A five per cent pay rise could help police forces tackle the current officer retention crisis, according to Cambridgeshire Police Federation chair Liz Groom.
The Telegraph is reporting that the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) will recommend the five per cent pay award which, if agreed by the Government, would come into effect in September.
“If the Telegraph report is accurate then the PRRB recommendation would see us receive a pay rise that is more than double the rate of inflation currently,” says Liz.
‘While we would welcome this, we also have to keep in mind that during the austerity years, we suffered a real-terms decline in our pay as we received below-inflation pay rises at a time when all other costs were increasing.
“It is no surprise that police forces are struggling to retain police officers with one in five of those who took part in our latest pay and morale survey saying they planned to leave policing. The role is demanding, and officers put their lives on the line while serving their communities. A five per cent pay rise may help us hold on to more officers.
“But this recommendation would not detract from the Federation’s soon-to-be-launched campaign for a new mechanism for determining officer pay awards, which should include collective bargaining and access to binding arbitration.
“The current pay review process is not independent of Government which sets its remit, telling the review body what it can consider, and then also reserves the right to ignore any recommendations it makes.”
The Police Federation of England and Wales no longer makes a submission to PRRB, saying it is not fit for purpose and does not offer an independent pay award mechanism.
After a nationwide survey, members called on the Police Federation to campaign for industrial rights – specifically for a fair process of collective bargaining and binding arbitration – after a nationwide poll.
The results of the latest pay and morale survey revealed that 85 per cent of Cambridgeshire Police Federation members did not feel they were fairly paid given the hazards they face within their job, up from 78 per cent in 2018.
More than three quarters (78 per cent) disclosed they were ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with their overall remuneration (including basic pay and allowances), while 18 per cent reported ‘never’ or ‘almost never’ having enough money to cover all their essentials.
We will give a full report on the PRRB recommendations when the report is published.