THE Home Office and the country\u2019s Chief Constables have called for 1% pay rises for police officers in 2016.<\/p>\n
In their separate submissions to the Police Pay Review Body (PRRB), both have called for a small increase to police officer pay \u2013 matching the Home Secretary\u2019s call that there will be \u201cfunding for pay awards up to an average of 1% a year.\u201d This is in contrast to the Police Federation of England and Wales and the Superintendents\u2019 Association who have asked for a 2.8%\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n A decision is likely to come from the PRRB this summer \u2013 which would then need to be ratified by Home Secretary Theresa May \u2013 prior to the pay rise being introduced in September 2016.<\/p>\n As well as calling for a 1% pay rise, chief officers in England and Wales have recommended scrapping the away from home allowance and all Bank Holidays \u2013 apart from Christmas Day and New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n The National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council argues that \u2013 following the lead of Scotland \u2013 officers should not be entitled to Bank Holidays, aside from Christmas Day and New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n Instead, other public holidays would be available for rostering, and officers would get nine extra annual leave days a year \u2013 this would affect officers financially.<\/p>\n \u201cPolicing is a 365 day a year, 24\/7 occupation and the terms and conditions should reflect this,\u201d PoliceOracle.com reported the NPCC as stating.<\/p>\n \u201cBank Holidays in many parts of the country are among the busiest times of the year for policing \u2013 for example, May Day parades, August Bank Holiday Carnivals, Boxing Day sporting events and New Year Celebrations all require police presence in strength to ensure public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n It goes on to argue that \u201cthe increasing diversity of police officers mean that traditional UK Bank Holidays are no longer as universally significant as they once were\u201d.<\/p>\n There had been a thought that the Home Office was seeking targeted pay rises for police officers \u2013 which would have created haves and have nots.<\/p>\n However in the department\u2019s submission to the PRRB, it states: \u201cWe acknowledge that any pay award in addition to performance-linked pay progression would need to apply to all officers, since there is currently little justification for withholding the award from poor performers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe accept the view expressed by the police pay review bodies last year that poor performance measures are intended as a supportive tool to help improve performance, and that denying any uplift to this group in addition to withholding pay progression may disincentivise managers from using them. 5<\/p>\n \u201cTaking into account these factors and all available workforce evidence, we therefore propose a 1% consolidated increase to all pay points, at all ranks for 2016-17.\u201d<\/p>\n