Police chiefs ask independent police pay body to consider a three-year deal for officers

The National Police Chiefs’ Council has published its annual submission to the PRRB for 2019/20.  The PRRB makes recommendations on police officers pay in England and Wales.  

As employers police chiefs are required to make recommendations about officer pay increases and these are considered alongside recommendations from the Home Office, police and crime commissioners and staff associations. 

Officer views, operational pressures, inflation, recruitment and retention, and trends in the employment market are all taken into account when police chiefs reach a decision.

The independent PRRB then assess all the evidence and make recommendations to the Home Office, which makes the final decision. 

The submission puts forward two options for the review body to consider:

1. an increase of between two and two and half per cent from September 2019; or
2. a three-year pay deal worth over six per cent with four per cent payable from September 2019 in order to maximise the initial pay increase.

Chiefs have also recommended on-call allowances for federated ranks (up to the rank of Chief Inspector) rise from £15 to £20 a day.  Rises in subsequent years should be indexed to increases in base pay.

National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for Pay and Conditions, Chief Constable Francis Habgood said:

“Police chiefs’ recommendations have to balance the desire to see officers fairly rewarded with the need to maintain services to the public within budget.   These are always difficult decisions for chiefs and forces face different financial challenges.

“For the first time, we’ve asked the police pay review body to consider a three-year deal, which gives us the opportunity to give a bigger upfront pay increase this year.  It would mean more cash earlier for officers.

“We’ve pushed the boundaries of affordability to get the best deal possible for officers.  Without extra funding, any pay increase above this level would mean cuts elsewhere. 

“Alternatively if the independent body decides against a three-year pay deal, we have recommended a one-year increase of between two and two and a half per cent as the maximum all forces can afford.

“We have also recommended boosting on-call payments to frontline officers.

“As always my thanks go to officers and staff across the country for all they do to keep the public safe.”

London Weighting (currently £2,444 pa), and the Dog Handlers’ Allowance will also rise in line with the increases recommended in base pay.

The recommendation for a three-year deal is for a four per cent increase in the first year, followed by no increase in year two, and an increase of two per cent in the third year.  If Consumer Price Index for December 2021 is higher than two and half per cent, the pay increase for this final third year will be reconsidered, however a minimum of two per cent would be guaranteed. 

If a three year deal is agreed, PRRB should explore different options to ensure that individuals are not financially disadvantaged due to the Annual Allowance charge.

Further Information

• The full submission can be found here.
• A majority of chief constables supported a three-year deal. Some chiefs were concerned about the affordability and so supported a one-year deal.
• Police Scotland has agreed a recent rise of 6.5 per cent, over a 31 month time period, until 31st March 2021.