GCHQ Offers Staff Bonuses To Stay

GCHQ is offering its expert tech employees bonuses to prevent more staff from leaving for high-tech companies such as Google and Microsoft.

The service said that it has a government approved system of offering both recruitment and/or retention payments to keep internet security specialists. GCHQ said that it seeks to make the overall package of pay, pension, leave and flexible working as competitive as possible, but added that it also needs to demonstrate value for money for the taxpayer.

A spokesman for GCHQ told GGC that it does not comment on individual amounts, but said that reports that the sums amounted to “tens of thousands of pounds” were inaccurate.

“We are never likely to be able to compete with high-tech companies on salary alone. We clearly value our staff and their contribution to our unique mission in support of the UK’s national security and economic wellbeing,” he said.