4.75 per cent pay rise confirmed for police officers

The Home Office said the pay award, announced on Monday (July 29), demonstrates the Government’s “recognition for the daily sacrifices frontline police officers make to keep this country safe”, agreeing with the recommendations made by the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and ensuring their service is fairly rewarded.

To support forces with the cost of the pay award, the Home Office will provide £175 million of additional funding in 2024/25.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Police officers do the most extraordinary work, dedicating themselves to keeping our communities safe and putting themselves at risk to protect the rest of us – this is public service at its finest. The pay review body recommended a 4.75 per cent pay rise for all officers and I am pleased to be able to accept that.

“Our government has a mission to take back our streets. We will rebuild neighbourhood policing, clampdown on anti-social behaviour and street crime with new police powers, and drive up standards to rebuild public confidence in our whole criminal justice system.

“It is an ambitious and difficult task that will need all of us – government, police, communities – working together to achieve results. That work starts now.”

As part of the pay award, London Weighting and the Dog Handlers’ Allowance will also see an increase of 4.75 per cent.

Chief constables will be given the discretion to appoint new officers at an elevated pay point, which would see their starting salary £1,200 higher.

The average annual earnings for police officers in 2023 were 23 per cent higher than in the whole economy, and officers who have not reached the top of their pay scale will receive an incremental pay boost of at least two per cent, and often four to six per cent, if they meet progression standards.

Responding to the announcement, Assistant Chief Officer Phil Wells, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for pay and conditions, said: “Policing today received the announcement that the recommendations from the Police Pay Review Body and Senior Salaries Review Body have been accepted by government to increase all officer pay by 4.75 per cent.

“Evidence was presented to both review bodies outlining the long-term pay erosion in policing over the past decade, extremely demanding nature of the role and the continued need to attract high quality candidates and retain officers with skills and experience to effectively tackle ever more complex crime, protected the most vulnerable and build trust through neighbourhood policing. We are pleased that this has been taken on board by both the review bodies in their recommendations and by government.

“We recognise the financial pressures on government and competing demands, and therefore welcome government’s contribution towards the funding of this pay award on the cost above 2.5 per cent, but given the significant budgetary challenges faced by many police forces absorbing 2.5 per cent will not be without its impact.

“Funding has been committed by government in year (2024/25) but the cost beyond March 2025 are not yet confirmed and we look forward to working with the new government to enable long-term financial security so we can invest properly in officers, staff, training, and technology as part of a future spending review.”

College of Policing chief executive officer, Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, said: “I welcome this above inflation pay rise for police officers, which goes someway to recognising the unique challenges and risks faced in our profession.

“Policing is a public service and while it is true that no one becomes a police officer for a large salary, it is still the case they should be paid a fair salary which reflects the risks they take to protect the public, as well as the impact the role has on their private and family life.

“This uplift will help ease the very real financial pressure on our police workforce and I thank the Government for taking this decision in these challenging economic times.”

“Most overall pay awards in the public sector are similar to those in the private sector,” the Home Office said.

“Average full-time salaries are higher in the public sector, and public sector workers benefit from some of the most generous pensions available.”

It added that while police officer pay is set nationally and is reviewed annually by the independent PRRB and SSRB, the Government has no statutory role in determining police staff pay and conditions of service which are agreed locally by employers, in consultation with trade unions. 

Donna Jones, chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said: “We welcome the above inflation pay award for police officers which fully implements the pay recommendation of the independent review body.

“The Government has committed to £175 million additional funding in 2024/25 to help with the cost of the pay increase is also welcome and necessary in terms of its affordability. We are also pleased that police officer annual leave will be increased to a minimum of 25 days per annum from April 1, 2025, which better reflects arrangements elsewhere in the public sector.

“This package of improvements to police pay and conditions, coming on the back of the seven per cent pay award made last year, should help to deliver commitments on increased community policing and address recruitment challenges being experienced in a number of forces.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) welcomed the announcement that the new government has accepted the pay review body recommendation in full.

This increase, coming on top of last year’s rise, goes some way to closing the gap between the 17 per cent real-term pay cut officers have suffered since 2010 as a result of successive below-inflation rises, it said.

“It is disappointing, however, that the PRRB’s recommended increase was below than offered to other professions, given the unique status of police officers,” it added.

“The pay review body has ignored calls from the National Police Chiefs’ Council for officers to receive a six per cent increase and made a recommendation which increases the differential between the pay of police and other public sector workers.”

Calum Macleod, national secretary of the PFEW, said: “While we don’t believe that one group of public sector workers should be set against another, the pay review body recommendation shows that they do not understand policing and its needs.

“Poor pay and morale means police officers aren’t staying in the force and we are losing valuable experience from the service.

“The Federation is right to sit outside a process which does not recognise the role that police officers perform in society and the risks they take.”

Mukund Krishna, PFEW chief executive, added: “The underlying problem is a broken pay mechanism that does not allow for negotiation, only the imposition of a fixed pay award.

“In a recent poll, 98 per cent of officers supported the Federation’s call for a return to collective bargaining with binding arbitration, and we look forward to working closely with the new government to fix the current system.

“It is also important that this pay award is funded by new money so that police chiefs aren’t forced to fund it through cuts to other essential services.”