Federation calls for 17 per cent pay rise for officers

9 March 2023

Welsh affairs lead Nicky Ryan has insisted the 17 per cent pay rise called for today by the Police Federation was a fair reflection on the cost of living crisis and the fact that members had suffered real-terms pay cuts.

Nicky said independent research from the Social Market Foundation (SMF) showed pay had been lagging behind inflation by around 20 per cent since 2000.

She said this had left many members struggling to make ends meet and in some cases using food banks to help feed their families.

“The Police Federation today announced it was calling for a pay increase of at least 17 per cent for its members,” she said.

“This figure takes into account both the cost of living crisis and the fact that police officers haven’t had a proper pay rise since 2000.

“Police pay is not only lagging behind inflation but lagging behind the public sector more generally.

“What we ask is that this discrepancy is corrected, especially given the very real risk our members face every day simply by going to work.”

The SMF research found other protective services workers had received  an average real-terms rise of 1 per cent since 2000 while other public sector workers had received increases equalling 14 per cent. MPs’ salaries went up by 4 per cent in real terms during the same period.

The report said the decline in police pay was likely to be linked to the restrictions on police officers’ right to strike, which puts them at a distinct disadvantage to all other workers including other emergency service workers.

A key factor in discussions of police pay is the “P-factor” which SMF has suggested should be a figure offered in addition to their findings.

The report references the P-factor as an element of police pay that reflects the unique obligations and responsibilities police officers’ experience relative to other comparable roles.

This includes their unique risk of exposure to physical and psychological harm, alongside the restrictions that are placed upon their private lives.

The P-factor payment does not feature in the report highlighting that the actual figure of degradation of police pay is significantly higher.

Police Federation national chair Steve Hartshorn said the SMF research should act as a “wake-up call for policy-makers in the UK”.

He said: “Police officers put their lives on the line every day to serve and protect their communities.

“That is why today our National Council has taken the decision to call for a minimum of 17 per cent increase in pay for our officers.

“The Government can no longer sit by and ignore our members’ basic needs and must recognise the impact of this independent research.

“In the context of ongoing inflation, indications of a police retention crisis, and reports of officers being forced to turn to food banks, the issue of police pay must be addressed now after more than a decade of being ignored.”