Pay uplift 2019 effective date

24 September 2019

A small number of members have raised the fact that there is a discrepancy between the gov.uk report of the Treasury statement on the timing of the uplift, and the Home Secretary’s statement regarding the Police Remuneration Review Body.

The gov.uk report suggests that “pay rises will be backdated to the start of each work force’s financial year”. The Ministerial statement by contrast states:

“….the government has accepted in full the recommendations of the PRRB that a consolidated increase of 2.5% should be awarded to all ranks at all pay points. It has also accepted a corresponding increase to London Weighting and the Dog Handlers' Allowance and an increase in the on-call allowance for officers in the federated ranks from £15 to £20 for each 24-hour period on-call. These will be implemented with effect from 1 September 2019”, (our italics).

The confusion seems to stem from the fact that the Financial Year in many organisations is the same as the Pay Year, and usually starts in April. This is not so for policing, where September has traditionally been the date from which changes to pay are implemented.

We sought clarity from the Home Office as to when the uplift is intended to take effect in policing. The Home Office has stated that “the phrase “each workforce’s financial year” in the gov.uk news story was intended as an overarching description for payments to be made according to the start of each workforce’s specific pay year”.

The Home Office has confirmed that when the statutory consultation occurs regarding the uplift, the date for uplift will be 1st September. “When we consult on changes to Annex F and Annex U, the effective date will be 1 September 2019”.
Officers should therefore expect the full recommendations of the PRRB to be implemented, and backdated to 1st September 2019.

Alex Duncan, and Dan Murphy National Secretaries PFEW and PSA