Police officer pay in England and Wales is again subject to negotiations for 2026/27. Officer salary remains a hot topic for what rise will apply in six months, not least because of deteriorations in working conditions and lack of ‘top cover’ is forcing cops out of the service in their droves.
Officers at all ranks have now put their cards on the table via their representative organisations. In this quick blog, I compare and contrast the submissions to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC).
- What would the 7% per year requested by the PFEW do to police pay?
- Why have the NPCC asked for only 3.5%?
- How does it all compare to inflation?
- What’s the situation in Police Scotland?
- Where can I see all police salaries in one place for comparison?
Read on to find out more…
What Pay Rise Do Police Officers Want?
Survey after survey shows police officers are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their pay. This comes following years of historic below-inflation rises to the pay scale, alongside a cultural detachment with and lack of ‘top cover’ from senior bosses, and increasing workloads, all combined with a growing dissatisfaction with the toils of the job itself. All these main factors are causing record resignations as officers are voting with their feet.
The representative organisations for officers across all ranks have now put their cards on the table in terms of pay requests to the PRRB. As summarised in the infographic above, here are the salary highlights…
- The NPCC, representing Chief Officers, got the ball rolling with between a 2.5% – 3.5% request, warning of the lack of affordability for forces for anything above 2.5%.
- The PFEW went for double that figure at 7%, repeated for three consecutive years.
- Now the PSA have more recently come out somewhere in between, with CPI inflation + 1%.
Latest CPI inflation is 3.0%, so the PSA are in effect requesting 4.0% at today’s prices. However, with recent fuel prices escalating as fast as the new Iran conflict, the knock-on cost of living increase could be akin to when inflation went sky-high following the onset of the Ukraine war. That was almost exactly four years prior to the Iran war starting.
“Steve, just a quick thank you. Using your Sgt pack as a staple I managed to pass both my own force & a neighbouring force promotion boards using the digital toolkit, podcast & blog to fill in gaps & get me thinking wider. Definitely worthwhile in giving me direction with all the subjectivity about what is required. Other than an hour conversation with a friend, I didn’t have any other help, which makes it slightly more rewarding, so thank you.” – Adam, passed Sergeant promotion process
Update 31/03/26: The Home Office have published their own evidence to the PRRB for police pay proposals. Their request and rationale aligns with that of the NPCC; anything up to 2.5% is affordable, but no more. Many will also take umbridge at their assertion that “there is no particular reason for concern with recruitment and retention or that targeted pay awards are required.”
Why the Differences?
The differences in what each organisation emphasises is interesting. The NPCC are calling for government to fully fund officer pay for a change, so forces don’t have to make cuts elsewhere to fulfil what gets agreed. Superintendents point to a need to recompense officers for a worsening work environment. The Police Federation warn of a further mass exodus if drastic increases to pay aren’t made.
“Police leaders call for investment in officer pay.” – NPCC headline
“Senior police leaders recommend above inflation pay rise for all ranks, as officers report rising workloads and worsening wellbeing.” – PSA headline
“Public safety at risk as poor pay drives experienced officers away.” – PFEW headline
Interestingly, there are still no requests to taper increases in a more progressive manner. Targeting those towards the bottom of the scales with higher pay is entirely possible within the same budget and would make a big difference to attraction and retention. I mention it each year in these pay blog updates, but there seems no appetite to target things in this way.
The Superintendents’ Association submission evidence included results from a detailed survey of its members. The situation of morale, motivation and wellbeing is troubling, yet often overlooked for this high-pressured senior rank that is the main connection point between the most senior and junior leaders in policing.
“Superintendents report rising demand, rising levels of responsibility, unsafe working practices and limited work/life balance.” – PSA Workload & Resilience Report
With increasing demands and workloads, 2/3 report working over 50 hours per week. This is leading to poor work/life balance as per the extract above, and poor wellbeing. Further, nearly half state feeling it’s not psychologically safe to challenge Chief Officers, an indication of cultures pervading in policing.
A fair pay increase above inflation is seen as the recompense for a growing dissatisfaction and difficulties with the working environment. Officers (sadly) see no hope for improvements in the latter, so the request for more pay for a more difficult job seems to be the only thing staving off even more leavers.
22.5% Increase Requested by PFEW – Pie in the Sky?
The Police Federation have submitted their report to the PRRB, with the headline request of a minimum 7% pay increase for each of the next three years to reverse long term pay erosion against inflation. So that’s a 22.5% cumulative increase from current pay scales. Is this realistic, or a pie in the sky request?
They have also asked for the removal of the lowest PC pay point to increase pay for new starters further, among other demands like annual leave and increased unsocial hours pay. Unlike the PSA and NPCC, the PFEW have not made public their full submission report. However, they do briefly summarise 13 requests made and their rationale in their recent news article.
However, following the recent scandal relating to the Federation paying its civilian CEO over double that of the most senior officer in the UK, then being unable to justify this use of members’ subs in a calamity of cover-ups and communications, and subsequently that CEO (among other senior Fed figures) being arrested for corruption… it may be considered the Federation are unfortunately in a far weaker negotiating position for its members and lack the credibility for its submissions to be taken seriously.
All will come out in any case when the PRRB report its final recommendations. For now, let’s see what 2026/27 and beyond police pay scales at the Federated ranks would look like, should by some miracle, that 7% increase per year for three years and removal of the lowest pay point get approved.
At Constable level, a 7% increase and removal of the lowest pay point would result in a 2026/27 pay scale starting from £34.7k and rising to £53.8 within five years, not six (currently it’s £31.2k – £50.3k). For context, the ONS report the UK average salary as £39k.
The Sergeant’s pay band is narrower; however, most officers go for promotion within five years’ service. That means the jump up in salary is worth £10k – £15k for those successful. A 7% increase would push the Sergeant salary band up around £4k. For Inspectors and Chief Inspectors, the increase requested by the Federation would move the band up by £5k or so, as shown in the below charts.
What are your views on this? Would this be fair and ensure better retention of officers? Is this request realistic?
What Happens Next with Police Pay?
Now all parties have submitted their evidence reports to the PRRB, that Body will now consider the arguments, compare against inflation and other sectors, and make a recommendation to the Government.
For context, Police Scotland have already agreed 2026/27 salaries in their two-year pay deal negotiated in 2025. Officers there will see their pay increase from April by CPI inflation +1%, which is currently equivalent to a 4% rise. Given this precedent and alignment with the PSA request, it is likely the final agreement for officers south of the border will be in the region of 4%.
The PFEW and PSA are now requesting multi-year pay settlements. Could this have been inspired by the pay uplift settlement seen in Scotland?
Salary changes each year take place from September pay packets in England and Wales. In the meantime, officers not at the top of their band for the rank will continue progressing through the pay points upon each year of service.
Note that the salary scale for Northern Ireland simply follows that of their England and Wales counterparts.
You can find all current UK police salary points and compare them for all forces directly on my Rank Success website. You’ll also find there a suite of resources should you want to progress your career and meet the challenges of police leadership, which as a side effect will ensure your personal salary increases far beyond the cost of living.
Watch this space for blogs when a substantive decision is made on police salaries.
And as always, feel free to call me if you have any questions or concerns about your force promotion process. It’s free, I’ll point you to relevant free content I have, and there’s no strings to buy anything. After retiring as Det. Inspector, I’m pleased to give back to the service and help level the playing field of promotion to ensure great officers and leaders can achieve success.
Kind Regards, Steve
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