The Cayman Islands’ civil service ended 2025 on a high note financially and culturally, booking a CI$3.66 million surplus while hitting a record employee engagement score.
Revenue at the Portfolio of the Civil Service (PoCS) climbed 11.8% to $24 million, though expenses also rose – up 18.9% to $20.37 million, according to its annual report.
The service grew to 4,988 employees by year-end, with 69.3% Caymanian, part of a broader public service totalling 8,302 people.
Women continued to outpace men, making up 55.8% of civil servants, taking home 56% of the year’s 297 promotions, and earning an average of $2,515 more annually than their male counterparts.
Overall, average pay across the service rose $4,200 to $63,361 a year.
Staff morale told a similar story. The ninth annual Employee Engagement Survey pulled an 81% response rate from 3,961 workers, pushing the Engagement Index to a record 74%.
Even ‘Pay and Benefits’ – historically the weakest category – jumped to 42% from 29% in 2017, buoyed by a 5% cost-of-living adjustment from 1 January and a new $3,000 monthly minimum salary.
Nine out of 10 respondents said they felt proud to be a civil servant.
Action during 2025
The Elections Office had a particularly demanding year. It administered both a general election and a referendum in April – with 25,643 registered electors, a 73% turnout and 65 polling stations – posting average wait times of under five minutes.
This result, the report notes, ranked among the highest participation rates in the Caribbean and Commonwealth.
Operationalising the Referendum (Cruise Berthing Infrastructure, Gambling and Cannabis) Act at short notice pushed the office’s budget over by $725,000.
Reform also moved quickly. Cabinet approved the Personnel (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, on 13 November, modernising the civil service’s disciplinary framework ahead of a March 2026 rollout.
Separately, planned amendments to the Public Service Management Act will extend immigration term limits to non-Caymanian civil servants in 2026, mirroring the nine-year private-sector cap under the Immigration (Transition) Act.
On the training front, the Civil Service College took home the Beacon Award for Talent Development at the Cayman Islands Society for Human Resource Professionals’ 25th Anniversary Awards Gala on 10 October
Chief officer Gloria McField-Nixon received the Pinnacle Award for HR Leadership at the same event.
Across the year, 160 civil servants earned City and Guilds ILM qualifications, more than 7,100 LinkedIn Learning courses were completed, and more than 300 staff completed Crucial Conversations training.
Following Hurricane Melissa’s impact on Jamaica, PoCS relaunched its CIG Cares initiative, raising more than US$26,000 in relief funds and processing 289 emergency salary advances for Jamaican nationals on staff.
The Deputy Governor’s 5K Challenge drew 2,485 participants across the three islands and raised $93,660 for local charities.
Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, who has led the civil service since 2012, has announced he will retire in July.
