Officers need ‘substantial’ pay rise

27 October 2021

Police officers must be given a substantial pay rise next year, according to West Midlands Police Federation chair Jon Nott.

Jon was responding to the budget statement made today by Rishi Sunak in which the Chancellor announced an end to the public sector pay freeze.

“During his speech, he said public services are improving, the economy is back on track and wages are increasing,” says Jon, “But sadly that really is not the case for police officers. They saw their wages fall in real terms over a number of years and this year’s pay freeze, coming immediately after their commitment to maintaining policing services during the pandemic, was an utter insult. Either the cupboard is bare, Mr Sunak, or it is not.

“While we welcome the fact that the public sector pay freeze has now been lifted, any pay increase is determined by the Police Remuneration Review Body, which is supposed to be independent but actually takes direction from the Government, so we will have to see what is put forward next year.

“It is high time police officers were given a substantial pay rise to recognise the unique role they play in society, reflect the dangers they face while serving their communities and to make sure their pay is in line with the increased costs of living.”

The Federation’s national vice-chair, Ché Donald, has called on the Government to level up police pay so inflation is taken into account, and to make sure receive a fair wage for an increasingly difficult job.

“Police officers were shoddily treated by this Government and rewarded for their dedication and professionalism during the pandemic with a zero per cent increase, which was a real terms pay cut,” said Ché.

“While we welcome the Chancellor’s decision to end the unfair pay freeze for some public sector workers, this must result in an increase of more than the four per cent inflation figure he predicted for 2022, if it is to make a positive difference.

“As well as a real term pay increase, we urgently need a fair pay mechanism which is independent of Government interference and delivers a binding outcome to restore trust and faith in the police pay process as anything less is just populist political fanfare.”