Top civil servants have been told they could face the sack if they do not save taxpayers money under rules announced by the government.
Senior leaders will be held personally responsible for achieving savings in their departments as part of reforms to how the Civil Service manages performance.
Under the changes those who do well could be rewarded but those who do not face dismissal.
A union representing senior civil servants said the changes were “reasonable” and “in line with what members would want and expect”, but warned against “scaremongering for political brownie points” at a time when “morale is low”.
The moves are part of an effort by Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden to create a more “agile and modern” state.
He said the public “must be confident we are spending every pound of their money well”.
“It is vital that senior leaders are not just encouraged, but held responsible for this,” McFadden said.
“We need them to build productive and high performing teams, to deliver on our plan to put more money in people’s pockets, get the NHS back on its feet and rebuild Britain.
“We will introduce new checks to identify and tackle poor performance where we find it, and to recognise the good work of senior leaders across the civil service.”
As part of a spending review due to conclude in June, government departments have been told to find efficiency savings worth 5% of their budgets. Back in December a government source said this could see 10,000 jobs cut.
Other changes introduced in the new performance policy published by the Cabinet Office on Thursday include measures to identify poor performance.
Lauren Crowley, assistant general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, said: “Delivering high performance and consistency across government while effectively managing public money isn’t a controversial aim.”
However, she added: “Scaremongering senior leaders for political brownie points will do nothing to encourage hard working and skilled people to deliver the government’s missions at the pace and scale it requires.”
McFadden is not the first Cabinet Office minister to attempt to improve performance in the Civil Service.
Conservative paymaster general John Glen said high performance in Whitehall was not “recognised, rewarded or incentivised properly”, and suggested linking civil service pay to performance.
He also warned he would crack down on poor performance, saying it was “all too easy for leaders to let people move to another team, to let the poor performer become someone else’s problem”.
