Different pay rises for different police officers coming?

“TARGETED” pay rises for police officers could be on the table – bringing an end to all the country’s cops receiving the same percentage rise to their wage.

The Home Office has published the remit it has given the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB ) for a pay rise scheduled for September 2016. Theresa May has asked that police pay “reflects the competence, skills and professional development of officers in a way that is fair and sustainable.”

The remit gives the PRRB guidance around what it should consider this year when making its recommendations and the parameters within which it should fit.

Mrs May emphasises in her letter that she wants the Body to consider “evidence on the targeting of particular groups” when it comes to awarding pay rises and “an expectation that pay awards will be targeted within workforces to better reflect those whose skills are most in demand and support the delivery of public services.”

Neil Bowles, Chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “What is the point of setting up and paying for an Independent Police Pay Review Body, if two Government departments then tell them what to decide?

“One of those departments is the Home Office that cannot add 2 and 2 together apparently. It’s a total farce.”

He added: “Successive Governments have now dismantled the collective pay negotiation machinery that was brought in to stop management exploiting officers who have no employment rights. We will be doffing our caps for our pay next.”

In considering the appropriate level of pay for police officers, Mrs May has asked that the PRRB considers:

• The need to ensure that the proposals reflect the Government’s policy on public sector pay as outlined in the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s letter – in particular, that there will be funding for pay awards up to an average of 1% a year, with the expectation that these will be applied in a targeted manner;

• The Government’s continued commitment to maximising flexibility for chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to manage their workforce in the most efficient way possible at a local level;

• The role and nature of the office of constable in British policing;

• The prohibition on police officers being members of a trade union or withdrawing their labour;

• The need to recruit, promote, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified officers that reflect the communities they serve;

• The affordability of any recommendations, particularly in light of the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review; and

• The work of the College of Policing and chief constables in taking forward recommendations from the Review of Police Leadership.

The Government also want the Police Pay Review Body to consider issues including whether any adjustments should be made to London and South East allowances, overtime rates for bank holiday working, motor vehicle allowance rates and the Away from Home Allowance.

With a Police Remuneration Review Body, issues over police officer pay and remuneration in England and Wales are no longer negotiated.

Instead the Review Body considers evidence submitted by interested parties – chief constables, police and crime commissioners and staff associations – and then advises the Home Secretary, who will make all final decisions on pay.

The Review Body’s timetable for a 2016 pay award includes receipt of written evidence by January and then oral evidence from interested parties in March 2016.

The report will be given to the Government by 17 June next year.

The full letter from Home Secretary Theresa May to the Police Pay Review Body chairman is here