Following consultation with members, the trade union side of the Police Staff Council (PSC), involving UNISON, Unite and GMB, has submitted a joint pay claim on behalf of police staff members in England and Wales.
Details of the claim, submitted yesterday, Thursday 9 April, are:
- A one-year award
- An increase of 9%, or £2,700, on all PSC pay points, whichever is the greater
- An increase of 9% on standby allowance and overnight away from home allowance
- A minimum pay rate of £15 per hour
- An Increase in the minimum annual leave on appointment from 24 to 25 days and from 29 days to 30 days after five years’ service
- Removal of the current overtime bar at pay point 24, so that all police staff are eligible for overtime payments at premium rate regardless of pay grade.
UNISON believes the claim is justified because police staff pay has only risen by 41.1% over the 14 years since 2011, whereas if police pay had risen by the RPI measure of the cost of living, it would be 79.8% higher at the end of 2025, than in 2011.This means police staff have had a 27.4% real terms cut in average pay over this period. The unions’ pay claim seeks to begin the process of restoring this lost earning power.
Low pay can’t stay
And it’s an ongoing problem in the police service: the real living wage rate for 2026 is £13.45/hour, which equates to an annual salary of £25,947. To achieve this as a minimum hourly rate for police staff would require the deletion of pay points 9,10 & 11. Police Scotland has already introduced a minimum hourly rate exceeding £15 an hour for its police staff, which should be replicated across England and Wales.
Overtime rates stuck in 1996
Police staff who earn more than pay point 24 (£35,772) are not eligible to earn overtime at premium rates. The overtime bar was set back in 1996, and no longer reflects the fact that many operational police staff now earn overtime salaries above the overtime bar. As police sergeants are eligible for overtime at premium rates, UNISON’s claim calls for the abolition of the overtime bar for police staff.
What happens next?
Pay talks will take place later this summer after the Police Staff Council employers’ side has consulted over the claim with police forces, and police and crime commissioners/elected mayors. More information on the talks will be published in due course.
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