Police London Weighting: what Met and City officers get
London Weighting, the London Allowance and the South East England Allowance are three different payments with different rules. Here is who gets each one, how much, who sets it and whether it counts for your pension.
Updated 1 October 2026
The short answer
London Weighting is a flat addition to the pay of every Metropolitan Police and City of London Police officer: £3,150 from 1 September 2025, rising by 3.5% to about £3,260 from 1 September 2026. It counts as pay, so it is pensionable. Most Met and City officers also get a separate London Allowance of up to £6,819, set by the Commissioner, which is not pensionable.
The 2026/27 figures are our calculation (the official 2025/26 rate plus the 3.5% confirmed in written statement HCWS264). The Home Office had not published the 2026/27 determination by 30 September 2026, so the official figures may differ by a pound or two.
London and South East payments at a glance
All amounts are a year for a full-time officer. Part-time officers are paid pro rata.
| Payment | Who gets it | From 1 Sept 2025 (official) | From 1 Sept 2026 (calculated) | Who sets the rate | Pensionable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Weighting | Every officer in the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police | £3,150 | £3,260 | Fixed national rate (Annex F, Part 10) | Yes: it is part of pay |
| London Allowance | Met and City officers appointed on or after 1 September 1994 who do not get a replacement housing allowance | up to £6,588 | up to £6,819 | The Commissioner of each force, up to the maximum (Annex U, para 3) | No: it is an allowance, not pay |
| London Allowance (lower rate) | Met and City officers who joined before 1 September 1994 and still get a replacement housing allowance | up to £1,011 | Not confirmed | The Commissioner (total capped, Annex U, para 3(b)(ii)) | No |
| South East England Allowance | Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Kent Police, Surrey Police, Thames Valley Police | up to £3,000 | up to £3,105 | The chief constable, up to the maximum (Annex U, para 5) | No |
| South East England Allowance (lower rate) | Bedfordshire Police, Hampshire Constabulary, Sussex Police | up to £2,000 | up to £2,070 | The chief constable, up to the maximum (Annex U, para 5) | No |
Sources: Home Office Circular 011/2026 (Annex F Part 10 and Annex U) for 2025/26; HCWS264 (15 July 2026) for the 3.5% uplift to London Weighting and to the London Allowance and South East Allowance maxima. A separate London transitional supplement of up to £1,000 applies to a small group who joined before 1 September 1994.
Free calculator
See what London pay means for your take-home
Pick the Met or City of London Police, your rank and pay point, and the calculator adds the allowances and works out tax, National Insurance and pension.
Met constable pay with London Weighting, 2026/27
The constable scale for officers appointed on or after 1 April 2013 (every new recruit). New constables join on pay point 1; since 1 April 2025 a chief officer can choose to start all new constables on pay point 2. The final column assumes the full £6,819 London Allowance, which is the maximum the Commissioner can set.
| Pay point | National scale | + London Weighting | + London Allowance (max) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point 1 (on appointment) | £32,255 | £35,515 | £42,334 |
| Point 2 | £33,609 | £36,869 | £43,688 |
| Point 3 | £34,972 | £38,232 | £45,051 |
| Point 4 | £36,335 | £39,595 | £46,414 |
| Point 5 | £39,058 | £42,318 | £49,137 |
| Point 6 | £44,544 | £47,804 | £54,623 |
| Point 7 | £52,015 | £55,275 | £62,094 |
2026/27 scale values are calculated from the official 2025/26 scale (Circular 011/2026, Annex F) plus 3.5%, rounded to the nearest pound. The Met changed its starting-pay arrangements in April 2025 (PRRB 12th report, para 5.19); check the Met's current advert for the point it starts recruits on. Full force figures: Metropolitan Police pay scales and City of London Police pay scales.
London has its own inspector and chief inspector scales
Annex F sets higher pay points for inspectors and chief inspectors in the Met and City of London Police than in other forces. London Weighting and the London Allowance are paid on top. Constables, sergeants and the superintending ranks are on the same scales everywhere.
| Rank, 2026/27 (calculated) | Met and City | Other forces |
|---|---|---|
| Inspector | £68,788 to £74,206 | £66,000 to £71,396 |
| Chief Inspector | £75,619 to £78,510 | £72,806 to £75,709 |
Official 2025/26 ranges: Met/City inspector £66,462 to £71,697 and chief inspector £73,062 to £75,855; other forces £63,768 to £68,982 and £70,344 to £73,149. See every rank and pay point.
How the London payments work
London Weighting is pay
Annex F says the annual pay of a Met or City officer "shall be increased" by the London Weighting amount. Because it is pay, it is pensionable. It is uprated by the government, usually with the annual award; the 2026 written statement raised it by 3.5%.
London Allowance is set locally
The Commissioner of each force sets the London Allowance "with regard to location and retention needs", after consulting the Federation's Joint Branch Board or Joint Executive Committee, and it cannot go above the national maximum. It is an allowance under regulation 34, not pay.
Overtime ignores London Weighting
Annex F says any allowance calculated by reference to pay is worked out as if London Weighting had not been added. Overtime and rest day payments are therefore based on your scale pay. Use the overtime calculator with your scale salary, not your salary plus London Weighting.
Suspension and maternity leave
Annex U says a Met or City officer suspended under the Conduct Regulations remains entitled to the London Allowance (with one exception in Schedule 2). The Police Federation's guidance records that the Court of Appeal, in Commissioner of Police for the City of London v Geldart (2021), confirmed the London Allowance is paid throughout police maternity leave.
The South East England Allowance
Forces around London do not get London Weighting. Eight of them can pay a South East England Allowance to officers appointed on or after 1 September 1994 who do not get a replacement housing allowance. The maximum from 1 September 2026 is about £3,105 in Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Kent Police, Surrey Police, Thames Valley Police, and about £2,070 in Bedfordshire Police, Hampshire Constabulary, Sussex Police (the official maxima since 2016 were £3,000 and £2,000).
The chief constable decides the rate, up to the maximum, and before doing so must obtain and consider evidence of local recruitment and retention difficulties and a local affordability assessment made with the police and crime commissioner. In its 2026 report the PRRB noted evidence from the National Police Chiefs' Council that Essex and Kent were no longer paying the full allowance. Raising the maximum does not oblige a force to pay it.
Each force page shows the maximum rate: for example Essex Police and Kent Police. Your payslip shows what your force actually pays.
What people often get wrong
- "London Weighting and the London Allowance are the same thing." They are not. London Weighting is a fixed addition to pay for every Met and City officer and is pensionable. The London Allowance is a separate, locally set allowance and is not pensionable. The PRRB said in 2026 that the distinction "is not well understood".
- "Every Met officer gets exactly £10,079 extra." £10,079 is London Weighting plus the maximum London Allowance. Officers who joined before September 1994 and receive a replacement housing allowance are on a different, lower London Allowance limit.
- "Officers in Surrey or Kent get London Weighting." No. Only the Met and City of London Police do. Surrey, Kent and six other forces can pay the smaller South East England Allowance.
- "Police staff get the same London Weighting." Officer London Weighting is set in the Police Regulations determinations. Police staff pay, including any London payment, is set through separate staff arrangements; see the Police Staff hub.
What we could not verify
- The exact 2026/27 figures. The Home Office had not published the 2026/27 pay determination by 30 September 2026; our figures apply 3.5% to the official 2025/26 rates and round to the nearest pound.
- The London Allowance rate the Met and the City of London Police actually pay from 1 September 2026. The Met's careers pages could not be read when we checked. Your payslip or your Federation branch will confirm it.
- Whether the lower £1,011 London Allowance limit and the £1,000 London transitional supplement were also uprated. The written statement refers to the "maximum rates" of the London Allowance; we have not seen the new determination.
- Which pay point the Met currently starts new constables on (point 1 or point 2).
London Weighting questions
What is London Weighting in the police? +
London Weighting is a flat amount added to the annual pay of every officer in the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police. The pay determination (Annex F, Part 10) increased it to £3,150 from 1 September 2025. The government raised it by 3.5% from 1 September 2026, which makes it about £3,260; the Home Office had not published the exact 2026/27 figure by 30 September 2026.
How much is Met Police London Weighting in 2026? +
£3,260 a year from 1 September 2026 on our calculation (the official £3,150 plus 3.5%). On top of that, most Met officers receive a London Allowance of up to £6,819, so the two together come to up to £10,079 a year.
What is the London Allowance and how is it different from London Weighting? +
London Weighting is part of pay and is the same for every Met and City officer. The London Allowance is a separate allowance under Annex U of the Police Regulations 2003 determinations. Each Commissioner sets it, with regard to location and retention needs and after consulting the Federation, up to a maximum: £6,588 from 1 September 2025 and about £6,819 from 1 September 2026 after the 3.5% increase.
Is London Weighting pensionable? +
Yes. Annex F increases the annual pay of a Met or City officer by the London Weighting amount, and the police pension schemes count pay, so it is pensionable; the Police Federation's guidance also describes it as a pensionable addition to pay. The London Allowance and South East Allowance are allowances rather than pay and are not pensionable. Your pension administrator can confirm your own pensionable pay.
Do City of London Police officers get London Weighting? +
Yes. London Weighting and the London Allowance apply to members of both the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police. The City of London Commissioner sets the City's London Allowance rate, up to the same £6,819 maximum.
Do police forces around London get London Weighting? +
No. Only the Met and the City of London Police get London Weighting and the London Allowance. Eight forces around London can pay a South East England Allowance instead: up to £3,105 in Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Kent Police, Surrey Police, Thames Valley Police, and up to £2,070 in Bedfordshire Police, Hampshire Constabulary, Sussex Police. The chief constable sets the actual rate and must consider local recruitment and retention evidence and affordability.
Do part-time officers get London Weighting? +
Yes, pro rata. Annex F increases a part-time Met or City officer's hourly rate by the London Weighting amount multiplied by 6/12520, and Annex U pays the London Allowance to part-time officers at an hourly rate worked out the same way.
Does London Weighting count towards overtime pay? +
No. Annex F says any allowance under the Police Regulations that is calculated by reference to pay is worked out as if London Weighting had not been added. Overtime, rest day and public holiday payments are described as allowances in the determinations, so they are based on your scale pay without London Weighting.
Is London Weighting taxed? +
Yes. London Weighting and the London Allowance are paid through payroll like the rest of your salary, so income tax and National Insurance apply in the normal way.
When did the London Allowance last go up? +
The Home Secretary decided in 2024 to increase the London Allowance by £1,250 for officers appointed on or after 1 September 1994. The PRRB's 2026 report records that this took effect in April 2025, alongside changes to starting pay, taking the maximum to £6,588. The government then raised the maximum by 3.5% from 1 September 2026.
Related pages
Sources
- Home Office Circular 011/2026: Annexes F, U and DA, Police Regulations 2003 (31 July 2026). Annex F Part 10: London Weighting £3,150 from 1 September 2025, part-time rate, exclusion from allowances calculated by reference to pay; Met/City inspector and chief inspector scales. Annex U paras 3 to 6: London Allowance (£6,588 / £1,011 maxima), London transitional supplement, South East England Allowance.
- Written Ministerial Statement HCWS264, Police workforce (15 July 2026). 3.5% for all ranks from 1 September 2026; London Weighting and the maximum London Allowance and South East Allowance also increased by 3.5%.
- Police Remuneration Review Body, 12th report (2026). Paras 4.144 to 4.158 on regional allowances, including the April 2025 London Allowance increase and evidence that some forces pay less than the full South East Allowance.
- Police Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/527), regulations 24 and 34. Pay is determined under regulation 24 (Annex F); allowances under regulation 34 (Annex U).
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/445), regulation 33. Pensionable earnings means the pay to which the member is entitled.
- Police Federation of England and Wales, Quick Reference Guide (January 2025). Describes London Weighting as a pensionable addition to pay; summarises the London Allowance, South East Allowance and the Geldart maternity case.
This page explains the national rules for police officers in England and Wales. It is information, not advice. Police Scotland has separate pay arrangements.