Pay delay is “kick in the teeth” for officers

POLICE officers have received a real “kick in the teeth” after the Government delayed the announcement about their pay rises.

Officers expected to hear what their pay rises would be for next year in July, but at the last minute the Government said the announcement would not be made until after Parliament returns in September.

Zuleika Payne, South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair, said: “The decision to delay the announcement on the pay increase just serves as an illustration as to how we are regarded. And when we think morale couldn’t get any lower, this comes as a real kick in the teeth. It begs the question how are we regarded? How are we viewed? What are attitudes towards the police?”

Zuleika said the Federation was at a loss to explain the decision. She added: “We can’t see any credible reason why they’ve done this. There doesn’t seem to be any plausible reason for this to have happened. And all it has done is damage morale even further, making people feel very undervalued.

The Police Federation of England and Wales and the Superintendents’ Association had asked for a pay increase of 2.8% for all police officers. Ordinarily the announcement for the rise would have been made by the Home Secretary in July – having considered a report from the Police Remuneration Review Body.

Steve White, Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “At a time when it’s never been more critical to support our police service, this delay does little to enamour officers who already feel undervalued.”

The Home Office has confirmed that the pay award will now not be announced until after Parliament returns from the summer recess on 5 September.

While any pay increase will be backdated until the beginning of September, many officers will be left out of pocket for months after.