Police Officer pay to rise by 4.75% in September

The Government has accepted recommendations to increase Police Officer pay by 4.75% across all ranks from 1st September 2024.

How your pay and allowances will change

Your gross pay will be uprated by 4.75% from 1st September 2024 regardless of your rank, whether you’re a new Constable or a Chief Superintendent.

To put that into perspective, a Constable on pay point 1 who joined the service on or after 1st April 2013 will see their salary go up from £28,551 (as of 1st September 2023) to £29,907 from 1st September 2024.

A Sergeant on pay point 2, by comparison, will see their gross pay increase from £49,077 to £51,408.

If you would like to view the latest salaries across all ranks in an easily accessible package, download the Metfriendly 2024/25 Police pay scales guide.

Some allowances will also change across England and Wales from 1st September 2024, including the London Weighting and the Dog Handlers’ Allowance, both of which will go up by 4.75%.

This will take the London Weighting to £3,024 per year and the Dog Handlers’ Allowance to £2,826 per year for the first dog. The additional rate for officers handling more than one dog will rise from 25% to 50% of the rate for the first dog.

The On-call Allowance, meanwhile, will go up from £20 to £25 per day. This is an interim measure, pending the results of a 2024-25 review of allowances by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

There was also some good news regarding annual leave, which is due to be increased from 22 days to 25 days for new recruits, taking effect from 1st April 2025.

A plan to reduce the time required for federated ranks to reach the maximum 30-day annual leave entitlement from 20 to ten years has also been approved. This is set to be phased in over three years from 1st April 2025, based on proposals from the NPCC. It will be achieved through incremental increases in available annual leave between six and ten years of service.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government values “the vital contribution of Police Officers across the country who work tirelessly to keep us safe every single day”.

She added that Officers have “a crucial role to play in delivering the Government’s manifesto commitments to make Britain’s streets safe and increase public visibility through neighbourhood policing”.

Higher pay welcomed with caution

The confirmation of an above-inflation pay increase was generally welcomed by policing bodies and member organisations, including the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW). The Federation said the 4.75% award, on top of last year’s rise, “goes some way to closing the gap” between earnings and the 17% real-terms pay cut it said Officers have suffered since 2010.

Calum Macleod, National Secretary of the PFEW, also warned that “poor pay and morale” means many Officers “aren’t staying in the force and we are losing valuable experience from the service”.

Cost of living pressures continue

While the 4.75% pay boost is certainly good news, there’s little doubt many Officers will continue to struggle with the cost of living this year and beyond.

As referenced in the latest PRRB report, our latest Police Family Finance Index found that the majority (55%) of the 6,000 serving and retired Police Officers surveyed said their financial situation had worsened in the past year, despite the 7% pay rise they received in 2023.

One in five (21%) were skipping meals and nearly one in ten (9%) said either they or members of their family had used a food bank.

More than half (56%) of respondents said their financial situation had a serious impact on their mental health.

Annette Petchey, Chief Executive Officer, Metfriendly, commented: “The ongoing cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on everyone, but it is having a particularly significant impact on the mental health of the Police Family.

“Those in the force face long hours, excessive workloads, changing shift patterns and exposure to trauma day in, day out. The very nature of the job means that maintaining mental health is often an uphill battle, which can be exacerbated by financial stresses.”

How can Metfriendly help?

A study at Bristol University found that saving money regularly can help improve sleep. Just a small sum can also help people to relax and be more optimistic about the future.

If you want to start saving to build up financial resilience, that’s where we can help. Firstly, Metfriendly hosts a range of events including regular saving and family finance webinars, which could help you make your funds go further and even get free money from the Government.

Secondly, we have a range of financial products and low-start, regular saving options to help you get on that savings ladder, including saving tax-free in our Monthly Savings ISA. You’ll shield your savings from the taxman and, hopefully, sleep more peacefully too.

We also like to share thoughts from former Police Officers such as Nick Walter, who recommended, whenever you get a pay rise, thinking carefully about whether you need to spend that extra money or if some of it could go into savings.

“After all, you managed to exist without the extra money, so it’s worth seeing if you can do without,” Nick said.

And don’t forget, if you want easy access to those updated salary figures, download the Metfriendly 2024/25 Police pay scales guide.