On 12.9.2017 the government announced the public sector pay award for 2017-18.
As of 1st September 2017 federated ranks and superintendents will receive:
· a one per cent increase to base pay for all ranks
· an additional one-off non-consolidated payment
· a one per cent increase to the London Weighting payment in line with the main pay award
· a one per cent increase to the Dog Handlers’ Allowance in line with the main pay award.
Background to award
In December 2016 the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) received evidence from :
- The Home Office, including economic evidence from HM Treasury;
- The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) including the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS);
- The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC);
- The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) and the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales (PSAEW).
Government evidence
The HM Treasury (HMT) restated that the Government would fund public sector workforces for pay awards of an average of 1% a year up to 2019/20, and expected pay awards to be targeted to support the delivery of public services.
HMT considered that, as the UK faced a period of uncertainty following the vote to leave the EU, the 1% public sector pay policy would continue to play an important role in delivering the Government’s objective of reducing the budget deficit over an appropriate timeframe, protecting jobs and maintaining public services.
The Home Office commented that its recommendations for 2017/18 took into consideration the timing of the forthcoming reforms and that the Government was therefore keen for the pay award to focus on immediate measures for 2017/18 and to avoid any conflict with plans for wider pay structure reforms from September 2018.
The Home Office concluded that recruitment remained strong, there were no concerns regarding the quality of applicants, wastage rates varied significantly between forces but remained low overall at 5.5%, voluntary resignations were less than 2% of the workforce and the rate of retirements remained stable.
It considered that there was no further evidence to indicate that particular skill sets were being lost at unexpected career points or at an excessive rate.
Taking these factors into account, the Home Office proposed a 1% consolidated increase to all pay points for 2017/18.
Service evidence
The NPCC recommended a consolidated uplift for all officers of 1% based on:
- affordability at a time of pay restraint;
- preserving current pay levels and relativity;
- being in line with market practice in the public sector.
It continued to support an annual pay review for all ranks so that all officers could benefit from an annual increase. It considered alternative scenarios including:
- an unconsolidated 1% increase;
- an increase between 0% and 1% consolidated or unconsolidated;
- no increase.
The NPCC dismissed a higher percentage than 1% given the constraints of the Government’s four-year pay policy and said it had not seen evidence from a budgetary perspective that this would be justified given the need for affordability for individual forces.
It noted that compared to the external market, where overall median settlements were 2%, an increase above 1% would be justifiable but observed that the public sector continued to follow the 1% pay guideline, except for some county and local councils.
In doing so, the NPCC acknowledged that officers had experienced a number of years of pay restraint.
Although a non-consolidated approach was attractive for forces, the NPCC said that until the outcome of structural change was seen it had agreed current pay levels and relativity should be maintained.
The MPS supported the NPCC proposal although, it invited PRRB to reconsider the possibility of a non-consolidated pay rise. The caveat was that if the service did not deliver a new reward framework within a specified period the non-consolidated payment would then be consolidated into base pay.
APCC evidence
The APCC considered there were many compelling reasons to support an award in line with the Government public sector pay policy of 1% in 2017/18 given that there were no national recruitment and retention pressures and turnover rates remained low compared with other sectors.
It concluded that based on affordability, morale, public sector pay policy and prevailing economic indicators there should be a 1% pay award for all ranks and pay points.
In doing so, PCCs continued to recognise and value the considerable contribution made by police officers to the safety of their communities.
Staff association evidence
The PSAEW and PFEW jointly recommended a 2.8% increase to all pay spine points in line with the average projected RPI increase for 2017, so that officers should see no further decline as they had already seen significant falls in the real terms value of their pay.
The staff associations calculated that pay awards over the past eight years had resulted in a real terms pay gap of 14.6% and a continuation of Government pay policy to 2020 (alongside predicted inflation rates) would result in a pay gap of 23%.
PRRB conclusions
As a result of hearing this evidence the PRRB made the following recommendations to the Government in May 2017:
- A consolidated increase of 2% to all pay points for federated and superintending ranks.
- London Weighting and Dog Handlers’ Allowance to be uprated by 2%.
- The introduction of appropriate, targeted arrangements in 2017/18 to allow local flexibility for chief officers to make additional payments to police officers in hard to fill roles and in superintending ranks. This interim measure should have a time limit through to September 2020.
- In order to support our consideration of pay and reward, the Home Office, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and College of Policing should publish an integrated police workforce and pay reform plan through to 2020 which specifies the strands of reform, their purpose, lead responsibilities and the implementation strategy.
New pay scales
The new pay scales 2017 as of 1st September 2017 show the value of the non-consolidated pay award for each pay point.
Superintendent specific issues
As part of the PSAEW submission to the PRRB, in addition to an annual pay uplift we requested that Chief Constables be able to pay the superintending ranks an additional bonus payment. This would recognise the pressure and work load the rank has been managing following the loss of approximately 400 officers since 2010.
The PRRB recommended the NPCC work with the staff associations on a proposal for targeted pay for the Superintending ranks and bring this to the Police Consultative Forum.
National Secretary Dan Murphy sits on this forum and will continue to seek members’ views on how best to represent and negotiate on their behalf.
FAQs on the non-consolidated police pay award for 2017/18
1. How will the non-consolidated award be paid?
The non-consolidated award should be paid in monthly instalments alongside normal salary, rather than as a one-off lump sum. The payment should be backdated to 1 September, and end on 31 August 2018.
2. Is the 1% non-consolidated award calculated before or after the 1% consolidated pay increase?
The 1% non-consolidated award is calculated using the 2016/17 pay rates. The value of the non-consolidated award for each pay point for eligible ranks is attached .
3. Is the 1% non-consolidated award treated as an allowance or pay?
The non-consolidated award is treated as an allowance, paid in addition to basic salary. It is non-pensionable and is not included in the calculations for other payments that are based on basic salary, such as overtime.
4. What will part-time officers get?
The award will be pro-rated for part-time officers.
5. What happens to the additional non-consolidated payment if an officer’s employment terminates mid year?
The monthly instalments will terminate with salary. There will be no payment on termination of employment to make the total value of the monthly instalments equal to one percent of annual basic pay.
6. What happens if an officer is promoted mid year?
The non-consolidated award will be based on their new salary from the date of their promotion. The non-consolidated award should also be included in any calculations for Temporary Salary and Temporary Promotion payments made under Regulation 27, Annexes I and J.
7. What is the impact of the non-consolidated element on pensionable pay?
None. The non-consolidated award is not pensionable.
8. What is the impact of the non-consolidated element on sick pay?
The non-consolidated award should continue to be paid during periods of sickness absence.
9. What is the impact of the non-consolidated element on maternity pay, shared parental pay and adoption pay?
The non-consolidated award should be included in the calculations for these entitlements.
10. Will overtime and other allowances which are linked to basic pay, be based on calculations which include the non-consolidated award?
No. These payments will continue to be based on basic salary.
11. Will a non-consolidated award be added to the South East England Allowance?
No, this allowance will continue to be based on the rates published on 1 September 2016.