‘It’s time to pay us properly’, says police federation
It is time to pay police officers properly for their hard work and the risks they face, Norfolk Police Federation has said, following the news that chief constables have recommended officers receive a pay award of just 3.8 per cent.
In its recent submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body, the National Police Chiefs’ Council recommended an annual pay uplift of 3.8 per cent for officers from September 2025. Meanwhile, staff associations for chief officers and superintendents and chief superintendents have recommended a higher pay uplift of 4.8 per cent.
Norfolk Police Federation chair Andy Symonds said he had met with Norfolk MPs to discuss the “huge unfairness” of the current pay award process for officers.
He said that a 3.8 per cent pay award “goes nowhere near what is required to recruit and retain the best people”, adding: “We’re still over 20 per cent down on where we should be, if it were not for low or non-existent pay awards for police officers over many years.”
The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) says there has been a degradation of pay for frontline officers of 21 per cent since 2009.
Mr Symonds said: “I understand that chief constables have to balance the budgets, but they should be asking for a pay award that properly reflects the pressures on their officers. Even the chief officers’ own staff association recommended a higher pay award of 4.8 per cent.
“Last year, chief officers recommended six per cent to the pay review body, which they ignored and awarded 4.75 per cent – the lowest pay uplift of any public-sector pay review body.
“This is yet more evidence that the police pay review system is broken beyond repair, lacks independence and fails every year to take into account the unique nature of police work. On what planet is it right to allow a system which gives zero negotiation rights to a representative body? And on top of that, we have zero industrial rights.”
Last year, a survey conducted by the PFEW showed that more than 97.7 per cent of members wanted them to pursue collective bargaining and binding arbitration.
Mr Symonds added: “It’s time to pay my colleagues properly. They put their mental and physical health at risk and continue to work at breakneck speed to cope with every demand thrown at them.
“The work is relentless, but my colleagues do this because it’s not just a job to them, it’s a vocation. They don’t expect to be overpaid, but they have the right to expect that their pay is not eroded to the point we’re now over 20 per cent down on where we should be. Why has this happened? Because we have zero rights to challenge these paltry pay awards.”