The Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) and the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) have asked for a pay rise of 5% in their joint submission to the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB).
The submission puts forward a strong body of evidence justifying the pay increase, citing the economic impact of lengthy pay stagnation, affordability, and benchmarking comparisons.
With the largest ever police recruitment campaign underway in a bid to recruit 20,000 more officers by 2023, the associations call for a clear focus on pay reform to support the attraction and recruitment of so many new officers, plus the retention of skilled, experienced officers at all ranks who will be crucial to the success of a larger inexperienced workforce.
In addition to the joint PSA/Police Federation report, the Association has also provided a joint submission with the Superintendents’ Association of Northern Ireland (SANI) to the PRRB evidencing issues that specifically concern the Superintending ranks.
It makes 18 requests for the PRRB to consider or comment on, including:
- The recommendation of additional pay points at the top of all ranks’ pay scales to incentivise retention
- The need for full and meaningful engagement with all stakeholders and staff associations before new proposals are agreed
- A recommendation for cyclical engagement between Chief Constables and the PSA to assess the requirements of Working Time Regulations and to determine whether each force has the appropriate number of superintending ranks
- A review of Home Office processes for changing regulations
- A request on behalf of SANI for an independently chaired Police Consultative Forum arrangement or something similar to be implemented in Northern Ireland.
The submission also discusses in detail the Associations’ joint concerns over the fairness of the process in place for deciding upon police pay and terms and conditions. It details concerns over a lack of ‘procedural justice’, with no meaningful challenge of the powers afforded to the Home Secretary, and no negotiating rights afforded to the staff associations.
National Secretary Dan Murphy said:
“Our submissions, which have been completed with our staff association colleagues, represent almost every police officer across our workforce, and describes the shared concerns over the fairness with which police officers are paid and the way in which their terms of employment are decided upon.
“Everything we have submitted is based on solid evidence and research, backed up by years of dedication and experience on the part of our members, who serve as policing’s senior operational leaders.
“Whilst we appreciate recent government investment into our service in the form of the large scale recruitment that is underway, we continue to raise concerns in relation to the issues of procedural justice within the machinery used to decide the pay and pension arrangements for officers.
“Police officers routinely put themselves at risk and perform a role unlike any other. They therefore expect to be treated fairly and need to have trust and faith in the processes that determined how they will be remunerated. Whilst improvements have undoubtedly been made, we still work within a rigid process where the workforce is struggling to have a voice that is heard.
“The PSA is proud to be supporting the government’s recruitment programme, and we hope that the evidence and experience we continue to provide, will support real improvements to pay and reward processes, allowing us to retain and enhance our workforce.”
“Everything we have submitted is based on solid evidence and research, backed up by years of dedication and experience on the part of our members, who serve as policing’s senior operational leaders.
“Whilst we appreciate recent government investment into our service in the form of the large scale recruitment that is underway, we continue to raise concerns in relation to the issues of procedural justice within the machinery used to decide the pay and pension arrangements for officers.
“Police officers routinely put themselves at risk and perform a role unlike any other. They therefore expect to be treated fairly and need to have trust and faith in the processes that determined how they will be remunerated. Whilst improvements have undoubtedly been made, we still work within a rigid process where the workforce is struggling to have a voice that is heard.
“The PSA is proud to be supporting the government’s recruitment programme, and we hope that the evidence and experience we continue to provide, will support real improvements to pay and reward processes, allowing us to retain and enhance our workforce.”
The PFEW news item on its submission can be viewed here.