Police Staff Pay Scales 2026/27: PSC Spine and Take-Home
Police staff pay in England and Wales: the full Police Staff Council spine, SCP 9 to 45, the 4.2% award and take-home after tax - pending the 2026 award.
Police staff are not police officers
This is the distinction that sends people to the wrong page, and it is worth two sentences before any number. Police staff are the civilian employees of a force: PCSOs, custody detention officers, control room and 999 call handlers, forensic and digital forensic staff, intelligence analysts, and the HR, finance and fleet functions that keep a force running. They are not warranted officers and they do not hold police powers.
Almost nothing about the two pay systems is shared:
| Police officers | Police staff | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay set by | Police Remuneration Review Body recommends, Home Secretary decides | Police Staff Council: employers' side and UNISON, Unite and GMB negotiate |
| Pay structure | Rank scales with pay points | A single spine of spinal column points, roles attached locally |
| Pension | Police Pension Scheme 2015 | Local Government Pension Scheme |
| Settlement date | 1 September, by Home Office determination | 1 September, by agreement of the Council |
Who this spine does not cover. The circular is addressed to Police and Crime Commissioners and force HR and payroll teams, and copied to Scotland and the Metropolitan Police for information only, and the Handbook describes the Council's advisory remit as police staff in England and Wales "excluding the Metropolitan Police". So the figures here are England and Wales outside the Met. Northern Ireland is outside the Council altogether.
Looking for warranted ranks instead? See police officer pay scales, which covers constable to chief superintendent.
Which rates are actually in payment
The figures throughout this page are the spine from 1 September 2025, which is still in payment while the 1 September 2026 round is negotiated. They come from Police Staff Council Joint Circular 142, dated 3 November 2025, which agreed 4.2% on every point on the spine.
One feature of that circular explains figures that otherwise look mis-typed: for payroll purposes every uplifted point is rounded up and made divisible by three. So no point lands exactly 4.2% above its own previous-year value, and applying the percentage by hand will not reproduce the published spine. (The step between one spine point and the next is a different thing entirely: on the published spine it ranges from 1.59% to 3.49%.)
Every spine point, and what it is after tax
Take-home is for a single person in England with no student loan, in the LGPS main section, on the standard tax code. The contribution rate steps up with pay, which is why net pay does not rise in a straight line with gross.
| SCP | From 1 September 2025 | Pension | Take-home / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | £24,747 | 5.8% | £20,189 | £1,682 |
| 10 | £25,242 | 5.8% | £20,523 | £1,710 |
| 11 | £25,713 | 5.8% | £20,840 | £1,737 |
| 12 | £26,196 | 5.8% | £21,165 | £1,764 |
| 13 | £26,703 | 5.8% | £21,507 | £1,792 |
| 14 | £27,204 | 5.8% | £21,844 | £1,820 |
| 15 | £28,071 | 5.8% | £22,428 | £1,869 |
| 16 | £28,914 | 5.8% | £22,996 | £1,916 |
| 17 | £29,859 | 6.5% | £23,465 | £1,955 |
| 18 | £30,333 | 6.5% | £23,782 | £1,982 |
| 19 | £30,897 | 6.5% | £24,159 | £2,013 |
| 20 | £31,749 | 6.5% | £24,728 | £2,061 |
| 21 | £32,613 | 6.5% | £25,305 | £2,109 |
| 22 | £33,603 | 6.5% | £25,966 | £2,164 |
| 23 | £34,662 | 6.5% | £26,674 | £2,223 |
| 24 | £35,772 | 6.5% | £27,415 | £2,285 |
| 25 | £37,020 | 6.5% | £28,249 | £2,354 |
| 26 | £38,169 | 6.5% | £29,016 | £2,418 |
| 27 | £39,276 | 6.5% | £29,756 | £2,480 |
| 28 | £40,383 | 6.5% | £30,495 | £2,541 |
| 29 | £41,487 | 6.5% | £31,233 | £2,603 |
| 30 | £42,612 | 6.5% | £31,984 | £2,665 |
| 31 | £43,668 | 6.5% | £32,690 | £2,724 |
| 32 | £44,700 | 6.5% | £33,379 | £2,782 |
| 33 | £45,765 | 6.5% | £34,091 | £2,841 |
| 34 | £47,046 | 6.5% | £34,946 | £2,912 |
| 35 | £48,459 | 6.8% | £35,774 | £2,981 |
| 36 | £49,716 | 6.8% | £36,611 | £3,051 |
| 37 | £50,949 | 6.8% | £37,472 | £3,123 |
| 38 | £52,194 | 6.8% | £38,375 | £3,198 |
| 39 | £53,451 | 6.8% | £39,287 | £3,274 |
| 40 | £54,696 | 6.8% | £40,049 | £3,337 |
| 41 | £55,944 | 6.8% | £40,722 | £3,394 |
| 42 | £57,186 | 6.8% | £41,392 | £3,449 |
| 43 | £58,431 | 6.8% | £42,063 | £3,505 |
| 44 | £59,664 | 6.8% | £42,728 | £3,561 |
| 45 | £60,912 | 8.5% | £42,780 | £3,565 |
Basic pay only. Excludes shift and unsocial hours payments, overtime, standby and any local market supplement. Where a given role sits on this spine is decided by each force through its own job evaluation, so the same job title can sit on different points in different forces.
The 1 September 2026 round
The settlement date has passed and no award has been agreed. The last published position, from the employers' side secretariat's police staff page at the LGA (checked 30 September 2026), is that the Police Staff Council met on 19 August 2026 for negotiations, and that the round is open: talks due to resume on 10 September 2026 were postponed, and the employers' side says they will be rescheduled in due course.
The trade union side's claim asks, from 1 September 2026, for 9% or £2,700 on every pay point, whichever is greater, a minimum rate of £15 an hour, and a day more annual leave. That is the claim, not an offer or an award.
Until a circular is issued, the rates in payment remain the ones above. When an award is backdated to 1 September 2026, when the arrears reach a payslip is a matter for each force's payroll.
We are not going to estimate the new points. The spine is rounded by a rule of the Council's own, so a percentage applied by hand produces figures that disagree with the payslip - which is exactly the error this page exists to avoid.
Allowances
Uplifted by the same circular, all from 1 September 2025.
| Allowance | Before | From 1 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Standby allowance per period of standby duty | £36.13 | £37.65 |
| Away from home overnight per night away | £50 | £60 |
| Essential user car allowance annual lump sum only | £846 / £963 / £1,239 | £1,239 |
A period of standby duty is either the span from the end of normal office hours to their start the next day, or a twelve-hour period at a weekend or on a public holiday. The overnight allowance rose by a flat £10, not by 4.2%.
The car allowance change is a pay rise for most essential users, not a tidy-up. The three engine-size lump sums were £846 for 451-999cc, £963 for 1000-1199cc, £1,239 for 1200-1450cc. Harmonising them to a single rate means harmonising them to the highest of the three, so a driver of a 451-999cc car gains £393 a year and a 1000-1199cc driver £276. Only the top band is unchanged.
This applies to the annual lump sum alone. The mileage elements stay banded by engine size - 36.9p / 40.9p / 45p up to 8,500 miles, with separate over-8,500, petrol and VAT elements for each band.
Pension contributions
Police staff are in the Local Government Pension Scheme. Main-section contributions are banded on actual pensionable pay, not on the full-time equivalent, so a part-timer pays the rate for what they actually earn.
| Actual pensionable pay | Main section rate |
|---|---|
| £0 to £18,400 | 5.5% |
| £18,401 to £29,000 | 5.8% |
| £29,001 to £47,300 | 6.5% |
| £47,301 to £59,800 | 6.8% |
| £59,801 to £84,000 | 8.5% |
| £84,001 to £119,100 | 9.9% |
| £119,101 to £140,400 | 10.5% |
| £140,401 to £210,700 | 11.4% |
| £210,701 and above | 12.5% |
The LGPS is a net pay arrangement. The contribution comes out before Income Tax, so relief is automatic at your marginal rate and there is nothing to claim. National Insurance is charged on the full gross, which is why the real cost of a contribution is higher than a salary sacrifice pension of the same size.
The rates above, and every take-home figure on this page, assume the main section. LGPS members may instead elect the 50/50 section and pay half the contribution for half the pension build-up. Take-home rises by less than the half of the contribution saved, because that contribution was deducted before Income Tax: the saving is taxed at your marginal rate once it is paid to you.
Related
- Police officer pay scales 2026/27 - constable to chief superintendent
- NJC pay scales 2026/27 - the Green Book spine, a different instrument
- Public sector pay rises 2026/27 - every award in one place
- Salary calculator - net pay on any spine point
Frequently asked questions
Are police staff paid on the same scales as police officers?
No, and the two are set by different bodies. Police officers are covered by the Police Remuneration Review Body, which recommends to the Home Secretary. Police staff - PCSOs, custody officers, control room and 999 call handlers, forensic staff, analysts and force support functions - are covered by the Police Staff Council, where the employers' side and UNISON, Unite and GMB negotiate directly. The pay spine, the pension scheme and the settlement date are all different.
What is the police staff pay rise for 2026?
Not yet agreed. The settlement date is 1 September 2026, but the Police Staff Council had not announced a 2026/27 award when this page was last checked on 30 September 2026. Negotiators met on 19 August 2026 and the round is open: talks due to resume on 10 September 2026 were postponed, and the employers' side says they will be rescheduled in due course. Until an agreement is reached and a circular is issued, the rates in payment are the ones from 1 September 2025 shown below. We will not estimate the new figures: the published spine is rounded to a rule of the Council's own, so any percentage applied by hand would disagree with the payslip.
What does a PCSO or call handler earn?
Both sit on the same Police Staff Council spine, which runs from £24,747 at spinal column point 9 to £60,912 at point 45. Where a particular role sits on that spine is a local matter: forces evaluate their own posts and attach them to spine points, so a PCSO in one force can be a point or two away from a PCSO in another. The spine is national, the placement is not.
Which pension scheme are police staff in?
The Local Government Pension Scheme, not the Police Pension Scheme, which is restricted to warranted officers. LGPS main-section contributions are banded on actual pensionable pay and run from 5.5% upwards. It is a net pay arrangement, so the contribution is deducted before Income Tax and relief is automatic at your marginal rate, but National Insurance is charged on the full gross. That is why the real cost of the contribution is higher than a salary sacrifice pension of the same size.
Does this spine apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
No. Scotland has its own arrangements, and staff resident there also pay Scottish Income Tax rates, which changes take-home on an identical salary. Northern Ireland is outside the Police Staff Council entirely: policing there is devolved and Police Service of Northern Ireland staff pay is settled separately. Within England and Wales there is one further exclusion worth knowing, and it is a large one - the circular is copied to the Metropolitan Police "for information only", so the Met is not covered by this spine either.
What happens above spinal column point 45?
The published award table stops at point 45, but the points above it are not invented locally. The Police Staff Council Handbook sets a national rule: points above 45 may be constructed by adding consecutive points each 2.2% above the one before. The pay award circular confirms that any point built that way also rose by 4.2%. This page stops where the published table stops rather than extrapolating, because the number of points a force has built is a local matter even though the step between them is not.