Performance related pay would be divisive, says Federation

10 December 2018

New plans to introduce performance related pay will be ‘divisive’ Greater Manchester Police Federation is warning.

The College of Policing recently said that major reform of police officer pay, work patterns, recruitment and deployment would be ‘quid pro quo’ for extra funding from the Treasury, currently being sought by the Home Secretary.

Critics have suggested the National Police Chiefs Council driven initiative could lead to a target focussed, payment for arrest culture among officers.

Greater Manchester Police Federation Chairman Stu Berry said difficulties would arise in trying to assess the contributions made by differing police teams.

“You only need to scratch the surface of this proposed initiative to see the difficulties with the ideology and implementation,” he said.

“Traditional frontline policing is by far the most difficult role in policing.

“So how would they differentiate between the haves and have nots this divisive system would create? How does the College of Policing propose to decide who is making the biggest contribution?

“The firearms officer versus the detective, the response officer versus the community officer?

“How would the College ensure that these posts and opportunities are available to all that wish to obtain them? There are only so many positions and accreditations available in a period of extreme austerity,” he added.

“Pay should not be linked to length of service and the time it takes to achieve incremental pay points should be significantly reduced. This will financially reward officers from the point of confirmation in the role and reflect the dangers they face from day one .” he said.

“The threat, harm, risk and dangers faced by officers each day will not discriminate against length of service, academia or accreditations. I’m not sure how the ceaseless quest for accreditation will reflect performance. Previous governments have tried and failed with performance indicators leading to a race to record low level offences and raise statistics. Back around the wheel of fortune we go.”

Stu’s also not convinced that having a degree will add any significant value for officers either and that policing shouldn’t just be a step on the career ladder.

“Policing should not be stepping stone to advance a career in the private sector at great cost to the public purse,” he added.

“If we want to attract the best and retain the best, police officer pay must reflect those ambitions.”