“A 7% pay rise is the bare minimum of what we need when we look at the cost of living for cops,” the Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.
Steve Kent was speaking as the national Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) asked for a minimum 7% annual pay rise for each of the next three years. Last year, officers received a 4.2% pay increase, after years of below-inflation pay deals.
In its report to the Police Remuneration Review Body for 2026, PFEW said the multi-year pay settlement was essential to improve retention, morale and operational capability. It also called for a raft of improvements to officer conditions, including increased allowances and annual leave.
By contrast, the National Police Chiefs’ Council is supporting a 3.5% pay rise if it is fully funded by the Government, or a below-inflation 2.5% if it is not.
Steve said: “We need to repair the damage to police pay, which is nearly 20% down on where it should be after the decimation of the 2010-2012 period.
“That being said, we have to be realistic, and 7% seems a sensible figure that I think officers would accept. I think we do need a structured three-year plan to redress the balance.”
Police pay needs to reflect the pressures officers face, as well as help with recruitment and retention issues, Steve said.
He continued: “I think 7% this year is the bare minimum of what we need when we look at the cost of living for cops, and to make the job attractive to the right type of people.
“We need to get the right applications, and we need to be able to pick the best of the crop. It also will hopefully prevent people wanting to leave the police for other occupations, which we see all the time. Officers deserve to be able to afford a decent standard of living. The pay also needs to reflect the disproportionate scrutiny that police officers are under.”
The PFEW is also calling for:
- Full recognition of the ‘P Factor’ in police pay, to properly reflect the risks, restrictions and obligations unique to policing.
- Fewer pay points for PCs to simplify progression and improve competitiveness, including removing the lowest pay points to reflect frontline expectations from day one.
- Increase the unsocial hours allowance from 10% to 20%, for work between 8pm and 6am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Acting up and temporary promotion payments should be paid from day one and made pensionable.
- The maximum London and South East allowance should be paid as standard.
- Increased annual leave, with any unused leave to be paid.
- A new long-service leave and recuperation leave.
- Workload payments to Inspectors and Chief Inspectors should be extended, with additional pay for hours worked beyond 48 per week, pending a full review of the 1994 PNB Agreement.