Branch backs calls for multi-year pay uplift

17 March 2026

Nottinghamshire Police Federation has voiced its support for national calls for a sustained multi-year pay uplift for officers.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has called for officers to receive a seven per cent increase in each of the next three years.

PFEW described it as an ‘essential reset to halt a downward spiral in retention, morale and operational capability’.

The call is made in PFEW’s submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB).

It comes after:

• The Government’s remit letter to the PRRB made clear that recommendations must reflect affordability within existing funding settlements; and

• The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) indicated it would support a 3.5 per cent award only if fully funded, falling to 2.5 per cent if it is not.

Rising violence

Nottinghamshire Police Federation chair Mark Lee said: “Our members have suffered a 20 per cent erosion in their pay over the past decade, and while we welcome the NPCC’s call for an increase, 3.5 per cent is nowhere near enough.

“In real terms, officers are significantly worse off than they were a decade ago, and yet are expected to do more than ever before, face rising violence against them, and maintain the highest levels of service.

“We welcome PFEW’s submission to restore police pay, which will help boost officer morale and, in turn, stem the number of officers leaving and make policing more attractive.

“We would urge the Government to award our members a pay uplift that reflects the unique role of policing and starts to restore their pay to where it was more than a decade ago.”

Alongside its pay claim, PFEW is calling for structural reform of police remuneration, including the introduction of a military-style ‘P Factor’ to recognise the unique risks, restrictions and psychological trauma within policing.

Evidence

The evidence submitted to PRRB shows:

• Almost half of constables have five years’ service or less

• Record levels of mental health-related sickness absence, and

• Persistently high numbers of assaults on officers. 

PFEW National Secretary John Partington said it was disappointing that the NPCC had shown it was ready to accept such a low settlement.

PFEW National Secretary John Partington

He said: "Officers will be putting their health and their lives on the line this weekend, knowing their chiefs are recommending what is in effect a real-terms pay cut. Chief constables should be honest with the people they are supposed to lead: they are endorsing another reduction in officers’ living standards, one which has obvious and severe consequences.

"You cannot demand more courage, more resilience and more personal risk while steadily reducing the value of the job. Brave and dedicated men and women are leaving policing in record numbers because it no longer pays enough to justify the cost to them and their families."

He added: “If affordability within existing budgets becomes the ceiling for police pay, we are guaranteeing a broken service. It is neither fair to officers nor affordable to the public who pay the cost in crime and reduced safety.

“A properly independent review body must determine what resources proper policing really needs, not simply how much more blood can be squeezed from the stone."

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