Pay award is insufficient, says national Fed chair

1 August 2022

The police pay award is not enough to cover the cost of living crisis and for many officers is once again a real-terms cut, according to Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) national chair Steve Hartshorn.

Steve said there had been mixed reactions to the pay award announced last month but added that the Federation shared the anger and frustration of officers who were again left feeling undervalued, disheartened and let down by the award and by the Government.

He said: “The award of a flat increase of £1,900 across all ranks is simply insufficient to cover the prevailing cost-of-living crisis – triggered by the 40-year high rate of inflation, which continues to rise – and the amount ultimately fails to address the real-terms pay cut that police officers have been facing for over a decade.

“The latest PFEW pay and morale survey results highlighted that 99 per cent of officers strongly agreed police deserved a pay rise in line with inflation. The reality is that 99 per cent probably won’t see any benefit from this pay award at all.

“Most officers will receive far below five per cent, leaving them worse off financially than they were last year with a zero per cent increase due to the current crisis. Even for those officers who will receive the top end of the pay award, it will still not be enough to cover the increases in household bills, fuel and groceries. 

“How can we expect our police officers to be able to do their jobs effectively if they are unable to afford to look after their own basic needs?”

Steve said he was pleased the starting pay for new joiners on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) route had increased and acknowledged this would be reassuring for new recruits.

But he said for everyone else from PC to chief inspector, the settlement had fallen far short of what was required.

He warned that higher ranking, more experienced officers who are also dealing with the soaring inflation figures, had found the pay award wildly out of touch with the cost-of-living crisis.

“Across England and Wales, the feeling is that this award is divisive and devalues those officers longer in service,” he said.

“The divide promotes a lack of incentive for promotion and while it is right that new recruits should be paid more than they currently are, this should not be to the detriment of other officers which is what the award has achieved.”