The pay and allowances of police staff in England and Wales have risen by only 20.9% over the twelve years since 2011.
If they had risen by the cost of living (Retail Prices Index – RPI), they would be 52.4% higher today than they were in 2011.
Government cost-cutting in the Police Service has slashed the value of police staff pay to a level where it is no longer competitive. Police staff are finding it hard, if not impossible, to manage on their current salaries.
The current cost of living crisis is leading to real hardship amongst police staff and their families. The RPI headline rate of inflation understates the impact of real terms pay cuts when we look at the extreme inflation that is now affecting food prices and the like.
OUR PAY CLAIM FOR 2023
Following consultation with our branches and members UNISON, alongside our sister trade unions on the Police Staff Council (PSC) for England and Wales, have submitted the following pay claim for police staff for 2023:
- One-year claim
- A guarantee that no pay points will fall below the Joseph Rowntree real living wage during the 2023/24 pay year (currently £10.90/hour)
- An increase of RPI* + 4% on all pay points
- An increase of RPI + 4% on standby allowance and overnight away from home allowance
- A variable increase in the value of pay points 8 – 19 to make each incremental step worth £500 creating more equal steps up the lower pay points of the PSC pay spine; this adjustment to be applied prior, and in addition, to the RPI +4% pay increase
- An increase in the minimum annual leave entitlement in the PSC Handbook from 24 days on appointment and 29 days after five years’ service to 25 days on appointment and 30 days after five years’ service
*RPI is the Retail Prices Index of Inflation which is the inflation measure which the Police Staff Council uses when negotiating police staff pay rises each year. You can check the latest RPI figures here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czbh/mm23
A full copy of our pay claim for 2023 can be found under Resources below.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
UNISON police staff members in England and Wales are invited to complete our cost-of-living survey.
We know that the cost-of-living crisis is having a major impact on the ability of many members to make ends meet, but we really want to find out exactly how rising prices, the increase in mortgage payments/rents and other financial strains are affecting our police staff members.
To help us prepare for pay negotiations UNISON would like to hear from all our police staff members in England and Wales about how you are doing financially. The more we know about how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting you, the better we can make the case for a decent pay rise for you this year.
You can access the survey here: 2023 UNISON Police Staff Cost of Living Survey
The survey closes on 30 June 2023.
JOIN UNISON
Decent pay and conditions don’t happen by accident. They happen because workers join trade unions and campaign for better.
If you are not already a member of a trade union, join UNISON now to add your voice to our campaigns for a better deal for police staff. Joining is easy.
RESOURCES
2023 Police Staff Pay Claim document
APPENDIX A 2023 PSC Pay Claim – pay increment illustration (002)
APPENDIX B – 2023 PSC Pay Claim – pay scale illustration (002)