Civil servants in five government departments have begun voting on whether to take strike action later this month.

The dispute over pay focuses on what union leaders claim is a below inflation deal being imposed on Jobcentre, prison service and other staff.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) were being asked on Monday to decide whether to take industrial action over two days at the end of this month.

More than 100,000 Department for Work and Pensions, Constitutional Affairs, Home Office, Treasury and Prison Service staff are angry and what they see as an erosion of their living standards.

If approved by PCS members, the strike would be the biggest to hit the civil service for more than 10 years.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said the strike action would be a last resort.

"We have sought to find settlement but efforts haven't been aided by the belligerent attitude of some departments in imposing below-inflation pay offers before members have had their say," he said.

"The people being balloted on industrial action aren't your bowler-hatted Sir Humphreys, these are people who are low paid, delivering key frontline services and in many cases in receipt of the very benefits they hand out.

"The deepening pay crisis in the civil service further highlights the need for an end to the anomalous delegated pay bargaining system and return to national pay for the civil service.''

The Department for Work and Pensions has said it would be "wholly inappropriate" for workers to strike.