Pay and conditions hit officer morale

16 February 2022

A total of 86 per cent of Hertfordshire Police Federation members who took part in a national pay and morale survey believe morale within the Force is low. 

The survey was carried out by the Police Federation of England and Wales in November and involved all 43 police forces with the results, published today, highlighting a number of serious issues including pay and conditions which continue to affect officers across the country.

The results from Hertfordshire are worse than those from the 2020 survey when the Force recorded the lowest levels of personal morale in the country. This year 64 per cent of Hertfordshire officers reported low personal morale compared to 56 per cent last year which follows a national trend. But this year three forces reported lower levels of personal morale – Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and Cumbria.

Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Geoff Bardell said: “The findings of this survey come as no surprise but should nevertheless act as a serious wake-up call to the Government and Home Office. They reflect years of cutbacks and under-resourcing which need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The police service has gone the extra mile throughout the pandemic despite a pay freeze and continues to receive poor recognition for its efforts.

“The negative coverage of policing in the media has also made a huge impact for our members the length and breadth of the country. Policing is going through one of the most turbulent periods in its history and everything should be done to ensure the brave men and women on the frontline are properly recognised, respected and rewarded for the service they provide particularly at a time when the cost of living is rising so steeply.”

A total of 80 per cent of respondents from the Force said they were unhappy with their overall remuneration with 95 per cent saying they do not feel they are fairly paid for the stresses and strains of their job.

Geoff added: “The figures tell a powerful story – policing is unique, and every day frontline officers are putting themselves at risk in serving the public and 85 per cent of my members feel they are not fairly paid for the dangers they face with half worrying about their personal finances every day or almost every day. This clearly should not be the case. Police officers need to be paid fairly for the critical role they carry out.”

But he added: “The survey results are challenging, personal morale has deteriorated both locally and nationally in the last year, but I am acutely aware of the work that has been done in Hertfordshire since the last survey to address some of the local issues around conditions of service and pay. Efforts by frontline colleagues and staff from specialist departments who volunteered to form a People’s Panel have made a positive impact not least in re-energising in-house awards and recognition processes.  

“There are also proposals about increasing the South Eastern Allowance in response to cost of living pressures which is also welcome. The Force is listening to our concerns and working to address issues where it has influence and I have no doubt this work will continue into the future because there is clearly still lots to do.”

Chief Constable Charlie Hall said: “The survey results last year were difficult for me and the chief officer team, but we acknowledged what the organisation was clearly telling us. I want to thank the many officers and staff who got behind the People’s Panel led by Assistant Chief Constable Genna Telfer bringing about significant improvements in a number of areas including fairness and reward and recognition.

“While I recognise the progress that has been made, the current survey tells us there is still work to do and I want to reaffirm my ambition to improve morale. I will continue to work locally and lobby nationally to improve the pay and conditions for all those involved in policing.

“I am also acutely aware of the cost of living pressures and in this year’s budget proposals submitted to the Police and Crime Commissioner, I sought a £500 increase in the South Eastern Allowance. I am pleased to say this has been incorporated into the budget for 2022/23 which is due to be finalised in the coming weeks.”

In positive news for the Force, only 37 per cent of Hertfordshire respondents said they worked more than 48 hours per week and only North Wales reported a more favourable figure.

But the report found 71 per cent felt worse off financially than five years ago and a looming cost of living crisis has already impacted on some with 15 per cent of Hertfordshire officers reporting never or almost never having enough money to cover all their essentials.

Dissatisfaction over pay and constant money worries have led to a catastrophic dip in morale with other reasons cited including how the police are treated by the Government (97 per cent), how the police are treated by the public (84 per cent), pension (69 per cent) workload and responsibilities and the Covid-19 crisis (both 65 per cent) and work-life balance (55 per cent). 

The fall-out from last year’s pay freeze is still being felt today with 93 per cent of officers saying they did not feel respected by the Government and 14 per cent wanting to leave the police service either within the next two years or as soon as possible.

Some 69 per cent said they would not recommend joining the police to others.

The report also found that 63 per cent of respondents felt their workload has been too high or much too high. Six per cent said that they have never or rarely been able to take at least one rest day per week.

The survey, conducted by the Police Federation’s in-house research department, was completed by 428 Hertfordshire officers, representing 19 per cent of officer headcount.

Read the full report.