The 2019 pay submission

The Federation put forward a written submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body - jointly with the Superintendents' Association - recommending a three-year pay deal to rescue police officers from a financial cliff-edge.

Using the National Police Chiefs' Council's own pay mechanism and data, and taking into account proposed ‘P factor’ payments (which the Federation thinks should be 14 per cent, in line with 'X factor' payments to the military), it calculates that constables are already up to 18.4 per cent below where they should be, and sergeants up to 19.4 per cent below.

Therefore, it is proposing a  five per cent uplift in pay for police officers this year, followed by five per cent in both 2020/21 and 2021/22.

The submission, which was made in February this year, included eight recommendations:

Recommendation 1: The PRRB requires the NPCC to set out a full and proper project plan for pay reform, including a workable level of detail, within a set period.

Recommendation 2: The PRRB insists that the Home Office, NPCC and staff associations determine which elements of the pay reform should be prioritised, as the NPCC has not actioned this since last year.

Recommendation 3: In the interests of openness and transparency, and achieving appropriate expenditure from the public purse, a full cost benefit analysis of the existing Assessment and Recognition of Competence (ARC) process is undertaken. Only if it can be proved to be worth the overlay in terms of cost and time, should the NPCC proceed with plans for a Higher Skills assessment point linked to pay. Further, consultation regarding any payment associated with the Higher Skills assessment must be undertaken at the Police Consultative Forum, and a full Equality Impact Assessment undertaken before such assessment is linked to pay.

Recommendation 4: Regarding the targeted bonus payments introduced last year, while the bonus payments should continue for now, there must be an opportunity to review: the circumstances under which they are paid; the impact on equal pay; and the guidance around their use, perhaps by incorporating more standard criteria.

Recommendation 5: A review is undertaken including both the London and SE Allowances, but that in the meantime the discretionary element is removed from the SE Allowances; all SE Allowances are set at the upper limit permissible (currently £3,000); and that both the London and SE Allowances are uprated in line with inflation.

Recommendation 6: We recommend an across the board pay uplift for the next three years. We seek a deal of five per cent in Year 1, followed by five per cent in each of Years 2 and 3. This would enable the NPCC to demonstrate a commitment to move towards the overall rectification of the gap between current pay level and just pay levels. Should a three-year settlement not be considered possible, then we seek a one-year deal of 6.2 per cent.

Recommendation 7: The PRRB should reject completely the NPCC proposal regarding Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) and Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) progression pay. DHEP progression pay is not within the remit letter. In the meantime, we believe those on the PCDA scheme should progress along the existing constable pay scale, in the way that all other entrants do.

Recommendation 8: Regarding on call, in the absence of a full review of the allowance usage and amount, as sought by Winsor, the PRRB, and the staff associations, officers should be paid the same rate as staff members: £29.17 per day. Further, we believe this should be paid to all ranks.