Civil Service HEO Salary 2026/27
HEO covers deputy team leads, technical specialists and middle managers. Cabinet Office does not publish an HEO-only median: HEO and SEO are reported as one combined band, which stood at £43,930 across the Civil Service as at 31 March 2026 and ranged from £38,020 to £54,730 by department. Take-home below is calculated on 2026/27 tax rates.
Typical pay & take-home
- Civil Service combined HEO/SEO median, 31 March 2026
- £43,930
- Lowest to highest departmental HEO/SEO median, 31 March 2026
- £38,020–£54,730
- Take-home on that salary
- £33,234 England, after the 5.45% alpha pension contribution, Income Tax and NI.
At £43,930, you earn about 13% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you between the 50th percentile (£39,039) and the 75th percentile (£54,009) of UK full-time earnings.
See exact take-home for £43,930 →
Published medians for each grade, the Senior Civil Service ranges, and how far the nine departments covered here sit either side: Civil Service pay 2026/27, every grade and department →
What influences civil service higher executive officer (heo) pay
The published figure covers HEO and SEO together, so it is not the pay of either grade on its own. Cabinet Office combines the two grades in its statistics, and there is no official split to quote.
Departmental spread is wide even within the combined band: £38,020 (Ofgem) against £54,730 (Ofsted). Pay is delegated, so the grade label alone does not fix the salary.
The alpha contribution at this band is 5.45%, the tier covering pensionable earnings from £36,200 to £56,000 in 2026/27. It is a net pay arrangement: full Income Tax relief on the contribution, no NI relief.
The contribution is deducted before Income Tax, which pushes the 40% band up the scale but does not clear it at the top of this range. On this tier gross pay has to reach £53,168 before any Income Tax is charged at 40%. The £43,930 median leaves £41,536 of taxable pay, £8,734 below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold. At the £54,730 top of the range, though, the same contribution leaves £51,747, which is £1,477 above the £50,270 threshold, so £591 of Income Tax is charged at 40%. National Insurance is charged on the full gross, so £4,460 of that salary falls in the 2% NI band.
SEO / HEO median pay by department
Civil Service pay is delegated, so the same grade pays differently across departments. These are published medians for the SEO / HEO responsibility level, as at 31 March 2026 - the most recent departmental breakdown Cabinet Office publishes. They pre-date the 2026/27 pay remit, so treat them as relative positioning between employers rather than current salary.
| Department | SEO / HEO median | All grades |
|---|---|---|
| Home Office | £46,270 | £39,000 |
| Ministry of Defence | £45,550 | £39,120 |
| HM Treasury | £45,200 | £60,670 |
| Ministry of Justice | £43,840 | £35,530 |
| Dept for Education | £42,810 | £49,000 |
| Dept for Transport | £41,940 | £31,600 |
| HMRC | £40,520 | £37,680 |
| DWP | £39,600 | £32,140 |
| Cabinet Office | £38,600 | £47,670 |
The source publishes SEO / HEO as one combined band, so a median for either grade on its own is not available.
Source: Cabinet Office - Civil Service Statistics 2026, Table 25 . Annual awards since the snapshot are set per department under the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance 2026/27 .
Career progression
- AA / AO: £28,020 median.
- EO: £32,140.
- SEO / HEO: £43,930 - published as one combined band.
- Grade 6 / Grade 7: £65,830, also published combined.
- Senior Civil Service: £95,540.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a Civil Service HEO take home 2026/27?
- On the £43,930 combined SEO/HEO median with the 5.45% alpha contribution, take-home is about £33,234 a year or £2,769 a month, after £2,394 pension, £5,793 Income Tax and £2,509 National Insurance. At the £54,730 top of the departmental range it is about £40,511.
- Can I salary-sacrifice into alpha pension?
- No - alpha is a net-pay arrangement, not salary sacrifice. You get Income Tax relief on contributions but no NI saving. Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) to a separate DC pot go through the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme (CSAVCS), provided by Legal & General since 1 September 2018.
Related professions
Sources
- Cabinet Office - Civil Service Statistics 2026, Table 25
- Civil Service Pension Scheme - member contribution rates 2026/27
- ONS - ASHE 2025 Table 14.7a, annual pay by SOC 2020 occupation (occupational pay)
- ONS — Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (UK full-time median and percentiles)
- HMRC — Rates and thresholds 2026/27
- Our full methodology & calculation sources →