Increment payments return for officers from 1 April

THE “Winsor” freeze on increment payments for police officers is about to thaw – with PCs and sergeants once again able to climb their way up the pay scales from April.

After a two year wait, constables across England and Wales in the first decade of their careers will see their pay rise on the anniversary of joining the job. The Winsor 1 report froze police officer increments at the end of March 2012. Now officers will start again where they left off two years ago.

This is to a maximum salary of £36,885, the top of the constables’ pay scale – currently 11 points.

Over the next three years the old 11-point constables’ pay scale will be reduced to eight points during an “assimilation process”.

This move is in response to Recommendation 55 of the Winsor 2 report, which stated: “Pay points 6, 7, and 9 should be removed from the existing constables’ pay scale in April 2014, 2015, and 2016 respectively.”

When a pay point is removed officers will not automatically move to the next highest pay point but will move instead in line with their incremental date.

The changes were circulated by the Police Negotiating Board on Friday March 7.

Neil Bowles, chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “We are glad to see the increments reinstated. Officers wanting to know their exact position should contact the force payroll department.”

According to the Police Federation of England and Wales, The Police Negotiating Board’s objective “was to reduce the pay scale in a fair manner.”

This, said the national federation, meant ensuring that no leapfrogging took place. However, there will be some “overtaking within the scale when officers resume their incremental progression at the end of the freeze. This will be rectified by the time officers reach the top of the pay scale so that no colleague with less service reaches the top of the pay scale ahead of them.”

Although there will be no leapfrogging there will be “catching up”. A large group of officers will reach the top of scale on 1 October 2016.

The Fed stated: “Due to the change to some constables’ incremental dates, a group of officers will move [increment points] twice in 2015 – once on their usual incremental date and once on 1 October 2015, which will become their new incremental date.”

This applies to officers who joined between 1 January and 30 September 2005, 1 January and 31 March 2006 and 1 January and 31 March 2007.

At the end of the assimilation process in April 2016, according to the Fed, there will still be two separate constables’ pay scales. “When all officers recruited onto the older constables’ pay scale have reached the top of that scale (which will be the same as the top of the pay scale for new entrants [who joined post April 2013]), there will in effect only be one pay scale for constables. This will happen in approximately 2020.”

Pay point 0 of the sergeants’ pay scale will be removed on 1 April – this according to the Winsor report – is to ensure “that sergeants are always paid more than constables, consistent with the greater responsibilities of the job.”

Sergeants who are on pay point 0 when it is removed will move directly to pay point 1 on 1 April 2014. These officers will have a new incremental date of 1 April and will therefore move to pay point 2 on 1 April 2015, after completing one year’s reckonable service.

Pay point 1 for a sergeant is £38,145.

All constables promoted to the rank of sergeant from 1 April 2014 will join the sergeants’ pay scale at pay point 1, irrespective of their length of service as a constable.

** South Yorkshire Police officers have been reminded their teams can apply to the force for special one off bonus payments. Details of how to apply are on the force intranet. **