Police pay review 2011: suspend pay progression and cut overtime costs

The Government has already announced that it intends to freeze pay in the public sector for two years, starting in September for police officers and staff when their current multi-year deals expire (subscription required).The recommendations made in the review would come into effect at the same time.

Other proposals in the report include:

• maintaining protection for police officers against compulsory redundancy;
• suspending bonuses for chief officers and superintendents for two years;
• abolishing the competence-related threshold payments available to officers in federated ranks who have reached the top of their pay scale;
• abolishing special priority payments made to police officers in roles that carry particular responsibility or involve difficult working conditions;
• abolishing the additional shift premium for weekend working for police staff;
• suspending the current systems of performance-related pay; and
• reducing the staff standby allowance.

The review also suggests introducing:

• an extra 10% of basic pay to police officers for unsocial hours worked;
• an expertise and professional accreditation allowance for detectives, firearms and public order officers;
• extended maternity pay for officers from 13 weeks to 18 weeks; and
• a new system of awards for hard work and bravery of police officers and staff, and special constables.

The report explains that the recommendations would "concentrate the highest pay on the front line and more demanding roles in the police service". It says that some skilled police officers working unsocial shifts in response roles could see pay increase by around £2,000 a year, while those in back-office roles could see allowances cut by up to £3,000. It is estimated that the changes recommended in the report would save £485 million over three years from 2011/12 to 2013/14.

The report concludes that the system of pay within ranks for police officers, or job categories for police staff, is "in need of fundamental reform". It describes automatic pay progression as "a system of the past which fails to recognise either individual contribution or the weight and nature of the work" and recommends that progression for the whole workforce should be abolished in the medium term.

Pay progression arrangements in other parts of the public sector are examined in a separate feature (subscription required).

The review of police officer and staff pay and conditions, led by Tom Winsor, was commissioned by the home secretary Theresa May in October 2010 and covers police forces in England and Wales. The first report published yesterday covers short-term recommendations, while longer-term proposals will be put forward in a report due to be published in June. The future of pay scales, pay progression and performance appraisal will be covered in the second part of the review. This will also look at how pay and conditions for police officers and staff are decided. Currently, police officer pay is negotiated by the Police Negotiating Board and the pay for police staff by the Police Staff Council.

Responding to the review, Theresa May said she would consider the findings and ask the Police Negotiating Board to consider some or all of them. The home secretary is required to take the decisions of the PNB into account before making changes to the terms and conditions of police officers. The Police Staff Council will also be considering the review's recommendations.

The Police Federation, representing police officers in England and Wales, said that the recommendations, if implemented, "will have a devastating effect on policing", adding "police officers are furious". Unison, which represents 45,000 police staff, said the report was "blatantly unfair", with police staff bearing the brunt of the cuts.