Grade 6 Pay and Take-Home (2026/27)
| Measure | Salary | Take-home per month |
|---|---|---|
| Median, England | £78,010 | £4,364 |
| Median, England excluding London | £76,310 | £4,288 |
| Grade below — Grade 7 median | £63,350 | £3,709 |
| Next step up — SCS Pay Band 1 minimum | £86,000 | £4,720 |
Civil service pay below the Senior Civil Service is delegated: each department negotiates its own pay ranges within the Cabinet Office pay remit, and they settle in different months. There is no national scale, so the figures here are published medians — what people at this grade actually earn — rather than a rate you are entitled to.
Grade 6 is the most senior delegated grade, immediately below the Senior Civil Service — deputy directors in all but name in some departments, heads of large policy or delivery areas in others. The published England median is £78,010.
Take-home on the median is about £4,364 a month, with alpha charged at the 7.35% tier.
The step into the Senior Civil Service is the next move: SCS Pay Band 1 starts at £86,000 and runs to £117,800, and unlike Grade 6 it is a published national band rather than a departmental range.