Government urged to act as low morale hits Welsh forces

16 February 2022

The Police Federation’s Welsh lead says officers are increasingly feeling “undervalued, underpaid and overstretched” following the publication today of a new report into pay and morale.

Nicky Ryan urged police chiefs and the Government to do more to support officers after the Federation’s pay and morale survey found 59 per cent of officers in Wales had low personal morale. This compared with 44 per cent in the 2020 survey.

In addition, 87 per cent reported low or very low force morale, up from 68 per cent in the previous survey.

“This survey paints a worrying picture of low morale and should give real concern to police chiefs and the Government,” Nicky said.

“Officers are increasingly feeling undervalued by decision-makers, underpaid for the hazards they face, and overstretched with ever-increasing workloads.

“During the last decade, our members have had their pay cut in real terms, seen swingeing cuts to the service and been put under significant pressure dealing with their ever-expanding day job while policing the constantly changing Covid rules.

“Worryingly more than two out of every five officers are regularly worrying about the personal finances with 14 per cent struggling to fund their monthly essentials.

“These figures are before the current cost of living crisis, which is squeezing dedicated, hard-working officers even more.

“So it’s no surprise that all this is taking its toll on morale. Officers are only human and have their own concerns, be they around the pandemic and its impact, or worries about their family, finances, and futures.

“While we’re starting to see forces recruiting more officers through the Government’s uplift programme, more needs to be done to look after, to value, and to retain our colleagues who are doing the job now.

“This report is a cry for help from our members, and chief officers and the Government would be failing if they ignore what’s being said.”

The main reasons given for low morale given by survey respondents from the four Welsh forces were how the police are treated by the Government (96 per cent), how the police are treated by the public (86 per cent), pay (84 per cent), workload and responsibilities (67 per cent), pension (65 per cent) and work-life balance (60 per cent).

The survey also found that eight per cent of officers intend to leave the police service, either within the next two years or as soon as possible.

Almost half (44 per cent) of officers worried about the state of their personal finances every day or almost every day. The report found that 14 per cent of officers never or almost never having enough money to cover their monthly essentials.

The survey of officers across Dyfed Powys, Gwent, North Wales and South Wales Forces also found that 94 per cent of officers don’t feel they’re paid fairly for the stresses and strains of their job, and 88 per cent said they’re not fairly paid for the hazards they face in the role.

The Federation’s pay and morale survey gathers members’ views on pay and conditions, as well as attitudes to work and the police service. Since 2014, it has been one of the largest annual surveys of police officers conducted within England and Wales.

Key findings for the Welsh forces:

Pay and remuneration

• 79 per cent said they are dissatisfied with their overall remuneration (including basic pay and allowances)
• 44 per cent reported worrying about the state of their personal finances every day or almost every day
• 70 per cent felt that they were worse off financially than they were five years ago
• 14 per cent reported never or almost never having enough money to cover all their essentials.

Morale and engagement

• 59 per cent said that their morale is currently low
• 87 per cent felt that morale within the force is currently low
• 67 per cent said that they would not recommend joining the police to others
• 95 per cent said that they do not feel respected by the Government
• 8 per cent said that they had an intention to leave the police service either within the next 2 years or as soon as possible.

Workload and working time

• 7 per cent said that they have never or rarely been able to take at least one rest day per week in the last 12 months.
• 66 per cent said that over the last 12 months, their workload has been too high or much too high.

Read the full report.