NPCC considers parental pay

17 October 2019

Police chiefs are putting together a detailed proposal that could see an increase in the time officers receive full pay while on maternity, paternity or adoption leave.

The move, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) chair Martin Hewitt, would be aimed at bringing the police service in line with the most competitive packages in the public sector and would be part of proposals to make a career in policing more attractive in terms of recruitment and retention.

“It’s interesting to see this being considered by police chiefs,” says Geoff Bardell, chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation, “As we are now embarking on the biggest recruitment drive in many years, with 20,000 officers set to be taken on nationwide in the next five years, this could be a significant development.

“But, it’s not just about recruitment; we also have to make sure we retain the skills and experience of the officers we already have. We invest a significant amount of money in recruiting new officers, training them and developing their skills only to lose them further into their career and sometimes due to the pressures of juggling the pressures of being a police officer and raising a family.

“At a time when many of us have concerns about the NPCC’s work around performance-related pay, which we do not feel is appropriate in policing, it is good to see that our leaders are also looking at other ways of modernising our pay structures.”

Sir Thomas Winsor, who is now Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, first sought to instigate an overhaul of the police pay system with this two reports on police officer and staff remuneration and conditions, the first in 2011 and the second a year later.

He argued then that the pay system had been designed more than 30 years ago and said skills, performance and successful crime-fighting were not rewarded with time-served still being the key factor in pay.

Sir Tom called for changes to basic pay, with lower starting salaries and quicker progression, stronger links between both pay and skills and pay and performance, new entry routes and the option of compulsory severance.

“As we are now seeing, some of Sir Tom’s recommendations have been implemented but I strongly believe that linking pay and performance would be a step too far,” says Geoff.

“First and foremost, I think police chiefs should be giving more attention to ensuring that police officers’ basic pay reflects the unique role they play in society. During the years of austerity, police officer pay has not kept pace with the private sector and we need the Government to address this.

“We will only recruit the very best candidates and retain our experienced officers if we offer a pay package which takes into account the very real risk police officers take each and every day as they serve their communities. Performance-related pay has no place in policing but fair pay for all officers should be a given.”