Ruku confirms August 1 salary increase for all civil servants
By Kenneth Mwenda, July 16, 2026Thousands of civil servants will begin earning higher salaries from August 1, 2026, after the government pushed back the implementation of the latest public sector pay review by one month.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku announced that the civil servants’ salary increase, which had earlier been expected from July 1, will now take effect at the beginning of August. The review will apply to public servants across the country and will also include increases in key allowances.
Speaking in Londiani, Kericho County, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, Ruku said the government remained committed to improving the welfare of public servants through the salary review directed by President William Ruto.
“The government has assured you that by the end of this month of July, there will be a salary increase. Gross pay will be increased, housing allowance will be increased, and commuter allowance will also be increased so that all civil servants in the Republic of Kenya can continue benefiting from higher salaries and increased allowances,” Ruku said.
Salary review to cover allowances
The Cabinet Secretary said the salary review will go beyond basic salaries. Civil servants will also benefit from higher housing allowances and commuter allowances, increasing their overall monthly earnings.
The latest announcement changes the timeline Ruku gave during the Public Service Week celebrations at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on June 23, when he announced that the revised salaries would take effect from July.
Although the implementation date has changed, the government has maintained that the salary review remains on course.
Ruku said the decision follows an earlier government announcement made in January under the Fourth Remuneration and Benefits Review Cycle (2025-2029), which was backdated to July 2025.
He also noted that the salary review forms part of the government’s broader efforts to improve the welfare of public servants while strengthening accountability across the public service.
How much will civil servants earn?
While the government has not yet released the final salary scales for every job group, earlier government communication indicated that civil servants will receive increases in both basic salary and allowances, resulting in higher gross and net monthly pay.
The government previously indicated that monthly take-home pay could increase by between Ksh1,000 and Ksh55,364, depending on an employee’s job group and allowance structure.
Among the expected adjustments are:
- Entry-level officers: Minimum basic salary expected to rise from Ksh21,700 to Ksh28,690.
- Job Group K: Basic pay expected to increase by about Ksh1,800.
- Job Group L: Increase of about Ksh1,900, bringing basic pay to around Ksh68,000.
- Job Group N: Increase of approximately Ksh7,000, raising basic salary to about Ksh103,000.
- Job Group P: Increase of about Ksh9,000, with salaries rising to roughly Ksh142,000.
- Job Group R: Increase of about Ksh2,800, taking basic pay to around Ksh185,000.
- Job Group S: Increase of about Ksh25,700, lifting salaries to approximately Ksh292,000.
- Job Group T: Increase of about Ksh30,000, pushing top basic salaries to around Ksh396,000, with some specialised positions earning up to Ksh451,494.
The review will also enhance housing allowances and commuter allowances, while some National Government Administration Officers (NGAO), including chiefs and assistant chiefs, are expected to continue receiving specialised risk allowances.
However, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is yet to publish the final salary scales that will determine the exact amount each employee will receive.
Teachers, county workers among beneficiaries
The salary increase for civil servants is expected to benefit employees across the public service, including workers in ministries, state departments, state corporations, county governments and teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
The announcement is also expected to attract interest from teachers seeking updates on the teachers salary increment, although the government has not announced a separate salary review exclusively for TSC teachers. Teachers covered under the wider public service review are expected to benefit once the new pay structures are implemented.
According to figures from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), Kenya’s public service employs more than one million workers, while about 124,000 serve on permanent and pensionable terms within the national public service.
Payroll migration deadline
Besides confirming the salary increase, Ruku renewed his directive requiring all government institutions to migrate their payrolls to the Government Human Resource Information System (HRIS).
The directive requires all ministries, departments, state agencies and county governments to complete the migration within one month. Ruku warned that institutions that fail to comply risk having their salary payments withheld.
“We have issued a circular that all ministries, departments and county governments must be onboarded on the HRIS, and we have given them a period of one month to do so. If they fail to do that within the period, the salaries will not be remitted,” Ruku said.
He said the system will improve accountability in payroll management and help eliminate ghost workers who continue to drain public funds.
The HRIS migration follows a payroll audit that identified suspected irregularities, including cases involving duplicate and questionable payments. The government says the new platform will allow real-time monitoring of payroll activities across national and county governments and help detect unauthorised changes.
“We are monitoring all the activities in the system in real time. Any single manipulation can be seen from our side,” Ruku said.
The Cabinet Secretary said all public institutions must be integrated into the unified payroll platform to ensure that only verified employees benefit from government salaries and allowances, including the August 1 civil servants salary increase.
The government says the reforms will strengthen transparency, improve payroll management and ensure public funds are paid only to genuine employees.
For thousands of civil servants, teachers, county government employees and other public servants, attention now shifts to August 1, when the revised salaries and increased allowances are expected to start reflecting in their monthly pay.