Page 25 - WMPF Federation June-July2018-flip_Neat

Pay and conditions panel (left to right): general secretary Andy Fittes, Federation head of research and policy Dr Joan Donnelly,
Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg and Chief Constable Francis Habgood, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for
pay and conditions.
starting salary of £23,000, which was paid and grading and organisational have a plan in place.
at the time of the Winsor review, would development. The aim was to give a clear Dr Donnelly questioned the validity
now stand at £26,500 if it had increased in framework for career development and of the pay data used to calculate the
line with inflation. progression through the police service. entry level starting salary used in the
Dr Donnelly said the Treasury seemed Unique elements of policing should be submission made to the NPCC, stating
to be dictating that pay should be linked to reflected in the P-factor – perhaps formerly that it contained data from
some kind of productivity and that was not referred to as the X-factor – which refers to apprenticeships that did not fall into the
necessarily the right approach to policing. physical, psychological, legal and socio- same high-level apprenticeship that
And there was widespread concern economic issues, including the restrictions would be used in the police service.
about how the lower salary would attract on an officer’s use of social media. Another theme that Federation
the right recruits and also recognise the Andy said that police pay was not easy representatives returned to in their
pressure they would face in training in the to sort out and admitted, if it was easy, it questioning of the panel was whether it
challenging role of being a police officer would have been dealt with a long while was right to put an emphasis on recruits
and also completing more academic ago. There were many variations on the needing a degree to join the service.
studies. theme of recruitment across forces and Later in the day Home Secretary Sajid
The session began with a dry this did not help consistency. Leaders, he Javid was asked if he thought a police
presentation from conference regular, Chief said, the Home Office, chief constables and officer needed a degree - he replied: “No,
Constable Francis Habgood, the National PCCs, should be consistent and should I don’t.”
Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for pay
and conditions, who talked about the link We have a fundamental issue over the
between workforce transformation and
officer pay structures. “
He outlined a national pay structure, starting salary of £18,000; we think it’s too
local supplements, links between pay and
contribution, pay and competence and pay
and specialist skills, a review of increments, low. And I still think it’s wrong that we are
consolidation of allowances and
consistency between police staff and
officers doing similar work. asking people to do a job we all do at such
He talked about the College of Policing
and NPCC Workforce Transformation in the
Police Service project which was looking at a low level of pay.
attracting and recruiting people into the “
police service, professional development,
wellbeing and engagement, leadership, pay

www.westmidspolfed.com federation June/July 2018 25