The Police Federation of England and Wales opened its 2025 Annual Conference with a clear message: policing must be fairer, modernised and grounded in compassion for those who serve the public every day.
National Secretary John Partington and Deputy National Secretary Mel Warnes set out a programme for reform - covering pay, recruitment, pensions, family support, and industrial rights - to ensure officers are valued, protected and heard.
Mr Partington reaffirmed the Federation’s commitment to greater openness and member influence over the pay process. Over the past year, PFEW delivered:
• the first ballot on the Government’s final pay offer
• direct communication with every officer
• clear evidence outlining member priorities
This work contributed to a 4.2 per cent pay rise, alongside increases to on-call, away-from-home overnight and hardship allowances. The Pay Review Body has also invited proposals on several reforms pushed by PFEW, including:
• a shift disturbance allowance
• a detective’s allowance
• clearer, enforceable leave guidance
• recognition for extra hours routinely worked by the inspecting ranks
Looking ahead, Mr Partington stressed that percentage increases applied equally across ranks deepen inequality. Lower earners - who spend almost their entire income on essential costs - need higher awards to maintain real terms pay.
“A superintendent and a constable face the same inflation, but not the same pressure,” he said. “Identical percentages create inequality.”
Mr Partington also highlighted the urgent need to reform police recruitment. Recent cases have shown the consequences of inadequate screening. He called for mandatory psychological and psychometric testing for every applicant and throughout initial training.
“This is about safeguarding the integrity of policing,” he said. “Resilience, empathy and moral strength cannot be assumed - they must be tested and proven.”
PFEW argues this is essential for rebuilding public trust and ensuring candidates meet consistent professional standards across England and Wales.
On pensions, Mr Partington warned that too many officers - including those who have transferred forces, work part-time or are affected by pension-sharing orders - are facing unacceptable uncertainty.
A growing number are opting out of pension schemes entirely, which he described as a “red flag”. He also repeated PFEW’s long-standing concerns about the Pay Review Body. “Is it fit for policing? No. It is not,” he said.
Because officers cannot strike, the Federation is calling for:
• collective bargaining, and
• binding arbitration
These mechanisms would create a fair, modern pay system free from political interference and better suited to a workforce with unique restrictions.
Mr Partington warned without reform, more officers will leave the service permanently through resignation.
Deputy National Secretary Mel Warnes delivered a powerful address on the need for compassion to be embedded directly into policing’s Regulations.
She highlighted how officers face some of life’s most challenging moments while working under pressure - bereavement, miscarriage, neonatal crisis, domestic abuse, and caring responsibilities - yet the current system offers inconsistent, limited support.
Unlike most workers, police officers do not automatically receive:
• paid maternity support leave
• paid carer’s leave
• neonatal care leave
• safe leave
• full bereavement leave
• paid leave for miscarriage or pregnancy loss
Support varies dramatically by force, creating a postcode lottery.
To fix this, PFEW launched its Charter for Change - a blueprint for a modern, compassionate workplace. The Charter calls for:
• full pay from day one for family-related leave
• up to 12 weeks’ full-pay neonatal care leave
• proper risk-assessed return-to-duty processes
• removal of the phrase “subject to the exigencies of duty”, often used to block compassionate support
“This isn’t radical,” Ms Warnes said. “It’s humane.”
With the cost of recruiting and training a new officer estimated at £180,000, she argued that compassionate policies are not only the right thing to do - they improve retention and reduce long-term costs.
Both closed with a clear message: officers deserve the same fairness, dignity and respect they show the public every day.
“We’re not asking for special treatment,” Mr Partington said. “We’re asking for fair treatment. And we won’t stop until we get it.”
In the Q&A, Ian Collins asked Mr Partington about the recent Telegraph headline referring to “wimps”. He stressed: “I want to be very clear, myself or the Police Federation would never use that term. We have been clear we need to raise the standards of recruits coming into the service. We need better temperament and values. This is about initial entry and making sure people are ready for the job – nothing about being wimps.”
On the Police Remuneration Review Body, he said policing is trapped in “a system closed at both ends, regulated in the middle, all by government”, with officers unable to strike and therefore lacking any leverage. “The main tool we have got as a Federation is the right to withdraw labour, and we simply don’t have that. Having the same pay review body is simply unfair.”
Asked about senior leaders, Ms Warnes said support varies widely across forces. “Some chiefs are already doing the right thing… eight forces were giving two weeks’ full-pay paternity leave before the recommendation came in. But many others aren’t standing up for their officers. It’s a postcode lottery.”
When the discussion turned to adjusted duties, PFEW Equality Lead Hayley Aley warned budget pressures mean some forces treat adjusted-duties officers as a cost-saving opportunity rather than valued personnel.
She said: “Forces invest £180,000 in training them, then when they need support, they are put through a punitive process. The guidance says it should be done collectively with the individual, not done to them. Most officers still bring an awful lot to policing even if they need a different role.” She added the process is increasingly being used “to make savings”, which “needs to stop”.
On the impact of compassionate support, Ms Warnes said pay and wellbeing issues become far more manageable when forces understand the realities of officers’ personal lives. “If officers felt supported and valued, forces would get more out of them,” she explained.
“When a newborn baby is in an incubator, paying an officer properly rather than forcing them onto sick leave means they come back stronger.”
She shared cases of officers left without adequate pay during neonatal crises, including one denied maternity leave and pay after losing a prematurely born baby before 24 weeks because “it wasn’t in regulations”.
She added policing’s Regulations remain outdated. “We have not modernised along with everybody else. We need to come into the 21st century.” Mr Partington agreed, noting the review of part-time regulations began in 2012 and “we are still waiting for that to be finalised”.
Ms Aley also stressed the need for forces to learn from employment tribunal outcomes. “We support huge numbers of disability-related cases - £3.8 million for our members alone. The same forces repeat the same mistakes. If this was a private organisation, it wouldn’t happen. There needs to be real catching up.”
Asked about changes to conduct and performance, Ms Warnes noted there has been a significant number of changes in the past 18 months, particularly around vetting, with further amendments expected.
She said forces now urgently need clear Home Office guidance to ensure regulations are understood and applied consistently.
