The Home Office last week confirmed a flat 3.5% pay award across all police officer ranks for England and Wales, effective from September 1, 2026.
This announcement felt like a blow to the morale of frontline officers for multiple reasons:
- Below Par: The 3.5% is below the 3.9% recommended by the government’s own independent Police Renumeration Review Body (PRRB)
- Growing Discontent with Federation: Among a workforce who cannot take industrial action, there is increasing discontent with the lack of teeth and influence of the PFEW (who requested 7%).
- NPCC and Government Alignment: While the National Police Chief Council (NPCC) publicly expressed dismay at the decision, it was exactly at the top end of what they requested to help forces manage tight budgets. This seems another example whereby are increasingly feeling a lack of support or representation from their own senior officers.
- “Higher Rate” Tax Pinch Point: Long-term freezes on the 40% tax starting point combined with pay inflation means far more people will find themselves in this bracket. Sergeants are already there and experienced Constables will see less than half of any overtime worked, given higher tax, NI and pension.
- Not Progressive / Tapered: A progressive or tapered police salary rise would more quickly target the depreciation seen for new joiners and junior ranks than the higher ranks within the same financial envelope. But this more sophisticated approach receives little interest from the Federation nor the government alike.
In this blog I outline what exactly was agreed, how the 3.5% compares against the requests made by the varying negotiating bodies and inflation, what it means in terms of increase for each rank, and then summarise what officer pay looks like now.
The 2026 Police Pay Award Highlights
“Police officers perform one of the most challenging and important roles in public service. Every day, they put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe, protect vulnerable people, and uphold the rule of law.” – Shabana Mahmood
On 15 July 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood issued a Written Ministerial Statement outlining the complete 2026/27 police pay and conditions package. This was issued at the same time as the PRRB’s Twelfth Report on England and Wales.
While the headline 3.5% basic salary increase dominated the news, the full government award includes several changes to regional allowances, leave entitlements, and funding. Here’s the highlights of the 2026 police pay award notice:
- +3.5% to basic salary for all officers at all ranks, from Constable to Chief Officer.
- +3.5% also to London weighting and allowance, and the South East allowance.
- Police pay rises will take effect from 1 September 2026.
- +£8 to Protection Allowance rates.
- Additional (but only partial) funding will be given by the Home Office supporting the costs of this award.
- Maternity and adoption support paid leave increased to 2 weeks.
Take a look at my 2025 Pay Award blog to see how all this compares to last year.
Note that the additional funding offered by the Home Office is just £144 million for the first full year. Given that the weighted average police officer salary across all ranks is around £50,000, a 3.5% increase requires well over £250m to be considered ‘fully funded’.
The funding will also be allocated according to the Police Funding Formula, not how many officers each force actually has. Forces will therefore now need to find over £106m in annual savings to implement this award. Plus, some forces will be disproportionately feeling the pinch in implementing this rise than others.
Police Pay Requests vs Reality
“This [3.5%] is the highest award that is manageable within existing police force and Home Office budgets.” – Shabana Mahmood
In my Police Pay – Cards on the Table blog earlier this year, I showed who was asking for what in their submissions to the PRRB. Here’s how they compared…
- NPCC: Requested 2.5% – 3.5%, the latter only if ‘fully funded’.
- PFEW: Pitched for 7% per year for 3 years to reverse long-term pay deflation.
- PSA: Asked for CPI + 1.0%, effectively 4.0% at the time.
- Home Office: Argued limiting to 2.5%, warning of “difficult choices” otherwise.
“Anything above [2.5%] would likely require difficult choices and financial reprioritisation to be made by policing.” – Home Office evidence to PRRB
By capping the award at 3.5%, the government actively ignored its own independent review body. The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) recommended a 3.9% increase, following submissions of evidence from various parties.
In its report, the PRRB note that the Home Office highlighted that the police pension remains a strong attraction/retention benefit, as justification for not providing a bigger salary rise. While officers pay a significant chunk of their salary in pension contributions (13-14%), the employer contribution rate is 35%. This is far higher than elsewhere and especially compared to the private sector, which averages just 5.1%.
A ‘good’ pension benchmark is considered by financial advisors to be around 15% total, contributed to equally by the individual and their employer (7.5% each). The police pension scheme does provide an attractive benefit for those in it for the long term, at 48% to 49% total contributions along with additional benefits (e.g. death in service, survivors pension). So even after the infamous changes over a decade ago, it’s worth thinking very carefully and seeking financial advice before exiting the scheme on affordability grounds.
Can Policing Afford to Award Officers the Bare Minimum?
As with many policing issues it seems, the Home Office and NPCC are once again completely aligned when it comes to pay. NPCC wanted a fully funded 3.5% for officers. In an announcement in response to the news of 3.5% landing, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens (NPCC Chair) states:
“We highlighted the need for an above-inflation pay award… Whilst we are disappointed that the full recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body were not accepted, we recognise that the pay award is above inflation and welcome the Government’s additional funding, which goes some way to addressing the acute financial pressure forces are facing.”
The following quote in the PRRB’s report seemed to capture what many officers are feeling right now regarding the challenges of policing…
“We judge that the implicit psychological contract between society and policing is under strain, affecting motivation and morale. Public perceptions of policing and social attitudes and behaviours are changing and have made the environment in which police officers are operating more challenging. In our view, that has increased the risks to the personal safety and wellbeing of officers and, as a result, policing risks becoming a less attractive profession unless there is a competitive package that supports officers and their families.”
And on the topic of affordability (or lack of), they seem to directly challenge the government’s selective affordability arguments…
“…affordability is ultimately a matter of choice. While such decisions may be difficult, there are always options for reprioritising spending, both within and between departments… affordability assessments stem from choices and prioritisation made at multiple levels, from central government down to individual forces.” – PRRB
The Federation’s reaction was strongly worded, saying that this has “plunged policing further into crisis”. They even accuse the government of foul play and conspiracy, by fixing the findings of its independent PRRB. However, it seems an increasing number of officers are becoming despondent, as the Fed’s strong words are frequently falling on deaf ears.
“It’s clearer than ever before that the government is controlling the pay review process. It handpicks the pay review body’s membership and tells them what they’re allowed to consider… Even with all that in their favour, the Government has chosen to over-turn the result and fix the outcome.” – John Partington, PFEW National Secretary
While Chief Officers in the form of the NPCC argued for the lowest pay rises, they don’t seem particularly satisfied with their own salaries either these days. The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) report included the following graphic of declining satisfaction among ACCs and above with their base salary…
The PSA seemed to find some middle ground in their public response to the 3.5% police pay announcement, emphasising the importance of retention as record officers are leaving, criticising the fact PRRB’s inputs were ignored, but welcoming the pay rise at least being above inflation as they’d asked…
“It is positive that the service will receive a pay increase that is above the UK rate of inflation… We are concerned that this year’s pay rise is not in line with the 3.9% recommended by the PRRB… If we want to attract and retain the excellent people who we need to deliver our critical services every day, we need to pay them fairly.” – PSA National Secretary Warren Franklin
I’ve provided a lot of bespoke information on the Met Police in recent blogs and podcasts. The Met too gave evidence to the PRRB, which the body reports in its recommendations to government. Given recent news about the Met abolishing no less than its entire Roads Policing function, it seems this is just the tip of the iceberg of their financial dire straits and need to reduce their workforce by 1,000 people…
Police Pay Increases vs Inflation
I have been tracking police pay figures for the past decade. Since 2016/17, the net effect is that the salary scale pay awards are 3% down on CPI inflation. Most of the loss came in the high inflation years 2021-23. This year’s award of 3.5% is just above the latest 2.8% CPI inflation rate.
The Police Federation have been tracking things for longer and calculate that “police pay declined by 22% in real terms between 2010 – 2023”. They warn of drastically reduced attraction and retention in policing directly as a result of poor pay. In a recent survey of 4,158 (3%) of its members, the PFEW found:
- 91% say a low pay award shows the Government does not respect policing.
- 78% are dissatisfied with their pay.
This stagnant salary affects those officers who stay at the top of the pay band. All officers at every rank also progress through the salary band each year until they hit the top rate, through pay progression.
For example, a PC now takes 6 years to progress from their starting salary (now £32k) to the top band rate (now £52k). But that happens over the course of pay awards to the salary scale. A relatively new PC 6 years ago would have been on £25k and will now be on £52k from 1 September, exceeding inflation. An experienced PC at the top of their band 6 years ago was on £41k, now £52k.
In short, it is those officers at the top band of each rank who are falling behind CPI. But promotion is one way to fight against this trap, while expanding your career and learning horizons too. Here’s how the PRRB assess average police basic pay across the ranks…
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Looking further afield, how does this police officer award compare against the other public sector pay awards in 2026? Well, despite strike action in some other public professions earlier this year, there does seem to be consistency across the public sector…
- 3.75% for Dentists
- 3.6% for Armed Forces personnel
- 3.5% for Civil Servants
- 3.5% for Doctors
- 3.5% for Prison Officers
- 3.5% for Teachers
- 3.3% for Nurses & NHS Staff
In its publication of recommendations and analysis, the PRRB report that Annual Weekly Earnings in the UK economy grew by 3.4% for regular pay (excluding bonuses) in the year to March 2026. For additional context, the Bank of England expects private sector AWE to grow by between 3.2% to 3.5% in 2026.
Here’s how the PRRB compared police officer salary by rank against earnings of the whole economy. While new Constables are in the bottom 30% of earners, that changes to being in the top 60th percentile after 6 years’ service…
What are your views on police officer pay? Should there be more sophisticated tapering by rank on these awards to target where most needed? Or coming at it from a different angle, rather than what should the % increase be: What should be the ££ basic salary of an experienced frontline cop full stop?
As I discuss in my recent 20 Bombshells of the Leadership Commission Report podcast, they propose the notion of a Senior Constable. How much should this role be remunerated?
What Does the Police Pay Increase Look Like in your Pocket?
“This is a pay rise on paper only, not in officers’ pockets.” – John Partington, PFEW National Secretary
While a 3.5% increase is technically above current inflation, the gross headline figures are misleading. The long-term freeze on the £50k higher rate tax threshold has been a policy of both the Conservative and the Labour governments, to effectively tax middle earners more, and by stealth.
The 40% higher rate tax band will absorb a significant portion of this raise for experienced cops. And for many more officers, the tax trap will start to bite when completing overtime for example or performing acting up duties.
Below I show these new salary scale changes for England and Wales officers among the Federated ranks (Constable to Chief Inspector). Note that all officers in London receive +£10k in weighting and allowances, and there is additional £3k or so for the Inspector / Chief Inspector ranks in London compared to their E&W counterparts. This is just to give an overview for forces, more details and across all ranks will be on my UK Police Salaries page in due course…
The gross increase does not translate directly to your bank account. Much of that will get eaten up by the standard 20% or 40% income tax, Class 1 National Insurance, and the mandatory 13-14% contribution to the 2015 Police Pension Scheme. Many officers who do a little overtime will also find themselves being taxed as a ‘Higher Earner’ in the 40% bracket, following years of freezes on the tax thresholds.
PSNI historically follows the pay scales and increases applied to England and Wales forces, so expect Northern Ireland to follow; however recent years have seen a delay in applying the increments there!
In any case, I hope you’ve found this review of the 2026 police pay award useful and interesting. Promotion is a way that you can also boost pay, and Rank Success has supported 1000’s of candidates achieve promotion success. Some smart, hard work on the right things pays off. Explore my website, browse the best free police promotion and leadership resources available anywhere, and call me anytime to discuss your bespoke needs / gaps.
And if you invest in yourself with Rank Success premium promotion and leadership resources, you’ll see an increased return on investment in your first pay packet when successful.
Kind Regards, Steve
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