Police chiefs suggest three year pay deal to boost officer pay
POLICE chiefs have asked the Police Remuneration Review Body to consider a three rather than one year pay deal for the first time, to give officers a bigger upfront pay increase.
Chiefs have offered two options: an increase of between two and two and half per cent from September 2019; or a three-year pay deal worth over six per cent with four per cent payable from September 2019 in order to maximise the initial pay increase.
They have also recommended on-call allowances for federated ranks (up to the rank of chief inspector) rise from £15 to £20 a day. Rises in subsequent years should be indexed to increases in base pay.
National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Pay and Conditions, Chief Constable Francis Habgood, said: “Police chiefs’ recommendations have to balance the desire to see officers fairly rewarded with the need to maintain services to the public within budget. These are always difficult decisions for chiefs and forces face different financial challenges.
“For the first time, we’ve asked the police pay review body to consider a three-year deal, which gives us the opportunity to give a bigger upfront pay increase this year. It would mean more cash earlier for officers.
“We’ve pushed the boundaries of affordability to get the best deal possible for officers. Without extra funding, any pay increase above this level would mean cuts elsewhere.”
This is all part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s annual submission to the PRRB, the body which makes recommendations on police officers’ pay, for 2019/20.
It will be considered alongside recommendations from the Home Office, police and crime commissioners and the staff associations. The independent PRRB then assess all the evidence and make recommendations to the Home Office, which makes the final decision.
Mr Habgood added: “If the independent body decides against a three-year pay deal, we have recommended a one-year increase of between two and two and a half per cent as the maximum all forces can afford.
“We have also recommended boosting on-call payments to frontline officers. As always my thanks go to officers and staff across the country for all they do to keep the public safe.”
London Weighting (currently £2,444 pa), and the Dog Handlers’ Allowance should also rise in line with the increases recommended in base pay, Chiefs said.
The recommendation for a three-year deal is for a four per cent increase in the first year, followed by no increase in year two, and an increase of two per cent in the third year. If Consumer Price Index for December 2021 is higher than two and half per cent, the pay increase for this final third year will be reconsidered, however a minimum of two per cent would be guaranteed.
Alex Duncan, Secretary of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said the NPCC pay proposals undervalue officers.
He added: “Our members have endured years of below-inflation pay awards that have seen rank and file officers drop up to 23% below where they should be. We are recommending a 5% uplift in pay for police officers this year, followed by 5% in both 2020/21 and 2021/22 to start the journey of returning police pay to where it deserves to be.
“The NPCC are offering 4% in 2019/20, followed by a pay freeze next year, so that they can model the financial impact of their proposed pay structure. The modelling should already have been done. It’s not fair to penalise officers for lack of progress on pay reform.”To see the NPCC submission in full, go to: https://www.npcc.police.uk/Publication/PRRB/NPPC%20Pay%20Report%20110219.pdf