Ministers planning to cut civil servant redundancy pay at same time as 91,000 jobs

Exclusive: Unions warn proposal to reduce payouts by a quarter as headcount shrinks could lead to industrial action

Ministers are planning to reduce redundancy pay for civil servants while cutting 91,000 Whitehall jobs, setting up a bitter confrontation that unions warned may lead to legal and industrial action.

The proposals could result in average packages being cut by a quarter at a time when the minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg, is aiming to shrink the civil service by a fifth.