Future salary reviews for government employees will no longer be based solely on periodic adjustments after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) introduced new regulations that tie pay increases to economic performance, productivity, affordability and the cost of living.
The new framework, contained in the SRC (Remuneration and Benefits of State and Other Public Officers) Regulations, 2026, sets out how the Commission will determine salaries and benefits for public officers at both the national and county governments.
Under the regulations published on Friday, salary reviews for public servants will be conducted every four years to align with the country’s budgeting and planning cycle.
However, the Commission has retained the power to undertake special salary reviews whenever exceptional circumstances require urgent intervention.
The new rules also require all public institutions to submit information on the salaries, allowances and benefits of their employees whenever a remuneration review is due.
According to SRC, future pay reviews will be guided by several factors to ensure government salaries remain fair, sustainable and affordable.
Among the considerations the Commission will assess are the country’s economic performance, the cost of living, labour market trends, the financial ability of public institutions to implement salary adjustments and the overall sustainability of the public wage bill.
The regulations also introduce a stronger emphasis on job evaluation as a key factor in determining remuneration across the public service.
SRC says the evaluations will help establish the relative value of different jobs, with the aim of ensuring employees performing work of equal value receive equitable pay while promoting fairness and transparency in government remuneration.
Under the new framework, job evaluations will be carried out whenever a new public institution is established, when an organisation’s mandate changes, when new positions are created or when the responsibilities attached to existing jobs are significantly altered.
In another notable shift, the Commission has formally incorporated productivity and institutional performance into future salary review decisions.
This means public institutions seeking improved remuneration for their employees will also be assessed on whether they have met their performance targets, their financial capacity to support the proposed salary increases and their compliance with relevant government policies.
The changes signal a new approach to public sector remuneration, with the Commission seeking to balance employees’ welfare with the country’s economic realities and the need to maintain a sustainable public wage bill.
The regulations are also expected to provide a more structured and predictable framework for future salary reviews while ensuring remuneration decisions are informed by both economic conditions and the performance of public institutions.