Pay decision unfair as Government rejects independent recommendation

17 July 2026

West Mercia Police Federation chair Gareth Spreadbury has questioned the fairness and integrity of the police pay award process.

It comes after the Government rejected the independent Police Remuneration Review Body's (PRRB) recommendation of a 3.9 per cent pay rise for police officers, instead awarding a 3.5 per cent increase.

Gareth said: “This isn’t just about the money, it’s about fairness.

“If we have an independent review body that carefully considers all of the evidence and recommends a 3.9 per cent pay award, why has the Government chosen to reduce that to 3.5 per cent?

“If we were to ignore independent evidence within our policing roles as investigators, we would be held to account as to why, and this situation is no different.

 

West Mercia Police Federation chair Gareth Spreadbury

 

"There is no credible why coming from the Government and the silence is deafening.

"Police officers cannot negotiate their pay. We cannot strike, we cannot take industrial action, and we have very limited ways of challenging these decisions.

“That means we rely on an independent process being respected.

“When the Government chooses to ignore that independent recommendation without presenting a compelling justification, it undermines confidence in the system.”

Public sector settlements

Gareth highlighted the contrast with other public sector pay settlements.

He said: “MPs have had a five per cent increase.

“Train drivers accepted a settlement that delivered 5 per cent, 4.75 per cent and 4.5 per cent across three years. The armed forces were awarded 3.6 per cent, firefighters 3.8 per cent and this is because they're in a position to be able to negotiate.

“We're not able to negotiate because it's a one-sided conversation.

Independent evidence

“We ask that the independent evidence is respected and that police officers are treated fairly.”

The PRRB's report also raises wider concerns about the realities of policing, describing practices such as short-notice duty changes, annual leave cancellations and rest day cancellations as ‘exploitative’.

Gareth said this recognition made the Government's decision even harder to understand.

He said: “The independent review body has acknowledged the pressures officers face and the way goodwill is relied upon across policing.

“Officers routinely accept cancelled rest days, changes to duties at short notice and restrictions on annual leave because they are committed to serving the public.

Goodwill

“The danger is that policing has become too reliant on that goodwill. If officers simply worked strictly to their terms and conditions, the impact on policing would be significant.

“Nobody wants that to happen, but goodwill cannot be taken for granted indefinitely.”

Gareth added: “Fairness sits at the heart of policing. It is one of the principles that guides everything we do. We are asking to be treated with that same fairness ourselves.”

In its evidence to the PRRB, the Police Federation of England and Wales called for a minimum seven per cent pay award in each of the next three years to begin reversing years of real-terms pay erosion and stabilising the service.

The Federation commissioned an online poll of PFEW members conducted between 23 June and 6 July 2026, receiving 4,158 responses.

 

• 91% of members say a low pay award shows the Government does not respect policing.

• 78% are dissatisfied with their pay. Pay dissatisfaction is consistent across every rank and every force type.

 

PFEW national secretary John Partington said: “In going against the advice of its own expert pay review body, the Home Office has sent a clear message to police officers that it will ignore the evidence that shows police officers are long overdue a pay award that reflects their service and sacrifice.

Protect the public

“Police officers risk their lives to protect the public. The Home Office knows exactly the sacrifices the job demands, yet it has ignored independent advice.

“A pay award that barely beats inflation will drive more experienced officers out of policing, make recruitment harder and put the public at risk by weakening public protection.

“The Government found the money to give real pay rises to junior doctors and train drivers. But police pay declined by 22 per cent in real terms between 2010 and 2023, while the rest of the public sector saw its pay go up by 10 per cent.

“It’s clearer than ever before that the Government is controlling the pay review process.

Pay review body membership

“It handpicks the pay review body’s membership and tells them what they’re allowed to consider.

“It’s like a football match where one side selects the opponents’ players and referees the game.

“Even with all that in their favour, the Government has chosen to over-turn the result and fix the outcome.

“The time has come for a proper system of binding arbitration, along with collective pay bargaining, so police can be fairly paid.”

Gareth said that support was available to West Mercia Police officers if they are struggling financially through the police welfare fund, Oscar Kilo services, and the Group Insurance Scheme in certain situations. Visit https://polfed.org/westmercia/home/ for more information.

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