One per cent pay rise for police officers agreed

POLICE officers across England and Wales will receive a 1% pay rise in September, it has been announced.

At a Police Negotiating Board meeting on 11 April, An Official Side offer to increase Police officers’ pay by 1% from 1 September – a first police pay rise for two years – was accepted by the Staff Side.

This rise will be less than half of that seen for officers in the three years preceding the pay freeze which began in 2011.

Steve Williams, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “Staff Side wrote to the Official Side of the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) on 21 January asking for its proposals in respect of the up-rating police officers’ pay for 2013-14.

“At today’s meeting of the PNB the Official Side responded with an offer to increase all points on the pay scales for police officers by one per cent with effect from 1 September 2013.

“Although the Government has a pay policy for public sector workers in respect of the next two years, this agreement on pay up-rating for police officers applies only for 2013-14.

“After carefully considering the prospects of improving upon this position in the current economic climate and the need for certainty among officers in terms of managing their finances for the coming year, Staff Side has agreed to accept this proposal.”

In 2008, a deal was struck with the Labour Government that saw an increase in officers’ pay of 2.65 per cent for 2008/09, 2.6 per cent for 2009/10 and 2.55 per cent for 2010/11.

When the Conservative’s came to power in a Coalition Government in 2010, Home Secretary Theresa May said she would honour the last year of the pay rise, before the pay freeze came in in 2011.