).

Table 29: SR by Ethnicity

Eligibility by Ethnicity	Spot Rate Officers	Eligible for Spot Rate	Standard Pay Range	Headcount
EM/Other	2.75%	0.45%	6.55%	9.74%
Not Declared	3.08%	1.22%	6.58%	10.88%
Prefer not to say	1.42%	0.25%	1.86%	3.53%
White	30.42%	4.59%	40.83%	75.84%
Grand Total	37.67%	6.51%	55.82%	100.00%

Table 30: SR by Disability Declaration

Eligibility by Disability Declaration	Spot Rate Officers	Eligible for Spot Rate	Standard Pay Range	Headcount
Disabled	1.36%	0.42%	3.11%	4.89%
Not Declared	26.97%	3.83%	38.93%	69.73%
Not Disabled	9.34%	2.26%	13.78%	25.38%
Grand Total	37.67%	6.51%	55.82%	100.00%

Table 31: SR Eligibility by Sexual Orientation

Eligibility by Sexual Orientation	Spot Rate Officers	Eligible for Spot Rate	Standard Pay Range	Headcount
Heterosexual / Straight	30.12%	4.27%	42.07%	76.46%
LGB	1.47%	0.20%	2.68%	4.35%
Not Declared	3.67%	1.59%	7.67%	12.92%
Prefer not to say	2.41%	0.45%	3.40%	6.26%
Grand Total	37.67%	6.51%	55.82%	100.00%

2.6 Terms and Conditions

2.6.1 The majority of the workforce, just over 61%, remains on the Standard Pay Range. Just under 39% of our workforce are on spot rates, with other T&Cs covering 0.05% of our organisation. This is an improvement on last year where spot rates covered 59% and other T&Cs covered 0.15% of our workforce.

Table 32: T&Cs by Gender

T&Cs by Gender	Female	Male	Headcount
Standard Pay Range	30.30%	30.84%	61.14%
Spot Rate	15.47%	23.34%	38.81%
Other T&Cs	0.00%	0.05%	0.05%
Grand Total	45.77%	54.23%	100.00%

Table 33: T&Cs by Working Pattern

T&Cs by Working Pattern	5-day Week	Flexible Working	Shift Working	Headcount
Standard Pay Range	49.89%	10.50%	0.75%	61.14%
Spot Rate	35.31%	3.38%	0.12%	38.81%
Other T&Cs	0.03%	0.02%	0.00%	0.05%
Grand Total	85.23%	13.90%	0.87%	100.00%

Table 34: T&Cs by Working Hours

T&Cs by Working Hours	Full Time	Part Time	Headcount
Standard Pay Range	53.71%	7.43%	61.14%
Spot Rate	36.20%	2.61%	38.81%
Other T&Cs	0.05%	0.00%	0.05%
Grand Total	89.95%	10.05%	100.00%

2.6.2 A higher proportion of officers on the spot rate pay structure tend to hold powers.

Table 35: T&Cs by Powers

T&Cs by Powers	Powers	No Powers	Headcount
Standard Pay Range	14.92%	46.22%	61.14%
Spot Rate	22.02%	16.79%	38.81%
Other T&Cs	0.00%	0.05%	0.05%
Grand Total	36.93%	63.07%	100.00%

Table 36: T&C’s by Age Group

T&Cs by Age Band	Standard Pay Range	Spot Rate	Other T&Cs	Headcount
16 - 19	0.02%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%
20 - 29	7.38%	5.56%	0.00%	12.94%
30 - 39	13.44%	11.85%	0.00%	25.30%
40 - 49	16.19%	8.54%	0.00%	24.73%
50 - 59	18.01%	10.16%	0.02%	28.19%
60 - 64	4.65%	2.21%	0.02%	6.88%
65 & over	1.12%	0.45%	0.02%	1.59%
Not Declared	0.32%	0.03%	0.00%	0.35%
Grand Total	61.14%	38.81%	0.05%	100.00%

Table 37: T&Cs by Ethnicity

T&Cs by Ethnicity	EM/Other	Not Declared	Prefer not to say	White	Headcount
Standard Pay Range	6.88%	7.60%	2.08%	44.58%	61.14%
Spot Rate	2.85%	3.26%	1.46%	31.24%	38.81%
Other T&Cs	0.02%	0.02%	0.00%	0.02%	0.05%
Grand Total	9.74%	10.88%	3.53%	75.84%	100.00%

Table 38: T&Cs by Disability Declaration

T&Cs by Disability Declaration	Disabled	Not Declared	Not Disabled	Headcount
Standard Pay Range	3.50%	41.86%	15.79%	61.14%
Spot Rate	1.39%	27.84%	9.58%	38.81%
Other T&Cs	0.00%	0.03%	0.02%	0.05%
Grand Total	4.89%	69.73%	25.38%	100.00%

Table 39: T&Cs by Sexual Orientation

T&Cs by Sexual Orientation	Heterosexual /Straight	LGB	Not Declared	Prefer not to say	Headcount
Standard Pay Range	45.52%	2.81%	9.02%	3.78%	61.14%
Spot Rate	30.92%	1.54%	3.87%	2.48%	38.81%
Other T&Cs	0.02%	0.00%	0.03%	0.00%	0.05%
Grand Total	76.46%	4.35%	12.92%	6.26%	100.00%

3. NCA Officer Development Programme (ODP)

3.1.1 The NCA ODP is a learning pathway for officers to gain accreditation in a specific discipline, either in the Intelligence or Investigations Profession.

3.1.2 The cohort data below shows the number of officers undertaking the programme. The turnover for this group is low. The diversity of these groups is represented in the ODP diversity statistics shown on the following pages.

Table 40: ODP Cohorts

Cohort	Start Date	Officer Intake	Number of Leavers	Turnover
Cohort 1	2022 Intake	23	1	4%
Cohort 2	2022 Intake	16	0	0%
Cohort 3	2023 Intake	16	0	0%
Cohort 4	2023 Intake	16	0	0%
Total	-	71	1	4

4. NCA Recruitment Activity

4.1 Pipeline Data

4.1.1 During 2023 the NCA has continued to build on the accelerated pace since the Covid-19 pandemic on recruitment. Table 41 shows the changes in recruitment activity from 2019-2023.

Table 41: Number of Candidates added to the NCA Pipeline

Month	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	Number difference 2022 - 2023	Percentage difference 2022 - 2023
January	41	213	102	76	71	-5	-7%
February	75	271	83	86	100	14	16%
March	114	133	96	77	50	-27	-35%
April	83	249	107	94	106	12	13%
May	49	215	109	180	105	-75	-42%
June	51	229	130	80	95	15	19%
July	86	162	143	91	197	106	116%
August	71	196	80	90	200	110	122%
September	86	229	73	32	226	194	606%
October	73	276	80	100	122	22	22%
November	71	287	124	109	86	-23	-21%
December	15	40	27	72	81	9	13%
Total	815	2500	1154	1087	1439	352	32%

4.2 Labour Markets

Table 42: Percentage of Candidates by Sector

NCA Candidate Source	Percentage Total
Private	30.41%
Civil Service	30.30%
Police	29.26%
Education	4.91%
Public Sector	2.61%
Unemployed	0.94%
Charity	0.84%
Other	0.63%
UKIC	0.10%

Table 43: Percentage of Candidates for Operational Commands

Operational Commands Candidate Source	Percentage of Candidates
Police	37.20%
Private	27.90%
Civil Service	24.39%
Education	5.49%
Public Sector	2.59%
Charity	0.91%
Unemployed	0.91%
Other	0.61%

Table 44: Percentage of Candidates for Enabling Capabilities

Operational Commands Candidate Source	Percentage of Candidates
Civil Service	47.10%
Private	34.75%
Police	8.88%
Education	3.86%
Public Sector	3.09%
Unemployed	1.16%
Charity	0.39%
Other	0.39%
UKIC	0.39%

4.3 Operational Pipeline

4.3.1 When looking at the recruitment of operational roles we can see the challenges the NCA faces. These roles are categorised by the following headings:

• Firearms – These are Specialist roles within our Armed Operations Unit (AOU), these roles can receive the ‘Expert’ spot rate salary.

• Intelligence Officer/Analyst – These are campaigns which fill vacancies across the NCA’s Intelligence command, as either an Intelligence Officer or within an Analyst team.

• Specialist Intelligence – Our Specialist Intelligence teams include Forensic roles (physical or digital), Technical Operations and Human Intelligence (HUMINT).

• Investigations Officer – These are frontline roles investigating Serious and Organised Crime, which includes the arresting and interviewing of suspects.

• Specialist Investigations – Our Specialist Investigation teams include Social Workers, Financial Investigators and surveillance.

• Our Intelligence Officer/Analyst and Investigations Officer campaigns have improved considerably, however specialist recruitment has become more challenging.

Table 45: Job Offers by Campaign

Recruitment Campaigns - Offers	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	Number Difference	Percentage Difference
Firearms	18	13	2	2	11	9	450%
Intelligence Officer/Analyst	34	242	0	29	44	15	52%
Investigations Officer	80	142	9	75	113	38	51%
Specialist Intelligence and Investigations	173	102	127	48	95	47	98%
Total	305	499	138	154	263	109	71%

Table 46: Conditional offers by applicant

Recruitment Campaigns – Applicants & Offers	Number of Applicants	Number of Offers	Percentage Conversion of Applicant to Offer
2019 Firearms	97	18	19%
2019 Intelligence Officer/Analyst	389	34	9%
2019 Investigations Officer	460	80	17%
2019 Specialist Intelligence & Investigations	2034	173	9%
2019 Total	2980	305	10%
2020 Firearms	96	13	14%
2020 Intelligence Officer/Analyst	1780	242	14%
2020 Investigations Officer	1351	142	11%
2020 Specialist Intelligence & Investigations	3002	102	3%
2020 Total	6229	499	8%
2021 Firearms	6	2	33%
2021 Intelligence Officer/Analyst	0	0	NA
2021 Investigations Officer	92	9	10%
2021 Specialist Intelligence & Investigations	470	127	27%
2021 Total	568	138	24%
2022 Firearms	34	2	6%
2022 Intelligence Officer/Analyst	408	29	7%
2022 Investigations Officer	544	75	14%
2022 Specialist Intelligence & Investigations	541	48	9%
2022 Total	1527	154	10%
2023 Firearms	58	11	19%
2023 Intelligence Officer/Analyst	574	44	8%
2023 Investigations Officer	929	113	12%
2023 Specialist Intelligence & Investigations	813	95	12%
2023 Total	2374	263	11%

5. Productivity Statistics

5.1 Increase in Hours

5.1.1 As the spot rate framework has developed, the number of officers working 40 hours per week has increased annually. Over the period from implementation to date we have seen 3309 officers join the spot rate framework.

5.1.2 That increase in officers on spot rate represents an increase in 268.30 FTE for a 37 hour week, or 248.18 for a 40 hour week.

Table 47: Productivity by Grade

NCA Grade	Increase in Officers since SR Implementation	Increase in Hours	Increase in FTE (37 Hours)	Increase in FTE (40 Hours)
NCA Grade 1	71	213	5.76	5.33
NCA Grade 2	172	516	13.95	12.9
NCA Grade 3	9	27	0.73	0.68
NCA Grade 4	1179	3537	95.59	88.43
NCA Grade 5	1878	5634	152.27	140.85
Total	3309	9927	268.3	248.18

5.2 Wellbeing and Sickness

5.2.1 The spot rate framework was introduced in 2018. With the increase in hours from 37 to 40 hours, compared to those on standard terms and conditions, the tables below outlines percentage of sickness days lost. Although spot rate officers are working three hours extra a week, the data suggests that sickness levels are lower than those officers on the standard pay range.

5.2.2 Absence has been lower during the COVID 19 Pandemic; with spot rate sickness levels even lower than 2018 and 2019. Whilst they have risen during 2022 with non-spot rate roles seeing a higher sickness rate than spot rate officers, we see a decrease in 2023.

Table 48: Wellbeing and Sickness by Year

T&C	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Non Spot Rate	1.83%	1.63%	1.57%	1.56%	2.25%	1.96%
Spot Rate	1.20%	1.20%	0.97%	1.00%	1.72%	1.69%
Total	1.71%	1.60%	1.53%	1.36%	2.04%	1.86%

6. Leavers – Attrition Rates

6.1.1 Attrition has been steadily increasing since 2020/21 with more officers leaving now that the pandemic has ended.

Table 49: Annual Attrition by Grade

Turnover	Annual Attrition 18/19	Annual Attrition 19/20	Annual Attrition 20/21	Annual Attrition 21/22	Annual Attrition 22/23
NCA Grade 1	15.5%	21.2%	12.4%	14.5%	11.9%
NCA Grade 2	11.1%	13.1%	11.8%	11.8%	12.0%
NCA Grade 3	7.5%	10.8%	7.3%	9.0%	9.1%
NCA Grade 4	6.4%	7.4%	5.5%	5.9%	7.0%
NCA Grade 5	8.5%	7.5%	7.5%	6.1%	8.9%
NCA Grade 6	15.0%	15.0%	11.3%	14.5%	13.5%
Total	8.5%	9.0%	7.5%	7.4%	8.8%

Table 50: Annual Turnover by Command^{[footnote 17]}

Command	Annualised
NCA Change	19.4%
NCA Corporate Business Services	9.1%
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	12.7%
NCA Human Resources	7.4%
NCA Integrated Protective Security	5.4%
NCA Intelligence	6.7%
NCA Investigations	9.1%
NCA Legal	25.0%
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	9.8%
NCA Strategy	11.8%
NCA Threat Leadership	11.6%
Totals	8.8%

7. Leavers – Exit Questionnaire

7.1.1 In order to understand the reasons for our officers leaving, we have examined data from our exit questionnaire. This data has been collected from January 2021 to December 2022. The table below shows that pay and benefits is a concern for officers. Whilst pay and benefits alone will not secure talent in the NCA, it is a key part of our wider reform programme to remain competitive.

Table 51: Exit Questionnaire - Reasons for Leaving

Reasons for leaving[footnote 18]	Percentage of officers
Retirement	25.00%
Promotion	22.73%
Workplace Conflict (bullying, harassment, discrimination, line management issue)	9.85%
To seek different working conditions	9.09%
Pay and Benefits	7.58%
To gain new opportunities	6.82%
Location (leaving area, work nearer home)	6.06%
Personal circumstances (ill health/family reasons/caring responsibilities)	4.55%
End of Planned contract/secondment/contract	4.55%
Work-life Balance/Workload	3.79%
Grand Total	100.00%

7.1.2 Another primary reason for leaving the NCA was work life balance/workload, to seek different working conditions and personal circumstances (ill health/family reasons/caring responsibilities). We have seen, due to Covid-19, our officers adapting to homeworking well (as a short term measure), and data has outlined that our sickness levels have decreased from previous years. Flexible working may have been a cause of this and partially contributed to a better work life balance, resulting in better productivity for the NCA. The NCA is evaluating the success of this through our hybrid working pilot.

7.1.3 When considering what officers liked the most about working for the NCA, their team and relationships came out top, with their role and the opportunity to work on SOC also featuring highly.

Table 52: Exit Questionnaire - Reasons for Working at the NCA

What did you like most about working for the NCA?	Percentage of officers
Your Team/Relationships	32.31%
Your Role/Responsibilities	23.08%
The opportunity to work on Serious Organised crime	26.15%
Working arrangements (e.g. flexible working, work-life balance)	9.23%
Pay & Wider Benefits	3.85%
Learning and Development Opportunities	2.31%
Feeling valued/Recognition	0.77%
NCA Culture	1.54%
Opportunities beyond immediate role (diversity groups, staff boards etc.)	0.77%
Grand Total	100.00%

Table 53: Exit Questionnaire - Reasons for Choosing New Employer

Reason for choosing new employer[footnote 19]	Percentage of officers
Pay	20.33%
Type of role	18.70%
Promotion	17.89%
Location	11.38%
Flexible Working	11.38%
Learning & Development	7.32%
Organisational values	4.88%
Culture	4.88%
Opportunity	1.63%
Wellbeing	0.81%
Facilities	0.81%
Grand Total	100.00%

8. Other Pay Elements

8.1 Temporary Promotion

8.1.1 The tables below represents the grade of the role covered by Temporary Promotion as at 31st August 2022 and 31 August 2023.^{[footnote 20]}

Table 54: Temporary Promotion as at 31 August 2022

Grade	Female	Male
NCA Grade 1	~	23
NCA Grade 2	26	36
NCA Grade 3	92	85
NCA Grade 4	122	113
NCA Grade 5	44	29

Table 55: Temporary Promotion as at 31 August 2023

Grade	Female	Male
NCA Grade 1	~	21
NCA Grade 2	27	39
NCA Grade 3	78	85
NCA Grade 4	129	116
NCA Grade 5	32	14

8.2 Overtime

8.2.1 As a law enforcement agency we need to prepared to react to the changing nature of crime, this includes deploying officers outside of working hours and going beyond the normal working week. Officers at Grades 3-6 inclusive are entitled to request payment or time off in lieu (TOIL) for overtime worked, with the exception of Grade 3 officers on spot rates.

8.2.2 Authorised overtime is payable at the following rates:

• Overtime worked on a rostered working or non-working day is paid at plain time up to 37 hours (or 40 hours if on spot rate framework) per week;

• Overtime worked on a rostered working or non-working day is paid at time and a half rate where over 37 hours (or 40 hours) are worked;

• Overtime worked on a rostered rest day or Bank Holiday with less than 14 calendar days’ notice is paid at double time (with no requirement to have worked 37 (or 40) hours);

• Overtime worked on a rostered rest day or Bank Holiday where 14 or more days’ notice is paid at plain time in line with i) and ii) above);

8.2.3 During 2023-24 the NCA has a current spend level £12.7m on overtime with the majority of overtime claimed in operational roles, with Intelligence and Investigations the biggest claimants.

Table 56: Total Overtime Claimed by Command

Command	Total Overtime claimed
NCA Corporate Business Services	£147,850
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	£165,043
NCA Human Resources	£229,369
NCA Integrated Protective Security	£442,020
NCA Intelligence	£3,864,588
NCA Investigations	£6,987,263
NCA Legal	£539
NCA National Economic Crime Centre	£132,556
NCA Strategy & Change	£145,774
NCA Threat Leadership	£568,472
NCA Transformation Directorate	£20,620
Grand Total	£12,704,094

8.2.4 At the NCA officers at Grades 3-6 are eligible to claim overtime, the below table shows that Grades 4 and 5 are the highest claimants, which matches with those two grades being the biggest grades in the NCA.

Table 57: Total Overtime Claimed by Grade

NCA Grade	Total Overtime claimed
NCA Grade 3	£2,852,884
NCA Grade 4	£4,857,904
NCA Grade 5	£4,942,115
NCA Grade 6	£51,190
Grand Total	£12,704,094

8.2.5 Looking at overtime claims by officers with and without powers, the split favours with powers which is to be expected due to officers being required to be deployed regularly.

Table 58: Total Overtime Claimed by Powers

Powers	Grand Total
Powers	69%
No Powers	31%
Grand Total	100%

8.2.6 The tables below show the diversity & inclusion characteristics of overtime, showing the gender split, ethnicity, age groups and working patterns of claimants. The percentage breakdowns broadly reflect the NCA workforce, with there being minor differences in some areas.

Table 59: Total Overtime Claimed by Gender

Gender	Grand Total
Female	29.54%
Male	70.46%
Grand Total	100.00%

Table 60: Total Overtime Claimed by Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Grand Total
EM/Other	6.62%
Not Declared	10.02%
Prefer not to say	4.24%
White	79.12%
Grand Total	100.00%

Table 61: Total Overtime Claimed by Age Group

Age Group	Grand Total
20 - 29	8.70%
30 - 39	22.30%
40 - 49	26.34%
50 - 59	34.89%
60 - 64	6.64%
65 & over	1.13%
Grand Total	100.00%

Table 62: Total Overtime Claimed by Working Pattern

Working Pattern	Grand Total
5 day Week	91.82%
Flexible Working	5.41%
Shift Working	2.76%
Grand Total	100.00%

8.3 Contingent Labour

8.3.1 During 2023-24 we are spending £11.53m in contingent labour costs, with the majority spend being in DDaT and Corporate Business Services which are relatively small commands. This spend is a considerable increase year on year, and the NCA is forecasting to spend over £14m on CL that covers vacancies, a significant figure on an annual basis that could be used to fund pay reform

Table 63: Contingent Labour Costs by Command

Command	Total Spend To Date (£m)
NCA Corporate Business Services	2.71
NCA Digital, Data and Technology	2.70
NCA Human Resources	0.05
NCA Intelligence	1.35
NCA Investigations	1.02
NCA Integrated Protective Security	0.10
Suspicious Activity Reporting (SARS)	0.20
NCA Strategy & Change	0.28
NCA Threat Leadership	0.85
NCA Transformation Directorate	2.27
Total	11.53

8.4 People Survey

Table 64: 2023 People Survey Results - Pay

People Survey	Result	Percentage point change
Pay & Benefits	21%	-1%
Overall engagement	57%	-2%
Pay comparison with other organisations	19%	-1%

9. Salary Analysis

9.1 Spot Rate Framework

9.1.1 The spot rate framework allows our officers to progress along a number of spot rate values as their skills and experience builds. The below table shows which spot rate value our officers currently are on as of 1st August 2023.

Table 65: Number of officers on SR by Grade

Grade	Spot Rate	Number of Officers
NCA Grade 1	SRG1-1	16
NCA Grade 1	SRG1-2	34
NCA Grade 1 Total		50
NCA Grade 2	SRG2-1	41
NCA Grade 2	SRG2-2	87
NCA Grade 2 Total		128
NCA Grade 3	SRG3-1	5
NCA Grade 3	SRG3-2	4
NCA Grade 3 Total		9
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-1	227
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-2	504
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-3	15
NCA Grade 4 Total		746
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-1	261
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-2	393
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-3	687
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-4	26
NCA Grade 5 Total		1367
Grand Total		2300

9.1.2 Due to the job market which we recruit from, the majority of officers on the spot rate framework are male. One of the priorities for the NCA is making our workforce more diverse. As officers progress through the ODP, we expect to see more females on spot rates. It is important we provide female officers with opportunities to progress up the grade structure. At Grade 1 we only have 12 female officers on the spot rate framework compared to 38 male officers, it is the differences within the spot rate structure which will have the biggest impact on the gender pay gap

Table 66: Number of officers on SR by Grade and Gender

Grade	Spot Rate	Female	Male
NCA Grade 1	SRG1-1	8	8
NCA Grade 1	SRG1-2	4	30
NCA Grade 1 Total		12	38
NCA Grade 2	SRG2-1	12	29
NCA Grade 2	SRG2-2	16	71
NCA Grade 2 Total		28	100
NCA Grade 3	SRG3-1	1	4
NCA Grade 3	SRG3-2	0	4
NCA Grade 3 Total		1	8
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-1	74	153
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-2	149	355
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-3	1	14
NCA Grade 4 Total		224	522
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-1	146	115
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-2	203	190
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-3	303	384
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-4	1	25
NCA Grade 5 Total		653	714
Grand Total		918	1382

9.1.3 If we look at the ethnicity, we see a similar breakdown with the number of EM officers at Grade 1 being zero, with the majority of officers at Grades 4 and 5. As we move towards producing our ethnicity pay gap report, we need to improve opportunities for EM officers at the highest grades. Similar to the gender pay gap, it will be differences in the spot rate framework that will drive the ethnicity pay gap.

Table 67: Number of officers by Grade and Ethnicity

Grade	Spot Rate	White	EM/Other	Prefer not to say	Not Declared
NCA Grade 1	SRG1-1	14	0	2	0
NCA Grade 1	SRG1-2	32	0	0	2
NCA Grade 1 Total		46	0	2	2
NCA Grade 2	SRG2-1	32	4	1	4
NCA Grade 2	SRG2-2	75	1	3	8
NCA Grade 2 Total		107	5	4	12
NCA Grade 3	SRG3-1	4	0	0	1
NCA Grade 3	SRG3-2	3	0	0	1
NCA Grade 3 Total		7	0	0	2
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-1	182	14	8	23
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-2	397	31	21	55
NCA Grade 4	SRG4-3	13	0	1	1
NCA Grade 4 Total		592	45	30	79
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-1	207	35	9	10
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-2	320	40	15	18
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-3	575	43	23	46
NCA Grade 5	SRG5-4	23	0	1	2
NCA Grade 5 Total		1125	118	48	76
Grand Total		1877	168	84	171

9.2 Standard Pay Range

9.2.1 As shown in Tables 32-39 the majority of our officers are on the standard pay range. The below breakdown shows the position in the pay range at each grade for officers on the standard pay range.

Table 68: Standard Pay Range by Grade

Grade	Quartile	Total
NCA Grade 1	Grade Minimum	35
NCA Grade 1	1st Quartile	6
NCA Grade 1	2nd Quartile	4
NCA Grade 1	3rd Quartile	4
NCA Grade 1	4th Quartile	4
NCA Grade 1 Total		53
NCA Grade 2	Grade Minimum	159
NCA Grade 2	1st Quartile	10
NCA Grade 2	2nd Quartile	6
NCA Grade 2	3rd Quartile	8
NCA Grade 2	4th Quartile	1
NCA Grade 2	Grade Maximum	2
NCA Grade 2 Total		186
NCA Grade 3	Grade Minimum	590
NCA Grade 3	1st Quartile	84
NCA Grade 3	2nd Quartile	76
NCA Grade 3	3rd Quartile	32
NCA Grade 3	4th Quartile	7
NCA Grade 3	Grade Maximum	7
NCA Grade 3 Total		796
NCA Grade 4	Grade Minimum	539
NCA Grade 4	1st Quartile	83
NCA Grade 4	2nd Quartile	106
NCA Grade 4	3rd Quartile	86
NCA Grade 4	4th Quartile	44
NCA Grade 4	Grade Maximum	48
NCA Grade 4 Total		906
NCA Grade 5	Grade Minimum	608
NCA Grade 5	1st Quartile	75
NCA Grade 5	2nd Quartile	104
NCA Grade 5	3rd Quartile	156
NCA Grade 5	4th Quartile	89
NCA Grade 5	Grade Maximum	10
NCA Grade 5 Total		1042
NCA Grade 6	Grade Minimum	157
NCA Grade 6	1st Quartile	10
NCA Grade 6	2nd Quartile	11
NCA Grade 6	3rd Quartile	48
NCA Grade 6	4th Quartile	27
NCA Grade 6	Grade Maximum	15
NCA Grade 6 Total		268
Grand Total		3251

9.2.2 When looking at the grade breakdown, we can start to see some of the challenges we face with the gender pay gap, with the majority of female officers sitting in the lower end of each grade although the gap is starting to improve on the standard pay range.

Table 69: Standard Pay Range by Grade and Gender

Grade	Quartile	Female	Male
NCA Grade 1	Grade Minimum	19	16
NCA Grade 1	1st Quartile	2	4
NCA Grade 1	2nd Quartile	1	3
NCA Grade 1	3rd Quartile	0	4
NCA Grade 1	4th Quartile	0	4
NCA Grade 1 Total		22	31
NCA Grade 2	Grade Minimum	79	80
NCA Grade 2	1st Quartile	5	5
NCA Grade 2	2nd Quartile	3	3
NCA Grade 2	3rd Quartile	2	6
NCA Grade 2	4th Quartile	0	1
NCA Grade 2	Grade Maximum	1	1
NCA Grade 2 Total		90	96
NCA Grade 3	Grade Minimum	262	328
NCA Grade 3	1st Quartile	20	64
NCA Grade 3	2nd Quartile	18	58
NCA Grade 3	3rd Quartile	13	19
NCA Grade 3	4th Quartile	2	5
NCA Grade 3	Grade Maximum	0	7
NCA Grade 3 Total		315	481
NCA Grade 4	Grade Minimum	303	236
NCA Grade 4	1st Quartile	36	47
NCA Grade 4	2nd Quartile	52	54
NCA Grade 4	3rd Quartile	27	59
NCA Grade 4	4th Quartile	13	31
NCA Grade 4	Grade Maximum	11	37
NCA Grade 4 Total		442	464
NCA Grade 5	Grade Minimum	395	213
NCA Grade 5	1st Quartile	48	27
NCA Grade 5	2nd Quartile	48	56
NCA Grade 5	3rd Quartile	85	71
NCA Grade 5	4th Quartile	34	55
NCA Grade 5	Grade Maximum	2	8
NCA Grade 5 Total		612	430
NCA Grade 6	Grade Minimum	103	54
NCA Grade 6	1st Quartile	7	3
NCA Grade 6	2nd Quartile	7	4
NCA Grade 6	3rd Quartile	30	18
NCA Grade 6	4th Quartile	22	5
NCA Grade 6	Grade Maximum	6	9
NCA Grade 6 Total		175	93
Grand Total		1656	1595

9.2.3 As with the spot rate framework, the number of EM officers at Grade 1 is low, with EM officers on the whole being at the lower end of the grade pay range.

Table 70: Standard Pay Range by Grade and Ethnicity

Grade	Quartile	White	EM/Other	Prefer not to say	Not Declared
NCA Grade 1	Grade Minimum	30	2	0	3
NCA Grade 1	1st Quartile	6	0	0	0
NCA Grade 1	2nd Quartile	3	1	0	0
NCA Grade 1	3rd Quartile	4	0	0	0
NCA Grade 1	4th Quartile	2	0	1	1
NCA Grade 1 Total		45	3	1	4
NCA Grade 2	Grade Minimum	132	12	5	10
NCA Grade 2	1st Quartile	9	0	0	1
NCA Grade 2	2nd Quartile	6	0	0	0
NCA Grade 2	3rd Quartile	7	0	0	1
NCA Grade 2	4th Quartile	1	0	0	0
NCA Grade 2	Grade Maximum	1	1	0	0
NCA Grade 2 Total		156	13	5	12
NCA Grade 3	Grade Minimum	486	49	23	32
NCA Grade 3	1st Quartile	74	2	2	6
NCA Grade 3	2nd Quartile	63	1	5	7
NCA Grade 3	3rd Quartile	28	1	1	2
NCA Grade 3	4th Quartile	7	0	0	0
NCA Grade 3	Grade Maximum	7	0	0	0
NCA Grade 3 Total		665	53	31	47
NCA Grade 4	Grade Minimum	398	93	16	32
NCA Grade 4	1st Quartile	61	6	3	13
NCA Grade 4	2nd Quartile	90	5	2	9
NCA Grade 4	3rd Quartile	65	5	5	11
NCA Grade 4	4th Quartile	29	4	3	8
NCA Grade 4	Grade Maximum	39	1	4	4
NCA Grade 4 Total		682	114	33	77
NCA Grade 5	Grade Minimum	453	96	25	34
NCA Grade 5	1st Quartile	53	11	1	10
NCA Grade 5	2nd Quartile	75	15	4	10
NCA Grade 5	3rd Quartile	104	18	6	28
NCA Grade 5	4th Quartile	62	4	2	21
NCA Grade 5	Grade Maximum	8	0	0	2
NCA Grade 5 Total		755	144	38	105
NCA Grade 6	Grade Minimum	93	53	3	8
NCA Grade 6	1st Quartile	8	2	0	0
NCA Grade 6	2nd Quartile	7	2	1	1
NCA Grade 6	3rd Quartile	32	11	2	3
NCA Grade 6	4th Quartile	22	3	1	1
NCA Grade 6	Grade Maximum	10	2	0	3
NCA Grade 6 Total		172	73	7	16
Grand Total		2475	400	115	261

10. Market Comparators

Table 71: Pay Comparisons for Key Roles Across Sectors

Job Family	Job Title	Market Comparator	NCA Grade	NCA Average Salary	Public Sector Market Average Salary (including allowances) [footnote 21]
Digital, Data & Technology	Head of DDAT	Civil Service	1	£77,842 [footnote 22]	£76,979 + allowances up to £20,000
Digital, Data & Technology	DDAT Senior Manager	Civil Service	2	£63,253 [footnote 23]	£68,065 + allowances up to £20,000
Digital, Data & Technology	DDAT Manager	Civil Service	3	£51,481 [footnote 24]	£46,473 + allowances of £10,000
Safeguarding	Social Worker	Local Councils	5	£35,953 + £3,000 RRA	£41,149 + RRA’s up to £1,500 and Welcome bonuses of circa £5000
Commercial & Procurement	Head of Procurement	Civil Service	1	£75,092 [footnote 25] + £3,000 RRA	£82,550 + 15% allowances
Commercial & Procurement	Procurement Senior Manager	Civil Service	2	£61,675 + £3,000 RRA	£69,320 + 15% allowances
Finance	Senior Financial Accountant	Civil Service	2	£62,497 + £1,000 RRA	£61,220 + £7,000 RRA

Table 72: Median Pay Gap Between the NCA and Police

Rank	Chief Supt/ NCA Grade 1	Supt / NCA Grade 2	Chief Inspector / NCA Grade 3	Sergeant / NCA Grade 4	Constable / NCA Grade 5
2022	£21,166	£19,061	£11,684	£6,020	£6,995
2021	£19,180	£16,701	£15,252	£6,018	£8,358
2020	£21,164	£21,951	£15,252	£6,018	£7,167
2019	£22,293	£19,927	£13,972	£5,262	£7,461
2018	£18,028	£18,667	£12,613	£3,983	£6,508
2017	£19,064	£16,710	£12,187	£4,193	£6,927
2016	£17,179	£15,223	£11,321	£5,491	£9,963
2015	£17,010	£14,913	£10,087	£4,320	£8,650
2014	£8,603	£10,967	£8,979	£3,816	£8,221

Table 73: Pay Bill per head for NCA and Police

Year	NCA pay bill per head	Police pay bill per head
2022-23	64,811	74,587
2021-22	61,136	71,704
2020-21	62,184	72,942
2019-20	60,377	69,826
2018-19	57,384	65,064
2017-18	56,645	63.058
2016-17	55,225	61,051
2015-16	54,636	57,477

Table 74: NCA and Police pay range maxima

NCA Grade	NCA Maximum	Police Maximum prior to 2023 increase	Difference	Number of pay police pay points	Difference between 2022 and 2023
Grade 1	£91,794	£103,242	£11,448	3	£3,585
Grade 2	£75,332	£90,717	£15,385	4	£1,005
Grade 3	£62,065	£63,198	£1,133	4	£73
Grade 4	£50,089	£51,498	£1,409	4	£92
Grade 5	£42,424	£46,044	£3,620	8	£236

Table 75: Pay Comparison between the NCA and Civil Service Average

Grade	NCA Minima	NCA Maxima	MCA Median	Civil Service Minima	Civil Service Maxima	Civil Service Median
NCA Grade 1 / G6	£75,092	£91,794	£77,559	£52,240	£94,170	£65,900
NCA Grade 2 / G7	£61,675	£75,332	£61,675	£43,650	£78,000	£53,818
NCA Grade 3 / SEO	£50,697	£62,065	£50,697	£33,736	£60,000	£39,900
NCA Grade 4 / HEO	£41,347	£50,089	£45,057	£26,520	£51,113	£32,815
NCA Grade 5 / EO	£32,892	£42,424	£38,560	£22,872	£40,718	£27,144
NCA Grade 6 / AO	£24,557	£30,928	£24,557	£19,500	£32,400	£22,497
No NCA Equivalent / AA	N/A	N/A	N/A	£18,700	£26,400	£19,932

1. Operational Commands are Investigations, Intelligence, Threat Leadership and the National Economic Crime Centre ↩

2. Grades 1-5 ↩

3. NCA Legal use external services to cover vacancies, the costs for this are not shown Table II. It is broadly three times more expensive to use external services compared to an NCA lawyer ↩

4. Turnover data for Transformation Command is unavailable for the period due to the Command only being created at the end of 2023. We do not have 12 months of attrition data and so cannot provide accurate turnover data for Transformation until next year’s report. ↩

5. Data sourced using Police Force job sites, Civil Service Jobs, Indeed and other national job postings in order to provide detailed market comparators. ↩

6. 11% of G1 DDaT roles are in receipt of an RRA of £3,000 ↩

7. 15% of G2 DDaT roles are in receipt of an RRA of between £1,000 and £3,000 ↩

8. 8% of G3 DDaT roles are in receipt of an RRA of between £1,000 and £3,000 ↩

9. Please note that currently there is no G1 Head of Commercial, therefore the grade minimum has been provided. ↩

10. ~ denotes 10 or less, including values redacted to safeguard the identity of our Officers. ↩

11. Officers funded by NCA Margin are either in process of being redeployed or whose costs cannot be attributed to a command budgetary line. The most common scenario is when officers are transitioning into or out of an International Liaison Officer (ILO) role i.e. the officer is an ILO in training or has returned to the UK following an overseas deployment and needs a temporary post while their full-time post is determined. ↩

12. ~ denotes 10 or less, including values redacted to safeguard the identity of our Officers. ↩

13. Officers funded by NCA Margin are either in process of being redeployed or whose costs cannot be attributed to a command budgetary line. The most common scenario is when officers are transitioning into or out of an International Liaison Officer (ILO) role i.e. the officer is an ILO in training or has returned to the UK following an overseas deployment and needs a temporary post while their full-time post is determined. ↩

14. ~ denotes 10 or less, including values redacted to safeguard the identity of our Officers. ↩

15. Role type is based on the Role Profile of the post. Each post within the NCA’s hierarchy has a Role Profile attached ↩

16. ~ denotes 10 or less, including values redacted to safeguard the identity of our Officers. ↩

17. Turnover data for Transformation Command is unavailable for the period due to the Command only being created at the end of 2023. We do not have 12 months of attrition data and so cannot provide accurate turnover data for Transformation until next year’s report. ↩

18. This is direct reporting of the data and is dependent on how officers opted to complete the form. In these cases pay and benefits were a driving factor for leaving the NCA ↩

19. This is direct reporting of the data and is dependent on how officers opted to complete the form. In these cases pay was a driving factor for leaving the NCA ↩

20. ~ denotes 10 or less, including values redacted to safeguard the identity of our officers ↩

21. Data sourced using Police Force job sites, Civil Service Jobs, Indeed and other national job postings in order to provide detailed market comparators. ↩

22. 11% of G1 DDaT roles are in receipt of an RRA of £3,000 ↩

23. 15% of G2 DDaT roles are in receipt of an RRA of between £1,000 and £3,000 ↩

24. 8% of G3 DDaT roles are in receipt of an RRA of between £1,000 and £3,000 ↩

25. Please note that currently there is no G1 Head of Commercial, therefore the grade minimum has been provided. ↩