Survey findings: 'Far too many officers are unhappy at work'

10 April 2024

Nottinghamshire Police Federation chair Simon Riley says ‘far too many officers are unhappy at work’ after a new report shed light on morale in the Force.

Simon said he was pleased Nottinghamshire Police had a smaller percentage of officers saying their morale was low than the national average, but said more work needed to be done by the Force and the Government to improve morale.

He was speaking as the latest Pay and Morale Survey for Nottinghamshire was released by the Police Federation for England and Wales (PFEW).

It found that 45 per cent of respondents said their personal morale was currently low or very low. This was the lowest figure of all of the forces in England and Wales and below the national average of 58 per cent.

The report also showed that 79 per cent of respondents said that overall morale within the Force was low or very low, compared to a national figure of 87 per cent.

The main reasons for low morale were how the police are treated by the Government (92 per cent), how the police are treated by the public (83 per cent), and pay and benefits (74 per cent).

Simon said: “We’re pleased to see the percentage of Nottinghamshire officers who say their morale is low is lower than the national average, but it still means we have far too many officers who are unhappy when they come to work.

“There’s a lot of work to be done to improve that.

“One way to improve morale almost at a stroke would be for the Government to give our members a fair pay settlement that goes a long way to redressing the decade of real terms cuts they’ve endured.”

The PFEW figures show that 11 per cent of respondents in Nottinghamshire Police intend to resign from the service in the next two years or as soon as they can.

The most frequently cited reasons for intending to leave were morale (81 per cent), how the police are treated by the government (70 per cent), and the impact of the job on mental health and wellbeing (68 per cent).

Some 12 per cent reported never or almost never having enough money to cover their monthly essentials.

Almost three quarters (71 per cent) per cent said that they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their overall remuneration.

Simon said: “It’s shameful that officers are worrying about whether they can afford to pay the rent or the mortgage at the end of the month, whether they can feed their family, and whether they can pay their bills.

“Almost nine out of 10 of our members do not feel respected by the Government.

“That’s no real surprise given how pay and conditions have been eroded, and how policing is used as a political football, but it all feeds into low morale.

"Police officers currently don't have industrial rights. PFEW is looking at balloting members on whether they want to seek greater industrial rights, specifically collective bargaining and binding arbitration in relation to pay and conditions, because we can’t carry on with officers’ pay declining in real terms."

Other findings in the Nottinghamshire Police Pay and Morale Survey include:

·       58 per cent said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been too high or much too high.

·       Six per cent said they have never or rarely been able to take an 11-hour break between shifts in the last 12 months.

·       31 per cent feel always or often pressured into working long hours over the last 12 months.

·       40 per cent said they find their job very or extremely stressful.

·       82 per cent indicated they had experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing over the last 12 months.

Simon said he would be sharing the report with the Force's chief officers.

“We’ll be encouraging them to work with us to improve areas within their gift,” he said. “There’s lots to look at around demand, workloads, and welfare.”

Read the full Nottinghamshire Pay and Morale Survey report.