More than £222,500 has been paid out in bonuses to Department for Enterprise staff in the last five years.

And payments leaped from £46,200 in 2022-23 to £81,676 in 2023-24, with the number of recipients increasing from three to seven.

Before then, three members of staff had received bonuses in each year from 2019-20, with payments of £30,443 that year rising slightly to £33,135 the following year and falling back to £31,075 in 2021-22.

Details were released by the department in response to a Freedom of Information request.

In its response, the DfE provided some context to the award of bonus payments to its staff members.

It explained that around 5% of its workforce are on individual, usually limited term, contracts, which are outside the Public Services Commission terms and conditions. These have all been individually negotiated.

The DfE said the aim of these contracts is to ‘attract and retain private sector expertise across a wide range of specialisms, with flexibility as to payment terms that were commercially facing and could be tailored to attract the right individuals with relevant expertise’.

These individual contracts are not normally long term or permanent ones and so carry a risk for the post member of not being renewed, the DfE said.

And they do not include any pension contribution or sick pay and other entitlements available to others in the public service.

The contracts may include an element of performance-related pay – and the base level of salary may be lowered to take this into account.

The DfE added: ‘The headline rate for the role, including basic pay and bonus ultimately awarded, is priced to take into account these factors and is often less than the equivalent public service permanent position might be, if the total cost of reward was to be included.

‘This structure has been essential for securing private sector expertise.

‘Whilst such contracts are unusual across the public service, they are typical in the private sector and reflect the diverse nature of the department. Any bonus payments are not guaranteed.’

The department refused to outline the specific basis on which bonus payments are made, claiming that this could identify individual members of staff.

It said: ‘Bonus payments are made for differing reasons, entirely dependent on the post and the requirements of the post.’

In another FoI response published last month, it was revealed that nine staff at the DfE earn more than £100,000 a year.

The department said one earned between £150,000 and £174,999, one between £125,000 and £149,999 and seven between £100,000 and £124,999. Sixteen earned between £75,000 and £99,999 and 65 between £50,000 and £74,999.

It said that the figures included the staff on individual contracts.

Job titles of those staff members whose salary range appeared in the listed groups included such titles as airworthiness manager, IoT (Internet of Things) manager and CPR head of special projects, creativity and inclusion.