Background

Following the news of a pay freeze for police officers in November 2020, PFEW launched a national campaign on behalf of members with the aim to reset police-Government relations and fight for a fairer pay system that acknowledges the tremendous efforts of police officers who risk their lives every day to keep our communities safe and considers the extra pressure of increased inflation on living costs.

Our members have suffered a 20 per cent real-terms cut in their pay since 2010. This figure is set to increase further with costs of living set to rise substantially and inflation at the highest level this decade.

The current pay mechanism is overseen by the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) established to conduct an independent ‘evidence-based approach’ to determine police officer pay. However, the PRRB itself is limited to considering matters directly requested by Government, inhibiting the independence of the body and making the process ineffective and unfair.

Aims and objectives

PFEW’s fair pay campaign calls for an alternative to the unjust police pay review mechanism that has impacted officers for years and been the source of disputes with successive governments.

PFEW has gathered compelling data from members via various surveys throughout the last year to demonstrate the need for the Government to pay officers fairly.

It is our ambition that our campaign will result in an independently fair pay mechanism for police officer pay and conditions that officers and staff associations have confidence in.

Timeline

July 2021

The Federation withdraws from the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) after recommendations were again disregarded by the Government, seeing officers with no uplift in pay despite the efforts and challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Federation and colleagues from across England and Wales hand-delivers a letter to the Prime Minister and Chancellor setting out our withdrawal based on the zero per cent pay award for police officers, disregarding their personal efforts and sacrifices during the pandemic.

PFEW trialled a number of hashtags to support the impact of the pay campaign. The top two impactful hashtags with the wider public and members were:

#PayOurPolice and #PoliceUnderPressure

August 2021

PFEW HQ led a myth-busting campaign around the current pay and conditions for police officers and ran multiple op-eds in national newspapers to raise awareness of the campaign.

September 2021

PFEW coordinated public polling through a specialist research team, we found that support for the police is high among both Labour Switchers and those in minority seats, additionally, there is support for police pay rises; with four in five supporting a pay increase at the next opportunity. Around three-quarters of respondents thought it is the responsibility of government to ensure police are paid fairly.

You can read the results of the public polling here.

October 2021

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), the Superintendents’ Association (PSA) and the Chief Police Officers' Staff Association (CPOSA) discuss the legal options available to the staff associations.

November 2021

PFEW ran our Pay and Morale campaign to gather data on the current conditions faced by police officers.

February 2022

Pay and Morale Survey reveals:

• 93% said they do not feel they are respected by the Government
• 95% said treatment by the Government had a negative impact on their morale, and 84% said treatment by the public had a negative impact on their morale
• 67% said they would not recommend joining the police to others, a dramatic increase on last year
• 82% of those who intend to resign from the police said their morale had a major effect on their intention to resign, 77% said the treatment of the police by the Government had a major impact on this decision
• 92% said they are not fairly paid for the stresses and strains of their job and 86% of respondents said they do not feel fairly paid for the hazards within their job
• 74% of respondents said they feel worse off financially compared to five years ago and 73% of respondents said they feel worse off financially compared to 12 months ago

March 2022

A Judicial Review is filed after a letter before action is sent putting the Government on notice that court proceedings could be brought forward

May 2022

PFEW launched a member pay poll to gather further evidence so we can continue lobbying the Government for a fair pay increase. 

Overall 57,451 officers responded revealing:

• 99% strongly agreed police deserve a pay rise in line with inflation and cost of living
• 96% strongly agreed police deserve a pay rise that adequately compensates for the risk associated with their work
• 95% strongly agreed pay for dangerous jobs, like police work, should reflect the risk of their work
• 93% strongly agreed police are undervalued by the current Government
• 65% think the current starting salary for police officers would negatively influence potential new recruits from wanting to join the service
• 69% have thought about leaving the service in the last 12 months

November 2022

To further progress and refresh the fair pay campaign, PFEW has again trialled a number of hashtags to support the impact of the pay campaign. The top three impactful hashtags with the wider public and members were:

#FairPayForPolice #ProtectOurPolice #PayOurPoliceProperly 

December 2022

PFEW successfully held its largest parliamentary engagement event in recent years, speaking directly to more than 50 MPs to rally support for its core campaigns.

At the House of Commons, national and local Federation reps conversed with MPs, Lords, and police and crime commissioners, including Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Tom Pursglove MP, Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, Louie French MP, our parliamentary sponsor, former Home Secretary Priti Patel and former Policing Minister Kit Malthouse.

Productive discussions were held focussing on the pressures faced by police officers, lack of investment and the need for fair pay, conditions and recognition.

December 2022

PFEW successfully held its largest parliamentary engagement event in recent years, speaking directly to more than 50 MPs to rally support for its core campaigns.

At the House of Commons, national and local Federation reps conversed with MPs, Lords, and police and crime commissioners, including Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Tom Pursglove MP, Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, Louie French MP, our parliamentary sponsor, former Home Secretary Priti Patel and former Policing Minister Kit Malthouse.

Productive discussions were held focussing on the pressures faced by police officers, lack of investment and the need for fair pay, conditions and recognition.

March 2023

PFEW called for a 17 per cent pay increase for police officers after an independent study by a leading non-partisan think tank showed a landslide decline in police pay since 2000.

The independent research by Social Market Foundation (SMF) revealed real terms police pay has fallen almost 20 per cent behind inflation between 2000 and 2022.

This makes the police an outlier among protective services workers; public sector workers; and all workers. The report found all these groups saw their pay rise in real terms over this period – by 1 per cent, 14 per cent, and 5 per cent respectively.

Top points of SMF’s research:

• Police officers’ pay in the UK has declined by 17 per cent in real terms since 2000
• Police pay has risen at barely half the rate of an average UK employee across the same period
• Police pay is an outlier amongst other protective services workers and the public sector, likely being negatively impacted due to police officer’s inability to strike or have access to any form of industrial rights
• Police pay fell by 17 per cent in real terms between 2000 and 2022, while other comparator groups of protective services workers and public sector workers saw their pay rise by between 1-14 per cent

You can read more about the Social Market Foundation (SMF) research here.

The National Council is helping everyone speak with one voice on these issues, while taking into account the local issues that are referenced through PFEW branches.

At the National Council meeting in March, attendees spoke about what’s needed at a local level. These discussions will feed into the next-steps framework, which will be fed back to the Home Office