SRC Reviews Allowance Rates
After the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) raises housing allowances, civil servants would receive higher pay.
For instance, Nairobi-based civil officials in job group K will now earn a monthly housing allowance of Sh16,500 instead of Sh10,000 under the revised rates.
Nairobi-based public officers in job category A – drivers, personal secretaries, cleaners and messengers – will receive Sh3,750 a month up from Sh3,000, an adjustment that is sure to disappoint many given that the figure still falls below the prevailing market rates by significantly.
From the projected implementation date forward, “the new rates for the housing allowances shall apply to all public officers, other than state officers, at the national and county government, including state businesses. Respectful civil service employers should initiate Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) with the relevant trade unions in the implementation of the reviewed/harmonised herein” SRC said in a circular.
In the review, the housing allowance for public officers living in all former major municipalities, including Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Thika, Kisii, Malindi and Kitale, will be the same. For example, civil servants in job group K based in the nine former municipalities will see the allowance rise to Sh12,000 up from Sh8,000. Their job group mates in other former municipalities will draw Sh5,800, an increase from Sh3,500.
Due to increases in rental costs for both public and private sector-owned houses, civil officials have been under pressure to find accommodation.
For instance, the State Department for Housing increased all rentals on properties held by the government by 10% of the government’s holdings as of April 1st, 2022 The state said that even though the housing allowances of civil officials have been subject to several assessments since 2001, their monthly rent payments have not altered.
Federal officials would no longer get basic salary-based hardship allowances as a result of the SRC’s elimination of that system; instead, they would now receive uniform hardship allowance rates.
“Hardship allowance shall be provided at a flat rate for all comparable grades in the public sector, including at the county and national levels. The SRC has done away with tying the allowance to a portion of the base pay, according to the commission.
Job Group A’s lowest-ranking officers will receive a uniform hardship allowance of Sh2,800 per month, while Job Group T’s highest-ranking officers will receive Sh60,000. Mid-level officials in K, L, and M job groups will receive Sh10,900, Sh12,300, and Sh14,650, respectively.
The assessments of housing and hardship benefits are a component of the adjustments SRC is implementing to boost productivity while minimizing the burden on the public purse. Changes to various allowances, including those for meals and retreats, were announced by the SRC in December.
The new rules eliminate meal stipends for civil servants who receive a daily subsistence allowance while working away from their desks.